Plant Director

Requisition ID 67339 
Position Type FT Permanent 
Workplace Arrangement  #LI-Onsite

## 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

The Plant Director is accountable for leading the plant team to deliver Safety, Quality, Service, Sustainability and Cost targets while enabling business growth through a high-performing culture.

The role builds the site’s capability through effective capacity, resource and talent development. It also partners with commercial and RD&A to deliver on the markets growth strategies and End Use Market strategies with manufacturing planning and performance.

## Role Priorities

- Deliver agreed Safety, Quality, Service, Cost and Sustainability targets.
- Deploy the 1 Kerry Plant System and embed a Continuous Improvement mindset.
- Improve employee engagement and plant performance.
- Ensure appropriate functional resources are available locally, supported by central capabilities.

## Key responsibilities

- Own end-to-end operations within the plant and deliver agreed performance targets.
- Champion a Safety First, Quality Always culture and ensure effective implementation of FSQ, HSE and QHSE standards.
- Improve organisational health through focused employee-engagement plans.
- Lead plant productivity, asset performance and operational efficiency.
- Develop the plant strategy and master schedule in line with growth and manufacturing plans.
- Embed Continuous Improvement and encourage teams to identify and deliver efficiency opportunities.
- Build a high-performance culture by coaching and empowering the plant leadership team.
- Ensure the right talent and capabilities are in place through effective recruitment, development and succession planning.
- Ensure appropriate training supports the sustainable deployment of Kerry standards and systems, including SAP.
- Maintain clear two-way communication so employees understand plant and business performance.
- Lead change initiatives involving automation, digital capabilities and sustainability.
- Apply disciplined performance management, recognising achievement and addressing performance gaps.
- Own plant capital prioritisation and planning within agreed approval parameters.
- Build the plant’s community profile through local partnerships and stakeholder engagement.
- Connect plant priorities with commercial and End Use Market strategies.
- Support New Product Development and clarify implications for cost, service and on-time delivery.
- Define plant acceptance criteria with the relevant New Product Introduction lead.
- Continually assess and improve manufacturing capability against customer expectations.
- Contribute plant-level insight to manufacturing-footprint decisions.
- Share best practices across Kerry’s plant network.
- Resolve risks to plant performance in partnership with QHSE, Engineering, Supply Chain and Procurement.
- Partner with RD&A and Engineering to improve process-technology performance.
- Act as the Technical Receiver for advanced manufacturing and automation opportunities.

## Key Stakeholders

Internal Plant Leadership and plant teams; COO and Regional Manufacturing; Commercial and RDA, Sub-Regional and Systems Product Managers; QHSE; Supply Chain; Engineering; Procurement; Continuous Improvement; Operations Finance; HR; and ICT.

External Customers, community partners and relevant local statutory bodies.

## Qualifications and skills

- Relevant degree or professional qualification — Engineering or Quality or Supply chain
- Required years of experience — a minimum of 10 years
- Desired industry experience — Manufacturing, ideally in food and beverage
- Demonstrated leadership of complex manufacturing operations
- Strong knowledge of safety, quality, service, cost and sustainability
- Continuous Improvement and operational-excellence capability
- Strong commercial judgement and strategic planning skills
- Effective communication, coaching and stakeholder-management skills
- Data-led performance management and problem-solving capability

## What Success Looks Like

- A positive customer experience reflected in relevant NPS measures.
- Strong safety performance across incidents, near misses and hazards.
- Improved quality, including complaints and Right First Time measures.
- Reliable service and Attainment to Plan.
- Delivery of Cost of Goods Manufactured targets.
- Progress against sustainability targets, including Scope 2 CO₂ emissions.
- Improved organisational health and employee engagement.
- Delivery of plant-transformation and process-technology targets.

Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.

Recruiter #LI-MH1 
Posting Type LI