Manager, Production - Columbus

The J M Smucker Company - Columbus, GA

Full-time - Mid Level

Columbus, GA

Food Manufacturing

About the position

As the Production Manager at the J. M. Smucker Company in Columbus, GA, you will play a pivotal role in leading the operations department to support the Hostess business. This position requires a strong focus on developing capability and leadership characteristics among Production Supervisors, Process Engineers, Controls Leaders, and Advanced Technical Leadership. You will be responsible for ensuring that the plant meets its Quality, Safety, Reliability, and Cost targets, which are essential for efficient plant operations. In this role, you will coordinate activities to enhance Autonomous Maintenance knowledge throughout the plant, utilizing this approach to improve operational measures. A comprehensive understanding of the overall plant product flow, including all inputs and outputs, is crucial. You will also manage and leverage relationships with Research and Development (R&D) and corporate engineering teams to identify and eliminate operational losses, leading efforts to solve issues and implement improvements. Additionally, you will manage the capital budget and projects aimed at enhancing operational measures in areas such as capacity growth, production efficiencies, Quality, and Safety. As a member of the Plant Leadership team, you will contribute to setting the plant's direction and administer any necessary disciplinary actions. Effective communication across all levels of the organization is essential, as you will be expected to execute this with clarity and purpose. The culture at Smucker is rooted in Basic Beliefs, emphasizing boldness, kindness, and a commitment to doing the right thing, fostering a strong community that thrives together.

Responsibilities

• Lead an operations department to support the Hostess business.
• Develop capability and leadership characteristics in Production Supervisors, Process Engineers, Controls Leader, and Advanced Technical Leadership.
• Meet Quality, Safety, Reliability, and Cost targets for plant operations.
• Coordinate activities to increase Autonomous Maintenance knowledge throughout the plant.
• Lead and teach a complete understanding of overall plant product flow including all inputs and outputs.
• Manage and leverage relationships with R&D and corporate engineering.
• Identify and eliminate operations losses; lead in solving issues to cause and implement improvements.
• Manage capital budget/projects to improve Operations measures in the areas of capacity growth, production efficiencies, Quality, and Safety.
• Set plant direction by contributing to the Plant Leadership team.
• Administer any necessary discipline.
• Execute effective communication to all levels of the organization.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree is required; an engineering or technical degree is preferred.
• At least 3-5 years of manufacturing operational experience managing people and teams.
• Demonstrated ability to be decisive, proactive, and strategic in decision making.

Nice-to-haves

• Food processing or manufacturing experience.
• Experience in a high-performance work environment.
• Ability to work effectively across organization boundaries and with diverse teams.
• Excellent communication (both written and verbal) and listening skills.
• Strong organization skills.
• Experience directing and managing vendors.

Benefits

• Total Rewards Benefits Program
• Support for physical, emotional, and financial needs of employees