Plant Production Supervisor

Are you the kind of person who is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?

Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Plant Production Supervisor to join our Ashland Specialty Ingredients G.P. business at our Hopewell, VA location. This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the manufacturing function. This position will report to the Area Managers. *This is a 12-hour rotating shift.

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Model and exemplify excellence in leadership behaviors.
• Lead, facilitate, and coach team members to build and sustain a culture of high accountability.
• Ensure adherence to stewardship and quality requirements, and provide operational feedback when policies or rules do not align with operating capabilities.
• Foster and maintain an effective union-company working relationship.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with employees to support performance, development, and engagement.
• Own shift results, including safety, quality, productivity, and operational performance.
• Ensure completion of routine operational tasks, including rounds documentation, log sheets, shift turnover, walk-the-line activities, Title V requirements, eyewash inspections, life-critical safe work practices, cGMP, ISO, and other compliance activities.
• Serve as High Hazard Coordinator and Event Commander, including support within the Emergency Operations Center when required.
• Enter, document, and investigate incidents, including tracking incident progression through resolution.
• Coordinate with maintenance, contractors, engineering, and plant leadership to support safe and efficient operations.
• Facilitate on-the-job training, certification completion, department transfers, and staffing schedules.
• Act as the primary escalation point for issues beyond the capability of the 24/7 operations team.
• Participate in Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSR), SDR activities, and incident investigations.
• Control schedule-break work orders and ensure workflow processes are followed.
• Facilitate EMOC activities in accordance with established processes.
• Analyze process data, batch sheets, logs, and work orders to identify trends, issues, and improvement opportunities.
• Complete failure analyses and implement changes based on resulting actions.

What This Role Is Not:

• Not an entry-level position – we need a candidate to hit the ground running with solid experience and a background to prove it

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• Must be able to work 12-hour rotating shifts.
• HS Diploma or equivalent
• Minimum of seven years of chemical plant manufacturing experience.
• Minimum of five years’ supervisory experience in manufacturing, with a proven ability to effectively lead and manage others.
• Provide a proven track record of positive impacts to chemical process manufacturing, plant safety rules and regulations, Process Safety Management (PSM), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), environmental compliance standards, site Quality processes, and budgetary cost control. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and have the ability to interface well with employees at all levels, especially with members of the Site Leadership Team and Corporate management.  
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, SAP, and Product Suite.
• Demonstrated responsible and ethical behavior at all times
• The ability to help the company drive greater value through understanding the business, making complex decisions, and creating new and different

The following skill sets are preferred by the business unit:

• AA technical Degree or Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certified.
• Experience using Delta V, ASPEN, Maximo, and Coupa.
• ISO knowledge.
• Strong mathematical and mechanical aptitude.
• Previous experience supervising union employees.