Location: McAllen, TX

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Description:

The General Manager (GM) will provide overall management of the McAllen Facility under the direction of the Company’s Chief Operating Officer. The Employee will be responsible for directing all phases of facility operations including, but not limited to scheduling, receiving, processing, treating, storing and shipping fresh produce, food safety and good manufacturing practices, quality control, safety and health, maintenance, administration, accounting, customer service, community and industry outreach and security. Responsibilities will also include general upkeep of the facility, implementation of capital improvements, recruiting, hiring, appraisal and training facility personnel and the supervision of outsourced service providers including the McAllen 3PL partner. In addition, the Employee will be responsible for annual facility budget planning and execution and working closely with the Company’s Executive Officers to increase productivity and profitability of the McAllen Facility. The Employee will also serve as the Company’s most senior manager in McAllen, Texas and will act as the Company’s primary liaison and point-of-contact with State and local officials.

 

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide leadership for the successful day-to-day operation of the McAllen Facility 

• Oversees contractual service level agreements and manages day to day operations with managed labor service provider and works in collaboration with FHI to meet detailed Key Performance Indicators and benchmarks.

• Ensures that all food safety processes are implemented, administered and managed according to food safety regulations and Facility requirements 

• Work closely with plant and quality assurance personnel to review service quality consistency to determine trends and areas of improvement 

• Review processing departments, including ECP, to ensure established inventory levels are met while operating at the highest efficiency possible

• Overall responsibility for ensuring that staffing and competency levels are achieved/exceeded in all aspects of the treatment process  

• Develop and execute the plant manufacturing budgets, including relevant departments accountable to the achievement of budgets 

• Analyze workforce requirements 

• Conduct performance appraisals and provide coaching and guidance to all operations managers 

• Encourage and promote operations in a continuous improvement environment 

• Make recommendations to improve efficiencies and enhance productivity 

• Work in collaboration with Marketing and Quality Assurance Divisions to develop and bring to market new service offerings 

• Develop and improve supplier relationships for all Facility inputs 

• Maintain primary processing equipment and ancillary services 

• Work with local city, state, and federal elected officials to promote brand and to execute strategic long term policy initiatives which serve to enhance industry initiatives

• Serve as liaison between us and local business community, develop strong networking relationships with key individuals

• Ensure schedules are met while being able to manage ongoing capital improvements and ongoing construction projects. 

 

OH&S / Quality Systems:

• Responsible for oversight of Quality Management Systems (PRIMUSGFS Food Safety Management System and HACCP programs)

• Responsible for employee safety, ensure successful implementation of facility Safety Health and Environmental (SHE) programs 

• Work closely with Occupational Health and Safety Manager to ensure all members of responsibility of this role are aware of safety requirements, both legislative and company policies/procedures, to provide a safe workplace for our employees 

• Maintain and support a superior safety and housekeeping program, including all timely communication initiatives 

• Promote the proactive reporting of workplace hazards identified during the course of work to the appropriate person, following standard operating procedures 

• Ensure adherence to the relevant quality standards, confer with the appropriate personnel on application of methods, production standards and food safety programs 

• Responsible for ensuring the Business Continuity Plan, in consultation with the Chief Executive, is current and that regular drills are conducted with a view to maintaining the continuity in the event of an emergency

• Must follow all instruction related to Food Defense, Good Manufacturing Practices, and HACCP program. Must stop and report to the Food Safety Department any problem or irregular situation they are made aware of related to food safety or social responsibility.

• Responsible for proper use of all mixing chemicals used in the maintenance process and cleaning/sanitation,.   Maintain logs and documents related with food safety and chemical use. Maintaining all licenses or only using properly licensed contractors for application of any chemicals. Keeping MSDS information for the product that they use.

• To assure employees are trained annually or as needed in food safety, the usage of Food Grade and Non-Food Grade chemicals used.  Periodic inspections, chemical inventory, chemical storage, chemicals and supplies request and receiving. To verify logs and documents related with Food Safety are being filled out and kept in a clean and orderly way.

• Required to follow all quality system requirements for position and facility operations

• Required to comply with and ensure all general safety, OSHA, USDA/APHIS, FDA and State of Texas regulations for position and facility operations. 

 

Qualifications:

• Minimum B.S. degree in a Manufacturing/Management and/or Operations discipline or other related field 

• 7+ years progressive experience in a key leadership/management role at a food manufacturing facility 

• Previous experience/strong understanding of budgeting/expense management with a basic understanding of financial and accounting practices 

• Strong computer skills including the ability to prepare spreadsheets and use Microsoft Office Products (Word, Excel, Power Point and/or Access) to analyze data and trends 

• Previous experience/best practices implementing and using continuous improvement/lean tools such as; Six Sigma, 5-S, Lean Manufacturing, Transactional Lean, etc. to drive improvement 

• Previous experience/broad understanding of safety systems and enforcement of safety/food safety rules and policies

• Knowledge of fresh produce industry supply chain, from grower/shippers through retail and foodservice outlets 

• Strong team building, decision management, and people management skills

• Familiarity with industry standards and logistics flow

• Must be willing to travel when required

• Must be willing to work overtime weekends, holidays as required

 

Interpersonal Skills:

• Demonstrated strong leadership, team building and advanced coaching skills

• Demonstrated ability to motivate people, assess and develop employee skills 

• Ability to work with teams and lead decision-making processes in a team environment 

• Excellent interpersonal communication and listening ability 

• Experience and comfort with public speaking

 

Management Skills:

• Demonstrated understanding of the principles and applications associated with manufacturing operations, maintenance and engineering

• Must possess excellent presentation and analytical skills as well as the ability to effectively communication with all levels, both verbal & written. 

• Bilingual in English/Spanish strongly preferred