Plant Manager - Poultry

The Plant Manager has full responsibility for the safety, quality, and performance of a poultry processing facility. This role provides strategic and operational leadership across production, food safety, maintenance, supply chain, and people management to deliver cost-effective, compliant, and reliable operations while fostering a strong safety and food safety culture.

Key Responsibilities

Overall Plant Leadership & Performance

• Provide end-to-end leadership for all plant operations, including production, FSQA, maintenance, sanitation, warehousing, and support functions.

• Own plant-level performance metrics including safety, quality, service, cost, yield, labor efficiency, and OEE.

• Develop and execute annual operating plans, budgets, and capital initiatives aligned with business objectives.

• Drive accountability and performance management across leadership and frontline teams.

Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with USDA-FSIS regulations, HACCP, SSOPs, GMPs, and company food safety standards.

• Serve as the senior plant representative for regulatory agencies, customer audits, and third-party certifications.

• Champion a best-in-class food safety and quality culture across all functions and shifts.

• Lead crisis management activities including product holds, recalls, and regulatory escalations.

People Leadership & Culture

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing plant leadership team.

• Promote a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment.

• Partner with HR on talent development, succession planning, labor relations, and workforce stability.

• Set expectations for leadership presence, engagement, and accountability on the plant floor.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to improve yield, throughput, labor efficiency, and cost performance.

• Ensure equipment reliability through effective maintenance and capital planning.

• Lead standardization and best-practice deployment across departments and shifts.

• Support long-term operational scalability and automation strategies.

Cross-Functional & Enterprise Collaboration

• Partner with Sales, Supply Chain, FSQA, and Corporate teams to align production capabilities with customer demand.

• Provide transparent communication and reporting to executive leadership.

• Support new product launches, capacity expansions, and strategic growth initiatives.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, Animal Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in poultry or protein manufacturing.

• Proven success leading large, complex, USDA-regulated operations.

• Strong financial acumen with experience managing plant budgets and capital investments.

• Demonstrated ability to lead large hourly and salaried teams in a high-volume environment.

Preferred

• Experience managing multi-shift or multi-department poultry operations.

• Lean manufacturing / Continuous Improvement experience.

• Strong understanding of animal welfare, food safety, and regulatory expectations.

• Bilingual (English/Spanish) preferred.

Physical & Work Environment

• Work performed in a poultry processing environment with exposure to cold, wet conditions, noise, and production floor activity.

• Requires significant on-site presence and flexible hours to support operations.