How you will make history here...
The Senior Manager, Manufacturing Operations and OPEX leads plant operations for an assigned functional area, driving performance across Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, and People. The role owns execution of business objectives through strong leadership, operational rigor, and deployment of Operational Excellence (OPEX) principles aligned to the Campbell Way of Working.
This leader manages day-to-day operations, ensures safety and quality compliance, drives cost improvement, and builds a high-performing, engaged team. The role partners with Plant Leadership and cross-functional teams to deliver sustained performance and lead site transformation, and requires the ability to inspire trust, drive decisions, build talent, and own results.
What you will do...
Leadership & People Development
- Lead and develop a team of frontline leaders, driving accountability, engagement, and high performance.
- Build leadership capability through coaching, succession planning, and talent development.
- Foster a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and strong employee relations.
Operational Excellence (OPEX) & Continuous Improvement
- Own and deploy OPEX strategy and execution across the plant, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards.
- Lead Lean, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement (CI) initiatives to eliminate waste, improve efficiency, and resolve complex operational, safety, and quality challenges.
- Establish and sustain standard work, visual management systems, and tiered accountability routines.
- Drive disciplined root cause and failure analysis (RCA) to deliver sustainable corrective actions and standardized improvements.
Production, Process & Cost Management
- Set and maintain production standards to achieve safe, efficient, and high-quality operations.
- Oversee process optimization, staffing models, and production planning.
- Ensure strict compliance with food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements.
- Lead cost savings and productivity initiatives aligned to plant budgetary targets.
- Reduce Total Delivered Cost (TDC) through operational efficiency and waste reduction.
- Drive performance through KPIs including OEE, downtime, labor efficiency, waste, overtime, and quality.
- Use data and analytics to prioritize improvements and ensure accountability.
- Lead performance reviews and ensure alignment to plant and enterprise goals.
Change Management & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Partner with Maintenance, Quality, HR, Engineering, Finance, Planning, and Distribution to optimize business performance.
- Align plant initiatives with broader business strategy and transformation roadmap.
- Lead change management efforts tied to OPEX and plant transformation.
- Drive engagement through transparency, visibility, and strong leadership presence.
Who you will work with...
You will work with the Operations and OpEx teams, in addition to regional partners.
What you bring to the table (must haves)...
- High school diploma or GED.
- 8+ years of progressive leadership experience in a high-speed manufacturing environment, including experience with Operational Excellence, Lean, and Six Sigma fundamentals.
- Onsite role with a primarily Monday-Friday day shift schedule; must be available to cover evenings, nights, and weekends as needed to support the operation.
It would be great if you have (nice to haves)...
- Bachelor's or master's degree in business, supply chain management, or engineering.
- Experience leading teams in a non-union environment.
- Proven ability to develop talent and to lead and inspire teams, fostering engagement and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Cross-functional manufacturing experience with OPEX, Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, Visual Factory, and 5S program implementation.
- Ability to analyze complex data to identify trends, root causes, and improvement opportunities.
- Excellent leadership, verbal and written communication, and project management skills, with the ability to engage and motivate diverse teams.
- Track record of driving change and influencing stakeholders at all levels without direct authority, and of collaborating cross-functionally to advance operational excellence.
Join our talent community
We’re proud to be a purpose-driven company. Our goal is simple: to connect people through food they love. It’s the reason we innovate, grow, and show up every day because food brings people together.