ABOUT PREMIER CANDLE

POSITION SUMMARY

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operations Leadership

• Provide overall leadership for all manufacturing, warehouse, maintenance, logistics, quality, planning, and production departments.
• Ensure production schedules are executed efficiently while meeting customer expectations, operational goals, and financial objectives.
• Allocate labor, equipment, and resources to maximize productivity and operational efficiency.
• Lead daily plant operations while ensuring alignment with company objectives and manufacturing strategies.

Safety & Quality Leadership

• Champion a "Safety First" culture throughout the facility.
• Ensure compliance with all safety policies, training requirements, and regulatory standards.
• Drive continuous improvement in workplace safety performance and employee engagement.
• Promote a culture where producing quality products is a core organizational value.
• Ensure compliance with GMP standards, customer requirements, internal quality systems, and regulatory audits.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead plant-wide continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, flexibility, cost reduction, scrap reduction, and operational efficiency.
• Utilize data, KPIs, and root cause analysis to identify improvement opportunities and implement corrective actions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and operational excellence throughout the organization.
• Support Lean Manufacturing and process improvement initiatives across all departments.

Financial & Business Performance

• Develop and manage annual operating budgets in partnership with Finance.
• Monitor labor costs, production volumes, inventory levels, productivity metrics, and overall plant performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency while reducing manufacturing costs.
• Ensure key operational KPIs are accurately tracked, reported, and used to drive decision-making.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Coach, mentor, and develop supervisors, managers, and department leaders.
• Promote accountability through consistent performance management and employee development.
• Support hiring, succession planning, workforce planning, and organizational development initiatives.
• Build strong cross-functional communication and collaboration across all departments.

Maintenance & Capital Projects

• Oversee preventive maintenance programs, equipment reliability initiatives, and capital improvement projects.
• Support equipment upgrades, facility improvements, and new product implementation.
• Ensure manufacturing equipment operates safely, efficiently, and reliably.

Customer & Operational Excellence

• Support customer audits, vendor visits, executive tours, and regulatory inspections.
• Ensure inventory accuracy, shipping performance, production planning, and supply chain execution meet customer expectations.
• Drive operational excellence while maintaining outstanding customer satisfaction.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Business, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive manufacturing experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of Plant Manager or senior manufacturing leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success leading large manufacturing operations.
• Strong understanding of production planning, inventory management, maintenance, quality systems, budgeting, and supply chain operations.
• Experience managing high-volume manufacturing environments.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change and continuous improvement initiatives.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturing
• Candle manufacturing or related industries
• Lean Manufacturing
• Continuous Improvement
• GMP environments
• SAP, MASS, or other ERP/WMS systems
• High-volume manufacturing operations

KEY COMPETENCIES

• Strategic Leadership
• Manufacturing Operations
• Continuous Improvement
• Lean Manufacturing
• Safety Leadership
• Quality Management
• Financial Management
• Budgeting & Cost Control
• Root Cause Analysis
• Production Planning
• Inventory Management
• Leadership Development
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Customer Focus
• Operational Excellence