Interim Operations Manager

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

We are currently recruiting for an Interim Manufacturing / Production Manager to join the Senior Leadership Team at our Cheese Powder production facility in Glamsbjerg, southern Denmark. The successful candidate will assume responsibility for a 24/7 manufacturing operation with 6 direct reports and a total team of 70 employees.  You will play a key role in taking the site to the next level with a focus on driving performance through optimised WoW, standardisation, digitisation and developing talent.  We are looking for an accomplished and ambitious manufacturing professional who is keen to progress their career and become a Plant Manager in the future.

Key responsibilities

As Interim Operations Manger you will have responsibility for:
 

• Developing and implementing a site operational strategy to meet the goals of the site and overall business strategy.
• Delivery of:
  • Safety, Quality, Service, Cost and Sustainability targets at site
  • Site Organisational Health targets (Leadership, Simplification and Career Development)
  • Site level productivity, asset management, performance and efficiencies in line with business terms
• Deputise in the Plant Manager’s absence, driving performance and managing issues in line with escalation criteria.
• Working with and through direct reports to promote a collaborative and positive working environment where all employees are focused on achieving production, quality and safety targets and standards.
• Ensure that robust people management processes are consistently applied to manage grievances, absence, poor performance and non-conformity within the manufacturing team.
• Instilling a ‘Safety First, Quality Always’ approach and creating a high-performance culture where continuous improvement is embraced.
• Manage and own total cost of conversion on site, focusing on systems & operational activity standardisation and improvement
• Analysis of production performance data to identify performance gaps, trends and improvement opportunities.
• Manage internal and external audits, and non-standard investigations (where applicable)
• Work with the Engineering function in defining the capital requirements for the site in-line with good asset management, NPI and the need to drive improvements and efficiencies in production.
• Escalate issues where required to the Plant Manager / regional functional teams.
• Ensure deployment of 1 Kerry plant Transformation through the Manufacturing teams
• As part of a wider project team assist and manage the delivery of key projects that have an impact on operations

Qualifications and skills

To be successful in this role we are looking for a positive can-do attitude as well as your qualifications and previous experience as Production / Operations Manager.  The ideal candidate will ideally have the following:
 

• Proven track record of leading and motivating large teams to succeed by utilising appropriate management styles, leading by example, setting objectives and defining responsibilities to give a clear sense of direction and purpose.
• Passionate about managing performance, leading and developing people
• Similar experience as manufacturing or operations manager within a high-volume, high pace manufacturing environment, preferably food, chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Experience of the dairy industry or Spray Dryer processes is highly desirable.
• Strong IT Systems, digitization and methodology experience (SAP, MS Office packages, Lean Processes, Continuous Improvement etc.)
• Highly organised and analytical with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving
• Experience and knowledge of Health & Safety legislation and ideally, food safety standards.
• Excellent communication skills with a positive ‘can-do’ attitude and the ability to positively champion change.
• Fluent spoken Danish and English skills are required
   

In Kerry we know that sometimes the perfect candidate doesn’t exist, and people can be put off applying for a role if they don’t fit all the requirements. If you are excited about working for us and have the majority of the skills or experience, then please do apply as you could be exactly what we are looking for.