Rumiano Cheese Company is California's oldest family-owned cheese company, dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of the highest quality cheese. Our focus is providing our customers with the utmost service and quality that we achieve by exceeding their expectations in all ways. Our success is measured by our loyalty to our employees and vendors and to the success of our customers. Our long-lasting success is due in part to our talented team, which has included four generations of the Rumiano family.

Position Description

We are looking for a hands-on yet strategic Plant Manager / Director of Operations to join our team - directing plant operations while driving strategic initiatives, continuous improvement, optimizing processes and mentoring team members. The position is based in Willows, California.

Responsibilities

• Lead and direct optimum day-to-day plant operations to produce maximum business return; ensure rigor and consistency in planning, scheduling and production tracking
• Responsible for achieving plant production goals while setting the highest standards in product quality, low costs, and customer satisfaction
• Implement strategic initiatives and provide a clear sense of direction and focus; assist in the design and implementation of capital projects
• Develop systems and processes that optimize productivity and standards, metrics and performance targets to ensure effective return on assets; formulate and develop operating budget
• Share a trusting relationship with workgroup, and recruit, manage and develop plant staff
• Develop a well-trained and motivated staff by fostering team work and accountability to company
• Stay current with latest production management and industry best practices to help continually evolve our products and business
• Maintain a clean, effective, efficient, orderly and safe plant; direct plant policies and procedures; manage plant safety procedures and reporting
• Confer with department heads to ensure coordination of production, quality assurance, purchasing, planning, administration/human resources, maintenance and shipping
• Collect and analyze data to find waste or overtime and implement continuous improvement
• Proactively monitor, maintain and repair all production equipment and fixed assets including buildings, grounds and storage facilities
• Establish and maintain a positive employee, vendor/supplier, farmer and public service agency relationship

Qualifications

• BA/BS in industrial, mechanical or business administration, a 4-year technical degree in related discipline or equivalent work experience
• 10+ years in a manufacturing management, preferably in process-oriented operations; 5+ years in a food production environment (ideally in the cheese industry)
• Proven work experience as a plant or production manager; demonstrated managerial experience
• Ability to leverage operational experience to think and act strategically
• Experience with purchasing, production planning, packaging, quality, continuous improvement, maintenance, food processing and food safety practices
• Knowledge of business and management principles (budgeting, strategic planning, resource allocation and human resources)
• Familiarity with industry standard equipment and technical expertise
• Knowledgeable of safety, quality, productivity, demand creation, inventory and stewardship processes
• Excellent communication, collaboration, team building, mentoring and people management skills
• Ability to create accountability, lead by example and positively influence others
• High level of integrity and honesty; excellent work ethic and ownership
• Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment, ability to make decisions, solve practical problems and deal with a variety of changing situations
• Experience with USDA, GMP’s, SQF, HACCP, OSHA, EHS, and Ammonia
• Bilingual (Spanish speaking a plus)

Rumiano Cheese seeks diversity among our staff and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Rumiano Cheese Company is partnering with Northwood Advisors on this search. Northwood Advisors helps growth-minded companies improve decision-making at the heart of their operations through a unique combination of talent acquisition, organizational and people development, consulting projects and access to on-demand business and technology strategists, data scientists, project managers, analysts, engineers and analytical platform.