Red Kite Recruiting
Assistant Plant Manager – Director of Operations, Integrator, Team Management, Process Improvement, and Workforce Planning
This range is provided by Red Kite Recruiting. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.
Base pay range $130,000.00/yr - $150,000.00/yr
Direct message the job poster from Red Kite Recruiting
We’re seeking a hands‑on, people‑centered
Assistant Plant Manager
to lead day‑to‑day execution across harvest, fabrication, packaging, rendering, and hides at a modern beef processing facility. This is a
high‑impact leadership role
for someone who thrives on the production floor, values operational excellence, and knows how to build strong relationships across all levels of the plant.
As the Assistant Plant Manager, you’ll serve as the operational right hand to the General Manager, providing the floor presence, leadership, and coordination needed to support a growing facility scaling from 525+ toward 600+ employees. You’ll coach department managers, strengthen processes, ensure technical and quality standards are met, and drive performance through visibility, communication, and consistency.
Why This Role Stands Out:
Leadership on the Floor-
Be a daily presence across all production areas: harvest, fabrication, packaging, hides, and rendering, ensuring safety, quality, flow, and execution. You’ll be the second set of eyes the operation needs as it continues to grow.
Beef Operations Expertise-
Use your harvest and/or fabrication experience to guide technical decisions, maintain compliance with USDA and export requirements, and support managers in problem‑solving and process control. Beef experience is required.
Execution & Continuous Improvement-
Remove operational bottlenecks, strengthen daily execution, and help implement improvements that support capacity expansion, including ongoing cooler and drip system upgrades.
Collaborative, People‑Focused Culture-
Bring a leadership style rooted in humility, presence, and personal connection. A “warm, approachable, handshake‑and‑eye‑contact” leader will thrive here.
Impact & Growth-
This is a newly created role, meaning you have the unique opportunity to shape it. It’s ideal for a strong Operations Manager or Assistant Plant Manager ready for a broader scope in a growing facility.
What You’ll Do:
Lead, mentor, and align department managers across harvest, fabrication, packaging, rendering, and hides.
Maintain a strong, daily floor presence, observing flow, supporting teams, enforcing standards, and addressing operational gaps.
Ensure consistent execution of production schedules, quality specs, and technical requirements.
Strengthen safety, food safety, and regulatory compliance in partnership with QA, USDA, and plant leadership.
Support the General Manager by absorbing day‑to‑day operational responsibilities, freeing capacity for strategic leadership.
Monitor performance metrics such as throughput, yield, downtime, labor efficiency, and waste.
Communicate clearly across shifts and departments to ensure alignment and continuity.
Contribute to CapEx initiatives, providing input, helping implement projects, and improving operational infrastructure.
Build trust and engagement by being approachable, visible, and supportive.
Help develop a culture where supervisors and managers feel empowered, supported, and accountable.
What You Bring:
Beef processing experience is required
(harvest and/or fabrication leadership).
5–10+ years of leadership experience in beef operations, ideally as a Senior Operations Manager, Assistant Plant Manager, or department leader overseeing multiple areas.
Proven ability to lead through visibility, spending meaningful time on the floor, and building rapport with teams.
Strong technical understanding of beef processing, quality, yields, specs, and operational flow.
Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, able to influence, coach, and inspire.
Humble leadership style with the ability to learn first and drive change second.
Experience collaborating with maintenance, safety, QA, HR, and engineering in a fast‑paced plant environment.
Familiarity with CapEx implementation or operational project leadership preferred.
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Management and Manufacturing
Industries
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
#J-18808-Ljbffr
Base pay range $130,000.00/yr - $150,000.00/yr
Direct message the job poster from Red Kite Recruiting
We’re seeking a hands‑on, people‑centered
Assistant Plant Manager
to lead day‑to‑day execution across harvest, fabrication, packaging, rendering, and hides at a modern beef processing facility. This is a
high‑impact leadership role
for someone who thrives on the production floor, values operational excellence, and knows how to build strong relationships across all levels of the plant.
As the Assistant Plant Manager, you’ll serve as the operational right hand to the General Manager, providing the floor presence, leadership, and coordination needed to support a growing facility scaling from 525+ toward 600+ employees. You’ll coach department managers, strengthen processes, ensure technical and quality standards are met, and drive performance through visibility, communication, and consistency.
Why This Role Stands Out:
Leadership on the Floor-
Be a daily presence across all production areas: harvest, fabrication, packaging, hides, and rendering, ensuring safety, quality, flow, and execution. You’ll be the second set of eyes the operation needs as it continues to grow.
Beef Operations Expertise-
Use your harvest and/or fabrication experience to guide technical decisions, maintain compliance with USDA and export requirements, and support managers in problem‑solving and process control. Beef experience is required.
Execution & Continuous Improvement-
Remove operational bottlenecks, strengthen daily execution, and help implement improvements that support capacity expansion, including ongoing cooler and drip system upgrades.
Collaborative, People‑Focused Culture-
Bring a leadership style rooted in humility, presence, and personal connection. A “warm, approachable, handshake‑and‑eye‑contact” leader will thrive here.
Impact & Growth-
This is a newly created role, meaning you have the unique opportunity to shape it. It’s ideal for a strong Operations Manager or Assistant Plant Manager ready for a broader scope in a growing facility.
What You’ll Do:
Lead, mentor, and align department managers across harvest, fabrication, packaging, rendering, and hides.
Maintain a strong, daily floor presence, observing flow, supporting teams, enforcing standards, and addressing operational gaps.
Ensure consistent execution of production schedules, quality specs, and technical requirements.
Strengthen safety, food safety, and regulatory compliance in partnership with QA, USDA, and plant leadership.
Support the General Manager by absorbing day‑to‑day operational responsibilities, freeing capacity for strategic leadership.
Monitor performance metrics such as throughput, yield, downtime, labor efficiency, and waste.
Communicate clearly across shifts and departments to ensure alignment and continuity.
Contribute to CapEx initiatives, providing input, helping implement projects, and improving operational infrastructure.
Build trust and engagement by being approachable, visible, and supportive.
Help develop a culture where supervisors and managers feel empowered, supported, and accountable.
What You Bring:
Beef processing experience is required
(harvest and/or fabrication leadership).
5–10+ years of leadership experience in beef operations, ideally as a Senior Operations Manager, Assistant Plant Manager, or department leader overseeing multiple areas.
Proven ability to lead through visibility, spending meaningful time on the floor, and building rapport with teams.
Strong technical understanding of beef processing, quality, yields, specs, and operational flow.
Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, able to influence, coach, and inspire.
Humble leadership style with the ability to learn first and drive change second.
Experience collaborating with maintenance, safety, QA, HR, and engineering in a fast‑paced plant environment.
Familiarity with CapEx implementation or operational project leadership preferred.
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Full‑time
Job function
Management and Manufacturing
Industries
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
#J-18808-Ljbffr