Plant Manager

Branding Iron Holdings•Sauk Rapids, MN

43d•$140,000 - $150,000•Onsite

About The Position

For over 60 years, Branding Iron Holdings (“BIH”) has been producing high quality beef and pork products while delivering customized solutions to the food service and retail trade industries. With an eye to the future, BIH has put a strong focus on building internal talent and on leveraging unique product lines and national distribution to drive continued growth. Guided by a strong set of core values (Respect, Integrity and Stewardship), reflecting a culture of servant leadership at every level, BIH’s team works hard to foster a culture that embraces and builds meaningful, long-term relationships with both employees and its customer base. Newly acquired by Kingswood Capital Management (“Kingswood”), Branding Iron Holdings (“Branding Iron”) is positioned even more for growth and success! The Plant Manager is responsible for leading all aspects of plant operations at our Sauk Rapids facility, including production, maintenance, quality, sanitation, warehouse, and safety. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role serves as a key member of the operations leadership team and is responsible for driving operational excellence, developing high-performing teams, and executing strategic initiatives that support company growth. The Plant Manager will foster a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and employee engagement while ensuring compliance with USDA, food safety, and regulatory requirements. This leader must be equally comfortable setting strategic direction and working alongside the team to solve day-to-day operational challenges in a fast-paced manufacturing environment. Through strong leadership, lean manufacturing principles, and data-driven decision making, the Plant Manager will drive improvements in safety, quality, productivity, cost, and overall plant performance.

Requirements

A minimum of 7 years of progressive plant operations and/or direct plant management experience.
A minimum of 5+ years oversight for a team of people leaders.
Demonstrated record of success leading team(s) within a USDA processing site.
Strong know-how in lean manufacturing.
Substantial experience in manufacturing leadership roles.
Well-versed in budget management, project management and data analysis.
Willing to serve as a hands-on leader with the ability and desire to flex between strategic and tactical priorities.
Superior project management skills and a proactive mindset.
Strong people leadership skills and emotional intelligence.
Ability to inspire and motivate, manage conflict, and foster a healthy organizational culture.
Proactively communicating in a transparent manner and confidently interacting at all levels with diplomacy and tact.
Savvy with technology, including Microsoft Office Suite, and various ERP systems.
Four-year college degree is required.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience as a Plant Manager or Operations Director in small-to-mid-sized facility or Operations Manager in a large-sized processing site is desired.
MBA or advanced degree and/or relevant certifications a plus.

Responsibilities

Serve as a growth-centric plant leader, identifying and implementing process improvement and change management initiatives to support BIH’s strategic goals.
Streamline operational strategies and lean initiatives with plant leadership across locations.
Model and exemplify core values with integrity and ethics to ensure a positive workforce culture.
Provide inspirational leadership for a team of people leaders, including day-to-day oversight for safety, production, quality, sanitation, maintenance and warehouse management.
Ensure right people are in right seats, partnering closely with HR to proactively attract, engage, and retain a high performing workforce.
Communicate roadmap for growth with meaningful KPI’s.
Identify and implement action plans for plant improvements.
Champion a safety-first culture, ensuring adherence to safety standards and ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
Support the development of next-level policies and programs to achieve best-in-class quality and safety programs.
Promote optimal functioning and longevity of equipment through proactive management of physical assets.
Introduce lean and continuous improvement to drive a healthy culture of accountability, collaboration and ownership.
Lead initiatives aimed at waste reduction, process optimization, and cost savings.
Track impact on operational efficiency.
Utilize a data-driven approach to corrective action planning and root cause.
Identify and implement best SOPs and empower team to drive innovation.
Partner with sister plants to streamline best practices across sites.