Assistant Plant Manager

T. Marzetti Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lancaster Colony Corporation (NASDAQ: LANC), is a manufacturer and marketer of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice markets. Our retail brands include Marzetti^®, New York Bakery™, Sister Schubert’s^®, Reames^®, Flatout^®, Angelic Bakehouse^®, and Bantam Bagels^®, in addition to exclusive license agreements for Olive Garden^® dressings, Chick-fil-A^® sauces and Buffalo Wild Wings^® sauces. Our foodservice business supplies many of the top restaurant chains in the United States.

At T. Marzetti, our mission is to be The Better Food Company: Better people, that make better products, in a better corporate culture, that work in unison to make the world a better place. Led by our purpose, To Nourish Growth with All that We Do, our more than 3,000 team members are dedicated to innovative and quality products as well as superior service and value for our customers.

This position is a developmental role with a strong path to becoming a Plant Manager within 18 to 24 months.  As such, this role has heavy interaction with the Director of Operations and others deemed critical in their personal development plan.  The APM should lead their team/s to achieve high levels of improvement and be an example for our future leaders. The position will lead at least two departments within the business unit to learn areas that generally have competing objectives.  The Assistant Plant Manager is responsible for setting strategy in coordination with both departments and leading through the execution.  The APM should treat the scope as though he was a plant manager of those two departmental areas.

Building Capability - Marzetti Values: Be Perceptive-see work through your customers’ and consumers’ eyes, winning is just the Beginning, Continuous Improvement. 

• Conducts annual training and development needs assessment. 
• Provides training, direction, development, evaluation, coaching and leadership to employees. 
• Responsible for meeting established objectives pertaining to plant goals and performance 
• Develops and monitors spending against the departmental budget. 
• Promotes integrity, respect, accountability, continuous improvement and positive interactions with all Team Members, customers & vendors.  
• Acts as a business partner to management team to develop and implement initiatives to support overall mission of facilities.  
• Works with direct and indirect reports on skill building activities. 

Associate Engagement – Marzetti Values: Work Safely, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Respect Each Other, Be Positive-You Can Make it Happen, Act with Integrity, Be Accountable –stand behind what you do. 

• Develop and maintain proactive employee relations programs and drive high-levels of retention. 
• Use modern management techniques to promote team building and to allow decision making at the lowest level. 
• Effectively communicates verbally and written with Team Members, Management, Customers & Vendors and ensures compliance to this. 
• Works respectfully with all team members to ensure the Safety, Quality, production and support of our products and goals daily. 
• Responsible for & maintains positive employee, corporate and community relations along with appropriate interface with customer service. 

Safety & Quality – Marzetti Values: Work Safely. 

• Ensures a disciplined and safe work environment. 
• Maintains highest standard of Safety for all functions and ensures compliance for self and others to OSHA standards. 
• Performs daily inspection of all PPE required including but not limited to SLIP-RESISTANT/STEEL-TOED SHOES, safety glasses, gloves, shields & and aprons to ensure good overall condition of items that provide optimal personal safety & protection while working in the production area. 
• Performs proper housekeeping, uses appropriate personal protective equipment for tasks and ensures compliance for department. 
• Ensures compliance by providing a safe working environment including compliance with company policies, state, local and federal policies and regulations. 
• Ensures company standards for cleanliness, food and equipment safety and efficient productivity. 
• Ensures compliance to quality, food safety, Food Defense, 5S, OSHA and HACCP support programs; assures conformity to all company, customer and government standards.

Responsibilities continued:

• Works with HR for hiring, training, and scheduling of production work force. 
• Responsible for meeting established objectives pertaining to plant, production and controls and minimizes the shift’s overtime labor costs, maintenance/repair costs, and equipment downtime. 
• Leverages TPM and Plant Management System to yield improvements in all measures especially OEE and conversion cost. 
• Create and manage budget in coordination with Accounting Controller and Department managers for plant operations. 
• Coordinates with other department managers to ensure proper purchasing, processing, packaging, accounting and inventory control activities and procedures. 
• Responsible for developing their leaders to be the leaders of the future.  
• Seeks regular feedback on individual developmental progression to ensure readiness for assuming Plant Manager Role. 
• Actively participates in special projects or tasks, modify plant programs as needed with prior approval. 
• Exemplifies the desired culture and philosophies of the organization. 
• Actively participates in department/shift/team meetings and is involved with improvement/resolutions to issues/challenges & follow-up on actions being taken. 
• Plans, organizes, facilitates and orders supplies for employee development and training events. 
• Regular Attendance is required in accordance with Company attendance policy and procedures. 
• Performs tasks or responsibilities as assigned by Management.

• BS/BA degree in business management or related field preferred. 
• 5-7 years operations and leadership experience in a manufacturing environment required, preferably food-related industry. 

• Ability to work flexible hours and support multiple project teams and balance priorities.  
• Working knowledge of manufacturing effective staffing, scheduling, budgets, production processes. 
• Previous TPM and Continuous Improvement leadership experience required. 
• Demonstrated ability to appropriately work with confidential information and situations and manage correspondence. 
• Must be a proven leader and team player, with experience in change management 

• Ability to direct and lead cross functional improvement teams 
• Strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.  
• Capable of communicating and expressing ideas clearly and concisely, in both written and verbal formats.  
• Analytical/statistical problem solver; thorough understanding of problem-solving methodologies.  
• High level of organizational planning, teamwork, analytical reasoning, and adaptability.  

• Strong team builder, mentor, coach, and influential leader; ability to build trust among associates 
• Strong interpersonal, technical and presentation skills.  
• Must be a team player with good internal & external customer service skills. 

• Action Oriented 
• Approachability 
• Courage 
• Dealing with Ambiguity 
• Decision Quality 

• Integrity and Trust 
• Interpersonal Savvy 
• Organizing 
• Peer Relationships 
• Self-Knowledge 

Works in an office and manufacturing environment where the employee is regularly required to speak, read, hear, sit, stand, walk, and occasionally bend while moving about the facility. The employee is occasionally exposed to cold, fumes, odors, dust, oil, slippery floors and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the office is quiet and moderate in the plant. Hairnets are required in the plant in accordance with GMP and safety standards.

At T. Marzetti, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect for everyone. We strongly encourage veterans, women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals to apply. As an equal opportunity employer, we will consider all qualified applicants without discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.