The Operations Manager will manage and maintain 24-hour responsibility for Powder / Fluids production, Warehousing, and operations effectiveness. Manages, mentors, coaches, and trains approximately 200 team members to develop effective and efficient teams by driving production improvement projects, plant safety initiatives, and cost performance programs. Also responsible for providing tactical and decision-making support to the Plant Manager and core operations team members.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Develops and directs programs to ensure the efficient and cost-effective operation and utilization of facility.
Manages safety, quality, service, and cost performance within assigned area.
Ensures compliance with the organization's policies and procedures.
Makes recommendations to senior management on long range labor strategies and capital equipment needs.
Develops and implements recommendations to change systems, policies, and procedures; ensure timely and accurate implementation.
Prepares and maintains accurate, timely and complete documentation regarding all aspects of production.
Collaborates with Human Resources in employee relations matters and ensures consistent application of policy expectations.
Implements strategies and tactics that align with department and company vision and goals.
Develops and maintains operating budget and capital spending plans for assigned area of responsibility.
Identifies, obtains, and develops staff capabilities needed to consistently meet departmental objectives.
Ensures industry best practices are applied and employees are trained accordingly.
Responsible for understanding and complying with applicable quality, environmental and safety regulatory considerations. Also responsible for ensuring HALAL and Kosher compliance in the Carlisle facility and GMPs.
This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict other tasks that may be assigned.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Develops, coaches and mentor subordinate staff.
Conducts performance evaluations; recommends salary adjustments; rewards employees or takes disciplinary action, as necessary; addresses complaints and resolves issues.
REQUIRED COMPETENCIES/SKILLS:
Ability to communicate with a variety of people & personalities
Must be able to make quick decisions on the spot & support those decisions to your peers, employees, and plant leadership
Ability to consistently meet deadlines
Ability to manage multiple projects & multi-task with ease
Must be detail oriented and have excellent follow through
Active listening skills are a must
Ability to influence a positive employee environment
Ability to drive safety & safe behaviors while maintaining the goal of preventing all injuries
Must be able to influence & drive change management
High speed manufacturing experience
REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:
Bachelor's degree required and 7+ years of supervisory/management experience in food processing/manufacturing operations with solid progressive leadership experience.
Strong presentation, communication, training, and interpersonal skills.
Proven track record of understanding the drivers of product and labor cost variances.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
MBA or master’s degree in Engineering, preferred.
Experience working in a 24/7 environment highly preferred.
Knowledge of reading, analyzing, and interpreting technical and business journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
Experience responding to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.
Experience defining problems, collecting data, establishing facts, and drawing valid conclusions.
Proven ability to work with all levels and functions within the company.
Skilled in project management.
Experience leveraging skills and abilities of front-line employees.
Knowledge and exposure to TPM, Six Sigma, and various problem-solving methodologies.
Hours: This role may require off-shift hours, weekends and holidays as needed. This location is a 24/7 facility, running 365 days/year.
Salary Range: $120,880 - $181,320. In most cases, candidates offered employment can expect to be hired at a pay rate near the middle of our salary ranges.
About Land O'Lakes, Inc.
Join us and be part of a Fortune 250, farmer- and member-owned cooperative that is reimagining the business of food. We have been named a Top Workplace by Indeed and LinkedIn, and to the TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.
We provide a broad portfolio of benefits to keep you and your family at your best. Land O'Lakes is Where Your Future Takes Root.
Land O’Lakes and our global entities support diversity in employment practices.
Neither Land O’Lakes, nor its affiliates or search firms, will ever contact you and ask for confidential information over the phone or in email. If you receive a call or email like this, please do not provide the information being requested.
If you need to submit a reasonable accommodation request to complete the employment application process, please call the HR Solution Center at 844-LOL-HR4U (844-565-4748) M-F 8:00am-4:30pm CT.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 7+ years supervisory/management experience in food processing/manufacturing operations
- Experience managing 24-hour/shift operations and large teams (~200 employees)
- High-speed manufacturing experience
- Knowledge of and compliance with GMP, Halal, Kosher, quality, environmental, and safety regulations
- Proven track record understanding drivers of product and labor cost variances
- Developing and managing operating budgets and capital spending plans
- Strong presentation, communication, training, and interpersonal skills
- Ability to coach, mentor, conduct performance evaluations, and handle employee relations
- Ability to drive safety initiatives, change management, and implement process improvements
- Ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines, be detail oriented, and practice active listening
- MBA or master's degree in Engineering
- Experience working in a 24/7 manufacturing environment
- Knowledge or exposure to TPM, Six Sigma, and problem-solving methodologies
- Skilled in project management
- Experience responding to customer or regulatory inquiries and drawing valid conclusions from data
- Proven ability to work with all levels and functions within the company and leverage front-line employee skills
Land O'Lakes, Inc. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Land O'Lakes, Inc. and has not been reviewed or approved by Land O'Lakes, Inc..
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs include automatic company contributions to retirement savings and additional support via 401(k) and HSA contributions. Legacy eligibility for a pension plan adds further long‑term security for some employees.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, vision, and mental health support with confidential counseling and free therapy or coaching sessions for employees and dependents. Benefits begin on the start date, removing prior waiting periods.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off, holidays, and paid leaves cover disability, parental, maternity, and caregiving needs. Caregiver and parental leave policies have been expanded to cover broader family situations, including foster placements prior to adoption.
Land O'Lakes, Inc. Insights
What We Do
Land O’Lakes, Inc. is a 100-year-old farmer- and retailer-owned cooperative originally formed with the purpose of working together to create new market opportunities. Fast forward to today and we’ve built on that uniting spirit, developing a comprehensive and leading view of agriculture while maintaining an unwavering commitment to delivering strong annual performance and long-term, shared success with our member-owners. Land O’Lakes believes farmers are the entrepreneurs who truly change the world for the better. By working together with our member-owners, we can continue to strengthen our system, champion farming’s true potential and place our farmer- and retail-owners at the heart of creating a better world for all.









