Regional Food Manufacturing Director - Multi-site

We are seeking a Regional Manufacturing Director to lead operations across a defined network of manufacturing facilities. This role provides strategic and operational leadership to Plant Managers and site leadership teams, ensuring consistent performance in safety, quality, cost, service, and people development across the region.

The Regional Manufacturing Director is accountable for driving operational excellence, improving financial performance, and building strong leadership capability within each facility.

Multi-Site Manufacturing Leadership Required

• Lead multiple manufacturing plants within an assigned region, ensuring consistent execution of safety, quality, cost, delivery, and engagement standards.
• Provide oversight of Production, Maintenance, Scheduling, Sanitation, and Warehouse Operations across sites.
• Establish operational alignment and consistency across all regional facilities; escalate significant risks or performance gaps to executive leadership.
• Develop and execute regional manufacturing strategies to improve competitiveness, efficiency, and profitability.
• Lead Lean manufacturing and TPM initiatives to maximize equipment reliability and operational throughput.
• Drive measurable improvements in labor productivity, on-time delivery, cost control, waste reduction, and margin expansion.
• Own regional operating performance including budgeting, cost analysis, and P&L accountability.
• Monitor and improve KPIs across sites; optimize materials planning, inventory management, and asset utilization to enhance cash flow.
• Champion a strong safety culture; ensure compliance with environmental, health, and safety regulations.
• Maintain adherence to GMPs, HACCP, SQF, and third-party audit requirements; partner with Quality for product integrity and audit readiness.
• Lead, coach, and develop Plant Managers and site leadership teams; build succession plans and leadership continuity.
• Partner with HR to strengthen engagement, accountability, and performance management; set clear performance expectations.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Finance, Supply Chain, R&D, Purchasing, EH&S, and Quality to meet business objectives.
• Support new product introductions by evaluating manufacturing feasibility, capacity, and cost structure.
• Ensure strong coordination among production, materials planning, and distribution to achieve service goals.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Food Science, or a related field.
• Minimum 10 years of manufacturing experience with proven multi-site leadership responsibility.
• Food manufacturing experience required, including familiarity with plant operations and sanitation.
• Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, TPM, and operational excellence methodologies.
• Working knowledge of SQF Level III, HACCP, GMPs, and audit/compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated financial acumen with operational P&L ownership and budgeting experience.
• Proven ability to drive KPI improvement in safety, quality, delivery, labor productivity, and cost.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and coordinating production, planning, and distribution.
• Exceptional leadership, coaching, communication, and change-management skills.
• Track record of building high-performing teams, succession planning, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

STI bonus $72K, LTI bonus equates to $400K over 5 year period

MissionHires is the AI hiring partner of top talent teams. Our platform helps recruiters, agencies, and top companies source, engage with, and evaluate top talent 10 times faster than job boards.

To bridge the gap between companies and passionate talent.