Production Manager

Nouryon - Houston, TX

Part-time,Full-time - Manager

Houston, TX

Chemical Manufacturing

About the position

The Production Manager is accountable for directing, controlling, and coordinating the manufacture and shipment of surfactants to meet customer expectations while maintaining an environmentally sound plant. This role encompasses all phases of production operations, maintenance, and engineering at the Houston site. The Production Manager is responsible for organizing, planning, directing, and controlling department functions involving personnel, production costs, capital investments, quality, asset integrity, and HSE&S performance. As a key member of the Site Leadership Team, the Production Manager will help establish the vision and strategy for the Houston Site and will fill in for the Site Director in their absence. In this role, the Production Manager will direct manufacturing activities for six production units to meet sales requirements while ensuring the safe and efficient utilization of personnel and equipment. The position requires effective use of production capacity and continuous productivity increases while adhering to quality, cost control, safety, and environmental standards. The Production Manager will ensure that products meet safety, health, and environmental requirements during transportation and use. This role involves communication and interaction with other site functions, including maintenance, logistics, production planning and scheduling, finance, purchasing, IT, HR, technical services, customer service, and research and development, to ensure efficient and timely manufacturing operations. The Production Manager will analyze plant operations, plan and develop improvement programs to ensure safe operations, increase rates, improve yields, upgrade quality, and ensure reliability in the production department. They will determine the resources required for optimum performance and advocate for corrective, preventative, and improvement projects during the annual planning and budgeting process. The role also includes identifying and implementing solutions to mechanical, personnel, scheduling, analytical, and technical problems within the department, following root cause analysis principles. The Production Manager will act as a key approver for high-risk permit activities and ensure their safe completion, participate in HSES activities directed by management, and develop departmental budgets while controlling costs to meet budgetary requirements.

Responsibilities

• Direct manufacturing activities for six production units to meet sales requirements while utilizing personnel and equipment safely and efficiently.
• Ensure effective use of production capacity and continued productivity increases while meeting requirements for quality, cost control, safety, and environment.
• Assure the responsible use of physical plants and production capacity.
• Ensure that products meet requirements of safety, health, and environment in transportation and use.
• Communicate and interact with other site functions to ensure efficient and timely operation of manufacturing operations.
• Identify and analyze changing business conditions and production performance and undertake timely corrective action to optimize performance.
• Analyze plant operations, plan and develop improvement programs to ensure safe operations, increase rates, improve yields, upgrade quality, and ensure reliability in the production department.
• Determine resources required for optimum performance.
• Ensure that corrective/preventative/improvement projects requiring capital and external resources are advocated during the annual planning and budgeting process.
• Identify and implement solutions to mechanical, personnel, scheduling, analytical, and technical problems within the department following root cause analysis principles.
• Act as key approver for high-risk permit activities and ensure safe completion.
• Participate in HSES activities directed by management or as indicated in the HSES Annual Site Plan.
• Develop departmental budget and control costs to meet budget.
• Monitor and control direct and indirect operating costs, variable operating costs, and capital/non-capital expenditures.

Requirements

• B.S. in Chemical Engineering or equivalent.
• At least 7 years' production experience in a chemical facility.
• 5+ years of supervisory experience.
• Good people management and leadership skills.
• Capable of identifying best practices.
• Must be able to wear a respirator if needed, steel-toed shoes, and safety glasses to enter the plant environment.
• Experience working in a PSM plant.
• Knowledge/Experience of operation and maintenance of plant utilities (i.e., steam, compressed air, cooling towers, etc.).

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of OSHA regulations - particularly Process Safety Management (highly desired).
• SAP experience.
• Surfactant manufacturing experience.
• Emergency Response experience.

Benefits

• Comprehensive learning and development opportunities.
• Dynamic, international, diverse, and proactive working environment.