Production Manager

Columbia, MO
Operations – COMO Production /
Full-time /
On-site
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
 
At Beyond Meat, we start with simple questions.  Why do you need an animal to create meat?  Why can’t you build meat directly from plants?  Thus, we make plant-based meats that allow families to eat more, not less, of the traditional dishes they love while feeling great about the health, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits of plant protein.  Our goal is to bring exciting change to the plate - and Beyond!

OVERVIEW

Beyond Meat is focused on raising the bar on talent. We are dedicated to shaping an inclusive culture that drives excellence, innovation, and results by enabling talent acceleration and development, engagement, and the employee experience.  The Production Team is a matrix organization within Beyond Meat that is dedicated to creating food products that are leading the gold standard in plant-based proteins. They are looking for an outstanding individual to join the team located in Columbia, MO as a Production Manager.
 
The Production Manager is responsible for the planning, organizing and directing of production activities and employee placement/training/development to cost effectively produce a high-quality product. Responsible for the entire production department and other duties as assigned. Held accountable for all financial, safety, quality, and regulatory matters in their department. The manager will ensure all food preparation and packaging is compliant to the guidelines of Good Manufacturing Practices and Food Safety regulations. Maintain and foster a ZERO HURT culture, in regard to safety performance and compliance across the manufacturing facilities. 

TASKS, DUTIES, & GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES

    • Leadership
    • Development of site strategic plan for all of production department to support annual budget and 2-3 year growth plan
    • Coaching, mentoring, and development of all plant & production department
    • Accountability for management of external technical relationships with contractors, equipment vendors, ingredient vendors & corporate resources
    • Provide technical leadership and site compliance with EPA and OSHA requirements in concert with designated functional experts to maintain a safe working environment for all employees
    • Provide site leadership to achieve maximization/optimization of capital assets and site utilization as well as lead safety initiatives in technical areas

    • Planning & Execution
    • Develop short term and long-range capital investment plans for production lines to increase throughput, provide safer operation, and focus on cost reduction
    • Help support and develop robust production planning process focusing on efficiency, changeover reduction, and performance improvements

    • Continuous Improvement
    • Develop and support strategies with Continuous Improvement (CI) methodologies into the Master Plan
    • Provide leadership for the application of CI tools, and training to meet business objectives
    • Provide site leadership for technical solutions to operational problems including systems optimization, debottlenecking, and troubleshooting when needed
    • Support and develop resource pool for ongoing CI projects and tasks

    • Training & Development
    • Coach and develop production leadership into strong leaders that supports the company’s values and competencies
    • Provide strategy and support for maintenance teams, development of tools and resources, personnel selection, training and development
    • Develop robust training plan for all production related critical roles
    • Development of Playbooks, One Point Lessons, Job Aides for critical roles and tasks

    • Supervisory Duties
    • Lead, manage, and supervise production employees, delegate training for all processes within the production area setting.
    • Provide mentorship and training to functional team members
    • Accountable for developing talent through on-going performance feedback and career management coaching.

QUALIFICATIONS

    • Education, Technical Skills, and/or Previous Experience:
    • Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering or similar field preferred
    • 7-10 years of production leadership experience required
    • Technical experience in project management, continuous improvement, problem solving related to a food manufacturing environment
    • Strong track record of performance improvement, change agent, strong safety & quality mindset

    • Other qualifications:
    • Strong leadership skills, including experience leading others in projects or programs, and the ability to successfully interact with individuals representing other areas or interests and the ability to manage Salaried Supervisors and Hourly team leaders
    • Understanding and experience interacting with multiple business functions, including Safety, Quality, Human Resources, Warehousing, & Maintenance
    • Ability to identify potential business solutions involving a broad scope of thinking across businesses and functions to develop new innovation, problem solving tools, and continuous improvement methodologies through strong influence and collaboration

WORK ENVIRONMENT

    • Warehouse and production manufacturing environment that includes both tempered and ambient areas. 
    • The work environment is representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
    • Position requires the ability to stand or sit for prolonged periods, step, balance, crouch, stoop, kneel, squat, bend, occasionally lifting up to 50 lbs., reach above shoulders, or as needed to complete tasks.
    • Must be able to occasionally climb stairs or a ladder to complete tasks
    • Position located in a mix of production and office environments and requires a tolerance for consistent cold work environments (-10-40˚ F), high worker traffic, loud noises, odors, dust, and varying room temperatures.
    • This position will require visiting the production floor, refrigerated and frozen storage, and warehouses.
    • Work flexible shifts as required.
    • Understand that overtime and occasional weekends and/or worked holidays will be required based on company needs.