Plant Manager - Lancaster

About Us

Foremost Farms USA is one of the largest, leading dairy cooperatives in the United States and a major dairy food and ingredients manufacturing business. We represent hundreds of Midwest dairy farmer members located in seven Midwest states and produce about 500 million pounds of cheese and 50 million pounds of butter in plants across our network every year. "We Bring Dairy to Life" in eight manufacturing plants across Wisconsin and Michigan and in our headquarters in Middleton (Madison), Wisconsin.

We’re looking for employees who are innovative and aim for excellence in our wide variety of production, field, and business roles. Join us!

JOB TITLE: Plant Manager – Lancaster

POSITION TYPE: Full time

CLASSIFICATION: Exempt

The Plant Manager oversees the full site operation and is responsible for creating a culture of safety. Responsible for achieving year‑over‑year operational improvement at the assigned manufacturing plant with safety, quality, service, value and teamwork. Works as a member of the Manufacturing Leadership Team and contributes to the Co‑Op's success by continually improving manufacturing processes and creating a culture of engagement that empowers all employees to drive high performance.

• Establish operational strategic plans that align with and deliver the business strategy.
• Lead Daily Direction Setting process including delivering employee safety, food safety and quality, customer service, production schedules, and cost efficiency.
• Champion safety by taking a leadership role on all safety incidents, root cause analysis and improvement activities.
• Lead the plant management team to collaborate across functions, internal resources, vendors, and customers to drive sustainable improvements in overall manufacturing performance.
• Align all manufacturing‑related activities appropriately to meet all company policies and procedures.
• Manage budget for facility and reevaluate on an ongoing basis.

Ensure and maintain a culture that aligns with the standards of Foremost Farms’ mission, values and purpose and work cross‑functionally with other departments.

• Partner with HR to develop and drive a culture of employee engagement, leading the development of engagement survey action planning and follow‑ups.
• Partner with HR to create and maintain strong employee relations with a focus on training and development.
• Drive a strong culture of employee safety.
• Ensure manufacturing practices comply with applicable legislation and internal policies.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure compliance with regulatory agencies (OSHA, FDA, USDA, EPA).
• Review co‑op and site practices and processes and suggest improvements.
• Facilitate positive employee relations including interviewing, hiring, rewarding and disciplining employees, addressing complaints and administering the collective bargaining agreement.

Develop talent to prepare them for future assignments, creating a strong pipeline of future leaders.

• Responsible for development of Production Managers and Supervisors to create a stable plant management team with depth and in accordance with Foremost Farms’ leadership values.
• Delegate appropriate duties and responsibilities to plant management team to address and resolve problems and improve operations.
• Identify stretch assignments as part of the Individual Development Planning process, that build on employees’ strengths and help them break through barriers in their development.

This role is accountable for ensuring that monitoring and/or verifying of control points occurs and that the required documentation is completed. For example, Critical Control Points (CCP), Preventive Controls (PC), Critical Quality Points (CQP), Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Safe Quality Food (SQF) plans. This is not an all‑inclusive list.

• Bachelor’s degree in dairy manufacturing, operations management or related field of study preferred.
• 5‑10 years of job‑related experience in a manufacturing environment.

• This position is required to be on site at the manufacturing facility. Occasional travel in support of co‑op manufacturing…