Guided Search Partners (GSP)

Guided Search Partners is an Executive Search firm built on Trust, Transparency, Specialization, and Long-term Relationships. We connect high-performing professionals with organizations that value people, performance, and growth—helping leaders find roles where they can make an impact and build meaningful careers.

About the Opportunity

We’re partnering with a newly independent, multi-site manufacturer of animal nutrition ingredients and custom blends, a critical supplier supporting customers across Pet, Aquaculture, and Livestock markets. With operations spanning 13 facilities across the United States and Canada and a legacy of performance and innovation, the business is entering its next phase of growth with private-equity support and a leadership team focused on building strong, scalable operating habits.

This Plant Manager opportunity is based in the Ohio area at a 40,000 sq. ft. site producing yeast and protein blends used in pet and livestock applications. The role is open because the current Plant Manager has been promoted and is relocating to lead another facility with significant expected growth, creating a timely window for a strong operator to step in, stabilize priorities, and raise the bar on daily execution.

If you’re at your best in environments where you can be visible, hands-on, and influential, leading through people while tightening systems, you’ll find plenty to lean into here: a unionized workforce, equipment modernization needs (augers, dryers), SOP formalization, and a team that’s ready for clear expectations and consistent leadership.

What You’ll Do

• Lead a fully staffed, union-based production operation with 15 hourly team members supported through two shift supervisors, with an emphasis on clear expectations, accountability, and safety.
• Set daily priorities in a fast-moving environment—balancing “fire-fighting” with the discipline to keep production, quality, and maintenance goals on track.
• Guide and support the maintenance function by aligning resources, prioritizing work, and driving reliable execution against plant needs.
• Own forecasting and materials planning for key ingredients—coordinating ordering and availability so production stays steady and predictable.
• Work through and formalize SOPs, tightening processes and protocols that have lacked consistency for years.
• Partner closely with the SQF/quality function to sustain strong GFSI (SQF) performance and prepare for upcoming audits (current score: 91%).
• Drive equipment and process improvements—including updates to augers and dryers—to increase throughput, reliability, and operating stability.
• Collaborate across functions (operations leadership, quality, and other stakeholders) to align priorities, communicate trade-offs, and deliver results.
• Operate with flexibility: core hours are 7:00am–4:00pm, with the ability to adjust as needed (including occasional Saturdays, primarily for sanitation/cleaning support).

Who You Are

• A steady, firm-but-fair leader who can “hold the line” while building credibility and momentum with a union workforce in a relationship that has been tenuous.
• Naturally curious and solutions-oriented, someone who runs toward complexity and is energized by improving the way things work.
• Comfortable being hands-on and visible on the floor, not managing from a distance.
• Clear, direct communicator who can set expectations, coach supervisors, and resolve issues without drama.
• A culture-shaper who drives excellence through consistency, follow-through, and respect for people.

You’re the type of leader who brings calm to urgency, someone who can prioritize decisively, build trust quickly, and turn ‘we’ve always done it this way’ into a new, better standard.

Preferred Experience & Attributes

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent experience) with a track record of leading manufacturing operations.
• Experience in food manufacturing (required), with working knowledge of FDA and/or USDA oversight.
• Union experience strongly preferred, including the ability to navigate labor dynamics while protecting standards and performance.
• 5+ years of leadership experience in plant, operations, or production environments with direct responsibility for people leadership and results.
• Familiarity with GFSI frameworks; SQF exposure is a strong plus.
• Strong operational judgment—able to balance urgency with precision, and short-term problem-solving with long-term systems thinking.
• Comfortable leading through supervisors and developing leaders who can run the day-to-day without micromanagement.

Why This Role Matters

This site has meaningful capacity and a product mix that matters to customers across the value chain—but unlocking that potential requires stronger operating cadence, updated processes, and a leader who can elevate expectations. In this role, you’ll directly influence quality, safety, and consistency while modernizing the way the plant runs.

You’ll have visibility and partnership with senior operations leadership, and you’ll be trusted to shape culture, stabilize performance, and build the foundation for sustainable growth. If you’re motivated by tangible impact—and you like leaving a place better than you found it—this is a rare chance to do that with real support behind you.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: VP of Operations.
• Direct reports: 3 supervisors (Day Shift/Maintenance, Evening Shift/Maintenance, and SQF/Quality).