Plant Manager

Position Title: Plant Manager

Reports to: U.S. Operations Manager

Location: Richton Park, IL (Division Manufacturing Sites)

Team Led: Production Managers, plus site functional leaders in Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Customer Service

The Opportunity

Our client is a division of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer with roughly $14B in global revenue, operations in 57 countries, and a portfolio of more than 16,000 active patents. Within that global enterprise, this division is a focused automotive business serving major OEMs across North America, engineering and manufacturing housing units, vehicle doors, capless fuel systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charge ports.

The division operates multiple manufacturing locations across the U.S. and Mexico. This role has full accountability for one of the division's U.S. manufacturing sites, integrating Production, Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Customer Service into a single plant P&L. As the business modernizes its operations and pursues renewed growth, it needs a Plant Manager who can own site performance today while building the capability, culture, and bench strength for what's next.

Own the site. Own the P&L. Build the culture.

This is not a caretaker role — it's full accountability for a manufacturing site's safety, quality, delivery, cost, and culture, with the authority to integrate every plant function around one set of priorities. You'll set the pace, remove the barriers other leaders can't, and build a site that performs today and is stronger a year from now. If you want ownership of the whole plant, not just a piece of it, keep reading.

Why This Role Is Different

• Full-site ownership — full P&L accountability for the plant, not a single function or shift

• Backed by Fortune 500 scale — the resources, tooling, and career runway of a global industrial leader, with the autonomy of running your own site

• Real integration authority — set plant operating priorities, hold every functional leader accountable, and remove cross-functional and systemic barriers directly

• A proven leadership pipeline — plant leadership roles within this organization are a recognized path into multi-site and division-level operations leadership

• A business, not a shift — you'll own real outcomes across safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity, and culture, with Production Managers and functional leaders reporting through you

What You'll Own

Plant Performance & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Own full-plant performance and ensure the site achieves safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer commitments

• Integrate priorities and decision-making across plant functions — Production, Quality, Materials, Maintenance, Engineering, and Customer Service — and remove cross-functional or systemic barriers

• Set plant operating priorities, review results, and hold functional leaders accountable for corrective action and sustained improvement

• Represent the plant to customers, auditors, and corporate leadership as required

Financial & Capital Ownership

• Own the plant P&L and operating budget, including conversion cost, labor, scrap, premium freight, inventory-related costs, external sorting, maintenance, and capital effectiveness

• Balance short-term execution with capacity planning, workforce capability, equipment strategy, facility layout, inventory management, and process improvement

• Sponsor 80/20, continuous improvement, and capital initiatives that improve site economics and operating performance

People Leadership & Culture

• Lead and develop functional leaders, front-line leaders, and supervisors, including Production Managers; strengthen accountability and succession

• Create and sustain a plant culture grounded in safety, accountability, inclusion, teamwork, urgency, and continuous improvement

• Build bench strength across the site as long-tenured talent transitions and a new generation of leaders develops

Compliance & Growth Partnership

• Ensure compliance with company policies, quality systems, customer requirements, and environmental and safety regulations

• Partner across Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and Human Resources to support launches, customer priorities, and profitable growth

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• Safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets are consistently met, and the plant P&L performs to budget

• Conversion cost, productivity, and capital effectiveness show clear year-over-year improvement

• Capacity plans, equipment reliability, and inventory health are stable and forward-looking, not reactive

• Functional leaders and Production Managers are developing, with a visible succession bench

• The site's culture is measurably stronger — safer, more accountable, more collaborative — and continuous improvement is part of the daily operating rhythm

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, operations, business, or a related field required; equivalent relevant experience may be considered

• Seven or more years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including responsibility for multiple plant functions or a significant operation

• Demonstrated experience managing plant financial performance and improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost results

• A well-rounded background leading several plant functions, with meaningful site-level financial and cultural accountability

• Proven cross-functional integration skills, full P&L understanding, and experience with talent development, capacity planning, and capital planning

• A track record of delivering whole-site improvement, building a stronger leadership bench, and resolving constraints that span multiple functions

• Automotive, plastics injection molding, or high-volume manufacturing experience preferred

Leadership Capabilities We're Looking For

• Cross-Functional & Site Leadership

• Financial & Capital Ownership

• People Development & Succession Planning

• Culture Building & Accountability

• Continuous Improvement & Results Orientation

Why You'll Want to Stay

This division offers what's rare in plant leadership today: full ownership of a manufacturing site, backed by the stability and resources of a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer. Plant leadership roles within this organization are a recognized pipeline into multi-site and division-level operations leadership — and with full P&L accountability and the authority to shape site culture, the opportunities to leave your mark go well beyond the numbers.

About the Organization

Our client is a Fortune 500 diversified industrial manufacturer delivering specialized expertise and value-added products across a wide range of industries worldwide. With approximately $14 billion in global revenue, operations across 57 countries, roughly 45,000 employees, and a portfolio of more than 16,000 active patents, the company is recognized as a global leader in applied engineering and manufacturing innovation.

Within this global enterprise, the business division supplies products to major automotive OEMs, including housing units, vehicle doors, capless fuel systems, and electric vehicle (EV) charge ports. The division operates a multi-site manufacturing and distribution network across the U.S. and Mexico.

Our client is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.