Plant Manager Jobs

Columbia Forest Products is looking for a Plant Manager for the Kitchener, Ontario manufacturing facility. This is an opportunity to be a significant contributor with the premier North American supplier of decorative hardwood veneer and plywood. The successful candidate should have 4 to 7 years experience in a manufacturing operation. The Plant Manager will be responsible for Safety, Quality, Productivity, Cost, Delivery, and P&L for the facility. This position reports directly to the Canadian VP of Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Directs, leads, and engages employees to relentlessly improve performance in our safety, quality, productivity, customer delivery, and costs. The focus is to get our processes right so the end results will come with time.
2. Demonstrates, expects, and models the principles of the Columbia Way including: continuous improvement, getting our boots on to go and see, respect for each other, teamwork/engagement, problem solving, self-initiative in learning, and discipline in our execution and our foundational values of customer service, integrity, family, and sharing the success.
3. Drives equipment and process reliability through TPM, PdM, and basic equipment care practices.
4. Responsible for initiating and managing yearly budget requirements
5. Responsible for initiating and managing capital improvements.
6. Teaches and coaches employees in standard work, "waste" reduction, and use of lean tools.
7. Champion of daily management system walks, data gathering, and problem solving at all levels.
8. Leads and drives problem-solving...both "seeing" issues and using a methodical approach to attacking problems. Involving the whole team to help us improve processes through aggressive problem solving.

Customers Served:

All external customers, Employee owners, External vendors, team members at other CFP locations, Suppliers, our community in which we live and work.

Qualifications:

Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Ability to delegate.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively with employees at all levels
• Ability to handle multiple tasks. Some travel required.
• Ability to interview, hire, and train employees; plan, assign, and direct work; appraise performance; reward and discipline employees; address complaints and resolve problems.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.
• Basic computer literacy - word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail.
• Familiarity with the entire process for manufacturing hardwood veneer and plywood.
• Knowledgeable of wood species and production requirements.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Good understanding of basic accounting principles.
• Willing to learn and be coached
• Ability to carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws.

Education/licensure:

Bachelor's degree preferred

Experience:

Four to seven years of experience in wood products or a related field. Previous supervisory experience and Engineering experience a plus.

Work Environment:

This position performs tasks in the production area, offices, and outside areas, therefore, will be exposed to heat, cold, noise, dust, moving belts, pulleys, and gears.

Performance Standards:

1. Quality: Responsible for promoting and maintaining quality products and for ensuring that quality is taught to all employees
2. Responsibility for plant process and outcomes: Full responsibility for plant safety, quality, productivity, service, and costs.
3. Confidential Data: Access to confidential employee records, budgets, products and processes.

Key Competencies:

Hungry: desires continuous improvement as a way of working and being

Problem Solver: uses 5 whys & 8 step problem solving method to drive learning and improvement

Team Player: Understands need for strong team dynamics and pulls team together to get things done

Humble: Willing to Lean, be coachable and has a willingness to be curious

Organized: can multi-task and manage multiple projects

Respect for Team Members - emotionally intelligent, ability to listen and work with diversity in/of people

Willing to “go and see” for problem solving, learning, and improvement (not lead from an office-go to the gemba)

Manage within the tension of conflicting goals (i.e. able to prioritize)

Effective communicator: able to effectively present information to individuals, small groups, and large groups

Bought into LEAN principles as the way of doing business: safety focus, waste reduction, champions of standard work, pull systems, learning & performance thru problem solving, customer focus