Plant Manager – Food Ingredients

Quadra•Oakville, ON

3d•CA$101,175 - CA$178,350•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Director of Operations, Canada, the Plant Manager will provide strategic and operational leadership for Quadra’s food ingredients blending facility in Oakville, overseeing manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution activities. This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for ensuring operational excellence across safety, quality, regulatory compliance, productivity, and people development, while supporting innovation and business growth initiatives. We are seeking a seasoned manufacturing leader with deep experience in food production, ingredient blending, or dry powder processing environments, who thrives in fast-paced operations and has a proven ability to build high-performing teams. This role will work closely with Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, and Commercial leaders to ensure our operational capabilities support current business needs while positioning the site for future growth. This is an opportunity to lead a critical manufacturing site at a growing organization where operational excellence, innovation, and people development are at the core of our success. If you’re a hands-on, strategic plant leader ready to make a significant impact, we’d love to hear from you.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Food Science, Operations Management, or related field.
10-15+ years of progressive manufacturing experience in a food manufacturing plan or food ingredients environment.
At least 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in a manufacturing environment, including managing people leaders.
Strong capital project and operational improvement experience (PMP certification is considered an asset)
Deep expertise in food safety systems, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance within food manufacturing environments.
Strong working knowledge of GMP, HACCP, allergen control, traceability systems, and related food safety standards.
Hands-on experience with dry blending operations, including powder flow characteristics, process optimization, and blending equipment.
Proven experience in finished food product blending is essential.
Demonstrated operational leadership within high-volume, fast-paced manufacturing environments.
Exceptional prioritization skills, with the ability to manage competing demands and make sound decisions in complex operational settings.
Proven track record of driving projects from planning through execution, ensuring on-time completion and measurable business impact.
Outstanding communication and influencing abilities, with the capacity to engage effectively across all organizational levels—from frontline production teams to senior leadership.
Strong people leadership capabilities, including coaching, mentoring, performance development, and building high-performing teams.
Continuous improvement mindset with a strong focus on operational excellence, process optimization, and efficiency gains.
Solid business acumen with demonstrated success collaborating cross-functionally to achieve strategic objectives.
Exceptional problem-solving skills with a proactive, solutions-oriented approach and the ability to act decisively to drive operational performance.

Nice To Haves

PMP certification is considered an asset

Responsibilities

Plan, organize, direct, control and optimize all plant operations including production, inventory control, maintenance, planning, and distribution.
Optimize operational performance to meet customer deadlines, ensuring minimum downtime and optimal run times, all with safety and quality at the forefront. business requirements for safety, quality, cost, delivery, and service.
Lead and coach the Production Manager, Supervisors, Lead Hands, and Operations team to achieve performance objectives.
Promote and foster a culture of accountability, engagement, safety, quality, and continuous improvement.
With the support of the maintenance coordinator, manage assets and oversee a comprehensive preventative maintenance program.
Direct sanitation efforts in a production environment, including managing dust control systems, dry cleaning procedures and full wash (wet) cleaning procedures
Collaborate and align with commercial leaders to ensure that the plant is meeting or exceeding the needs of the current business, while also aligning future growth requirements, and in turn building operational plans
Provide leadership, coaching, and performance management for direct and indirect reports.
Ensure strong staffing strategies, training plans, and competency development programs.
Build leadership bench strength through succession planning and capability development
Promote a high-performance culture focused on collaboration, ownership, and results
Lead all internal and external audits, inspections, and compliance activities
Ensure full compliance with all applicable food safety and regulatory requirements, including: Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), Food and Drugs Act, Health Canada requirements, Ontario food production and public health regulations
Partner with Quality, Regulatory, and Audit teams to maintain and exceed standards related to: GMP, HACCP, FSQA, BRCGS, Preventive Control Plans, Traceability systems, Allergen control, Halal, Kosher, and Gluten-Free certifications
Oversee inventory control and production planning & scheduling
Optimize inventory accuracy (raw materials and finished goods), service levels, and working capital.
Collaborate cross-functionally to minimize waste and inefficiencies.
Provide operational leadership for key business initiatives and capital projects.
Support product innovation trials, scale-up, and commercialiszation activies.
Collaborate with business teams to align operational capabilities with market needs.
Lead site readiness for future expansion initiatives
Develop and manage plant budgets and operating costs.
Monitor and report on operational KPIs to drive performance.
Identify and implement productivity, efficiency, and cost-improvement initiatives.
Implement a comprehensive CAPEX plan to maintain assets and support growth.
Champion a best-in-class safety culture across the site
Ensure compliance with the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and all applicable regulations
Act as the employer representative for workplace health and safety
Support Joint Health and Safety Committee initiatives and mandatory safety training

Benefits

Competitive salary & Performance Incentives
Flexible Remote Work & Autonomy
Tailored training
Excellent Benefits Package: Medical, Dental, HSA, and more to keep you covered including our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and access to telemedicine/Virtual healthcare
Generous Time Off: Flexible personal days, sick days and vacation to recharge
Wellness Programs: Enhance your quality of life with wellness initiatives, including health and mental wellness programs from healthcare leaders
Pension plan with match
Family-owned and support environment
Inclusive Culture
Career Growth
Fun Social Activities
Referral & Recognition Programs