Senior VS Manager

World's Finest Chocolate does more than make delicious chocolate. Since 1949, we've helped our fundraising customers raise over $4,! These funds are used to buy playgrounds, pay for reading specialists, purchase musical instruments, fund field trips, and more. Our employees work as a team to support our company's mission:
To Deliver Extraordinary Value with Fun & Purpose
.

POSITION OVERVIEW: The Senior Manager, Manufacturing position is a strategic leadership role responsible for directing production for one of the core value streams at World's Finest Chocolate, our renowned Queen Anne cordial cherries operations. Our ideal candidate is eager for the opportunity to make an impact as our company grows. The successful candidate will lead a multishift operations team to drive excellence across Safety, Quality, Cost, Service, and People metrics, ensure regulatory compliance, and champion a culture of engagement and continuous improvement.

• This role is on-site in Chicago with occasional evening and weekend work required
• This role reports to the VP of Manufacturing

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
:

Manufacturing Operations Leadership

• Direct daily manufacturing operations for Queen Anne cordial cherries and other assigned product lines.
• Lead, develop, and mentor a team of production supervisors, line leads, and hourly manufacturing employees
• Optimize production planning and scheduling to balance efficiency and service
• Drive equipment reliability and efficiency through partnerships with Engineering, Maintenance, and 3rd party contractors

Leadership in Safety and Quality

• Lead by example in Safety, Food Safety, and our Core Values.
• Champion a zero-incident safety culture; institute safety audits, near-miss investigations, and root cause analysis to prevent incidents and improve safety performance.
• Maintain rigorous adherence to Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, including SQF (Safe Quality Food) certification
• Ensure compliance with FDA regulations, HACCP principles, FSMA requirements, and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), including allergen control programs.
• Partner with Quality Assurance on corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) for quality deviations and customer complaints

Cost Management & Financial Performance

• Own and manage department budget. Including $3MM+ Labor spend and controlling Material Variance on over 10MM production pounds.
• Drive waste reduction initiatives
• Control labor costs with productivity improvements, investing in cross-training and employee engagement, keeping a long-term outlook

Service & Customer Focus

• Achieve on-time delivery targets considering holiday season production ramp-up and new emerging seasonal and non-seasonal products

People Leadership, Development, and Culture

• Manage seasonal workforce planning including hiring, training, and onboarding; determine and maintain ideal ratio of temporary to full time employees
• Build and lead a high performing team through coaching, performance management, training & development, and succession planning
• Model and promote company core values while fostering an inclusive, safe, and engaging workplace culture
• Create an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and connected to the company mission
• Lead by example through servant leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to delivering the finest experience

Product Innovation & New Product Introduction

• Partner with R&D, Marketing, and Sales to commercialize and scale new products
• Evaluate manufacturing feasibility and costing for new products, material and packaging changes, process and equipment innovations, and new technology implementations

Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Champion Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles;
  Lead and champion process improvement projects
• Establish and monitor KPIs including OEE, first-pass yield, changeover time, scrap rate, and labor efficiency across product lines
• Maintain or implement 5S workplace organization, visual management systems, and standard work for complex production processes
• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) for quality issues, downtime events, and customer complaints
• Identify automation opportunities for various moulding, enrobing, and packaging processes

QUALIFICATIONS:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Chemical, Industrial, or Food Science), Manufacturing, Operations Management, or related technical field required
• Master's degree (MBA or MS in Engineering) preferred
• Lean Six Sigma certification (Black Belt preferred)

Experience

• 5-10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in CPG, food production, or confectionery industries, directly managing salaried and hourly production teams.
• Background in chocolate, confectionery, or food manufacturing strongly preferred
• FDA-regulated food manufacturing experience with SQF, BRC, or similar preferred

Skills & Competencies

• Expertise in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies
• Strong understanding of HACCP, GMPs, FSMA, FDA food safety regulations, and allergen…