Production Manager

Balchem Corporation•Sleepy Eye, MN

17d

About The Position

The Production Manager monitors and guides production activities at Balchem’s Sleepy Eye Plant. The role supports operations and ensures compliance with the production schedule, Standard Operating Procedures, Good Manufacturing Practices, regulatory laws, and corporate specifications, policies, and procedures. General knowledge of spray-drying production processes and excellent communication skills are essential. The manager serves as a coach and counselor, makes key operational decisions, and acts as backup to the Site Leader. The Production Manager oversees safety, quality, cost, and efficiency metrics; develops continuous-improvement plans; and coordinates production scheduling, staffing, product scale-up, maintenance, and equipment upgrades. The role requires sufficient time to complete its duties, which may involve long days and weekend or holiday work. When the plant operates on weekends or holidays, the manager is expected to be available to work if needed. Managing change and interruptions is important to success.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a related field with one or more years of experience, or 5–10 years of experience in plant operations and 3–5 years supervising and coaching others.
General knowledge and understanding of spray-drying production processes.
Proficiency with computer systems and software, especially Microsoft Office (Excel and Word).
Strong organizational skills.
Quality-oriented and process-oriented approach.
Ability to present information effectively in one-on-one and small-group situations to customers, clients, and employees.
Ability to communicate and handle conflict professionally.
Ability to give and welcome feedback and contribute to a positive team spirit.
Availability for long days and, when needed, weekend and holiday work.

Responsibilities

Follow and enforce safety policies and procedures, promote the site’s safety culture, inspect safety equipment, investigate potential hazards, and recommend corrective action.
Monitor safety, quality, cost, and efficiency data and develop continuous-improvement plans.
Develop and manage key metrics.
Maximize sales generated by processing equipment by complying with the production schedule and coordinating scale-up activities for new products.
Develop staffing plans and production schedules to maximize efficiency and throughput.
Regularly monitor production operations, take corrective action when specifications are not met, report problems and corrective actions to operations staff in a timely manner, and observe processes for compliance with written SOPs.
Coordinate and prioritize maintenance activities for repairs and equipment upgrades.
Set goals and objectives with the Operations Manager and other plant leadership.
Comply with corporate policies and procedures.
Perform other duties as needed.
Serve as backup to the Site Leader.