Plant Director - Home Chef

Founded in 2013, Home Chef is the leading meal solutions company with both a retail and online presence. Available online at homechef.com and in retail at more than 2,100 Kroger grocery stores, Home Chef is committed to inspiring and enabling more people to cook simple, delicious meals, no matter how busy they are.

Similar to our recipes, we recognize that variety is the spice of life, and therefore, our employees also bring their uniqueness and color to our fantastic team. We’re eager to work with humble team players and pragmatic next-level thinkers to innovate on Home Chef’s offerings.

The Plant Director provides the vision, leadership, and coaching needed to develop and maintain the competencies, performance, and collaboration of all departmental employees within the plant. This pivotal role is designed for a strategic thinker who excels in creative problem-solving and has a passion for optimizing operations through effective process improvements and data-driven decisions.

Establishes Plant Strategy for Quality, On Time Fulfillment

• Establishes and communicates the vision and strategy for on-time fulfillment of all meals as forecasted
• Oversees plant department managers as they monitor the day-to-day operations in the pursuit of on time fulfillment
• Signs off on staffing needs to support the execution of all plant functions
• Establishes and maintains effective, trusting relationships with all departments including production, warehouse, continuous improvement, procurement, quality, sanitation, maintenance, safety, and inventory 
• Reviews department strategy with department leaders to ensure proactive preparation for daily and future production challenges
• Actively anticipates issues impacting on time fulfillment and troubleshoots in advance
• Partners closely with the corporate support teams to troubleshoot barriers to ongoing fulfillment success

People Development & Culture:

• Provides coaching, mentoring and development that enables and optimizes the team’s effectiveness. Establishes, monitors and reviews individual and team performance.
• Behaves in accordance with Home Chef’s “Customer First” core value and drives “Customer First” behavior on the floor 
• Schedules and leads weekly meetings with both leadership and larger plant team to communicate previous performance, upcoming goals, and other relevant information
• Supports and enables positive employee relations-i.e. fair treatment and respect for all employees. Works with HR to address employee concerns/requests in a timely manner.
• With guidance from HR, initiates employee discipline and corrective actions, as required and consistent with company policies and in compliance with federal, state and local laws.
• Assists in talent management processes (i.e. recruitment for department leads and other company positions (as deemed applicable), recommendation of merit increases, promotions, etc.)
• Responsible for developing a positive work environment through servant leadership and holds management team accountable for fostering and living out that culture

Management to KPI’s:

• Manages to weekly and quarterly KPI targets, exhibiting an ability to develop and implement a plan of action to improve KPIs
• Lead and mentor a team focused on process optimization and data management to enhance business efficiency and productivity.
• Identify, analyze, and improve upon existing business processes within the organization for better performance, scalability, and sustainability.
• Drive the development and implementation of strategies through data analysis, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and security of data across all systems.
• Collaborate with various departments to facilitate data-driven decision-making, supporting the overall business strategy and objectives.
• Establish and monitor performance metrics to assess the effectiveness of process improvements and data management practices and associated expenditures. Utilize advanced analytical and statistical tools to interpret complex data, provide insights, and suggest innovative solutions to business challenges.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation by encouraging creativity and proactive problem-solving among team members.
• Prepare and present reports to senior management, outlining process improvements, data insights, and the impact on business goals.
• Owns the financial performance of the plant week over week and exhibits detailed understanding of cost drivers

Facility Organization & Management

• Embodies and holds the team accountable to living out our “Safety First, Quality Always” operating principle.
• Sets a high standard for facility organization and holds team accountable for maintaining a “clean, clear, and organized plant” per the Home Chef values
• Promotes a strong and healthy/safety culture via compliance with policies, procedures and regulations which ensures that a safe work environment is maintained for all employees/customers. (This includes participation in safety-related training, incident reviews and corrective actions and continuous improvement through safety audits and suggestions for improvement.)
• Oversees WMS implementation within the plant and serves as a champion for the system
• Drives adoption of new tools and technologies across all departments and levels

Continuous Improvement & Change Management:

• Sponsor Innovation: Encourage innovative thinking among team members to challenge the status quo and generate new ideas that drive continuous improvement.
• Implements plans to correct and resolve any problems that are identified, determine the “root cause”, and oversee specific corrective action(s) for continuous improvement.
• Manage Change Effectively: Oversee the change management processes associated with implementing improvements, ensuring smooth transitions and minimal disruption and partners with Home Chef Continuous improvement team to ensure successful rollout of continuous improvement initiatives
• Holds team to a high standard for adherence to standard operating procedures and demonstrates initiative in identifying and implementing changes to improve workflow and standard processes
• Supports the implementation of and holds the team accountable to the effective and continuous use of operator technology
• Work closely with different departments to ensure that continuous improvement efforts align with overall business objectives and are integrated seamlessly into daily operations.

General Responsibilities:

• Follows the facility safety policies and GMP’s and help enforce them throughout the facility
• Supports the efforts of the company to maintain our food safety system (SQF) and quality programs

This position requires 5% travel.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability needed for this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities.

• Completion of a two-year program such as an Associate degree in business, organizational management, operations, supply chain, or related field, preferred
  
• Start- up experience or experience with a fast- growing company, desired
• 5+ Years experience owning and improving KPIs
• Excellent relationship building and collaborative leadership skills
• Experience creating a strong, positive work environment
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead teams
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong decision-making and people management skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Computer proficiency (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel or Google Sheets, PowerPoint and large scale   applications)
• Ability to manage multiple expectations
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills

Perks and benefits:

• Candidates can experience Home Chef as a customer - enter promo code PEOPLE30 for $30 off your first order!
• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance available
• Paid holidays, sick time and vacation time
• 401k program
• Flexible spending accounts for qualified medical, dependent care, parking, or transit expenses

How We Work Together

We are humble team players.
We are warm and gracious with team members and customers. We seek feedback to improve ourselves - and respectfully listen to and accept input.

We are pragmatic next-level thinkers.
We come up with novel and unique ideas. We explore new strategies to avoid being constrained by conventional thinking.

We take ownership.
We approach ambiguous problems, prepared to dive in, get curious, and learn more. We are results-driven, always challenging ourselves to exceed goals.

Be at Home at Home Chef

We all show up authentically at Home Chef. Our team includes individuals with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and perspectives. You can trust that you’ll be able to bring your whole self to an inclusive and enjoyable workplace.

We welcome people of all races, colors, religions, national origin or ancestry, sex (including sexual identity), age, physical or mental disabilities, pregnancy, veteran or military status, unfavorable discharge from military service, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, order of protection status, citizenship status, arrest record or expunged/sealed convictions, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local law.

Home Chef is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Home Chef will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact our People team at hr@homechef.com.

Home Chef is an equal opportunity employer.

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