Operations Site Manager, Illinois

The Operations Site Manager for Prayon’s manufacturing locations in Illinois will oversee various critical functions to ensure smooth and efficient operations. Key responsibilities include promoting safety and environmental health, managing budgets and financial plans, and driving continuous improvement initiatives.

The role involves overseeing daily manufacturing operations, ensuring quality control, and maintaining customer satisfaction. Additionally, the manager will handle inventory, logistics, and distribution to optimize delivery times and costs.

Leadership duties include participating in the Senior Leadership Team, fostering good employee relations, and supporting professional development.

The position requires strong organizational skills, the ability to work extended hours, and a commitment to maintaining compliance with all relevant laws and company policies

Essential Responsibilities & Functions include the following, others may be assigned.

ESH
With the support of the company ESH department: participate in behavior-based safety efforts and promote a safe work environment; ensure safety rules and best practices are followed to prevent accidents; identify and address environmental, safety, and health concerns.

Budgeting and Planning
With the support of the company Finance and Controlling department, provide input into company objectives and long-range plans; develop and manage the site’s operating budget and yearly plans; achieve financial objectives by managing expenditures and initiating corrective actions; drive cost awareness and improvements in raw materials, utilities, supplies, and labor; ensure equipment and system reliability to support business needs.

Continuous Improvement
Encourage cultural change to increase ownership and responsibility; drive programs for improving production, procedures, and cost control; communicate relevant information to other departments and divisions; identify and prioritize technical and process improvements; participate in planning and development of capital projects.

Manufacturing and Technical roles
Oversee daily operations, ensuring efficient production processes; assess operational and technical performance; prepare and submit accurate and timely reports; identify and propose strategic opportunities for improvement; implement technical solutions for cost savings, debottlenecking and reliability improvement; coordinate technical and engineering support requests.

Lab, QC and Customer Satisfaction
With the support of the company Quality and Food Safety department: oversee quality control and plant laboratories; enforce the Food Safety Management Program including preparation to relevant certification and customer audit; resolve customer complaints and direct corrective and preventative actions to enhance customer satisfaction; provide timely service to maintain good customer relations.

Inventory, Logistics and Distribution
With the support of the company Supply Chain department: oversee local logistics to optimize delivery lead times, inventory levels, accuracy controls and costs; ensure compliance with customs and transport laws; maintain proper inventory levels and manage goods-receipt; prepare production schedules according to sales demand forecasts.

Human Resources
With the support of the company HR department, monitor and maintain staffing needs and initiate recruitment. Ensure that all off-site HR activities comply with company policies and procedures. Organize onboarding, training plans and performance reviews.  Serves as the primary contact for employee concerns, addresses issues and enforcing HR guidelines.

Leadership
Participate in active leadership to achieve company goals; contribute to the Senior Leadership Team; foster good employee/management relations; communicate development and career goals to supervisors; provide timely and appropriate feedback to employees; ensure professional and career development of employees; maintain professional and technical knowledge; follow organizational policies and ensure compliance with laws; be available to work extended hours or travel as needed; demonstrate prompt, regular, and reliable attendance.

Supervisory Responsibilities & Functions
Interviews, selects, hires, promotes, demotes, transfers, and recommends termination of employment to management; reviews the performance of staff to encourage growth and development; provides ongoing feedback with frequent contacts with employees.

Performs timely employee reviews in accordance with Prayon policies/procedures; applies appraisal process accurately and impartially; corrects performance deviations.

Develops and/or assists in the development of annual work plans, programs, staffing requirements, equipment requirements, and related budgets; assists in the development of objectives/long range plans; assures all goals are met.

Advises/assists the immediate supervisor and appropriate staff in carrying out the functions/responsibilities within the department; delegates authority to appropriate line and staff employees with full recognition that delegation of authority does not relieve overall responsibility.

Direct Report Job Titles: 

• Production Supervisor
• Quality Control Supervisor
• Administrative Lead
• Supply Chain Lead

Minimum

Education: Graduation from a four (4) year accredited university/college with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Experience: A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in plant management with a chemical/manufacturing facility and with supervisory experience.

Understanding inorganic acid-base chemistry would be considered crucial to successfully performing the job, as would work experience in basic environmental, safety and health including process safety, quality control and food safety related to a chemical manufacturing facility

A working understanding of technical unit operations and troubleshooting skills including a knowledge of chemistry, mechanical skills, basic electrical and instrumentation skills, distributed and PLC process control systems, material science relevant to phosphates, PFD and EFD drawings, project management

Management function requires a working understanding of budgeting processes, cost control and financial analysis

Preferred

Education: Master’s degree in chemical engineering

Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience up to a management position in plant and process engineering with a manufacturing facility.

Manufacturing or Engineering experience with at least 5 years’ experience in sodium, calcium or potassium phosphates, and work experience in environmental, safety and health including process safety, quality control and food safety.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations: Registered Professional Engineer; CPR/First-Aid Certified Trainer;  OSHA 30 Hour Certification;  Certified Forklift Operators License

Language Skills
Reading/comprehension, speaking and writing at required education equivalency level.  Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business correspondence, technical/product information, policies/procedures or government regulations.  Ability to complete written forms and write routine to complex procedures, reports and correspondence.  Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions in a group or individual setting.

Mathematical Skills
Requires mathematical skills including proficiency in arithmetic, geometry and algebra, with some requirements for calculus and differential equations. Must be able to analyze data and develop equations. Must be able to read and understand financial information.

Computer Skills
Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and electronic mail.

Proficiency in relevant SAP modules preferred and working knowledge of similar materials management software required.

Complexity
The work includes varied duties requiring many different and unrelated processes and methods be applied to a broad range of activities and/or substantial depth of analysis within a particular area. Decisions include areas of uncertainty in approach, methodology, interpretation or evaluation resulting from such elements as continuing changes, technical developments, unknown phenomena or conflicting requirements. The work requires originating new techniques, establishing criteria, or developing new information and requires a strong results orientation and outstanding ability to establish priorities, communicate needs, negotiate collaboration among stakeholders, and execute project plans to timeline.

To maintain and encourage compliance this position requires a familiarity with basic ESH, Quality Control and Food Safety requirements relevant to a chemical manufacturing facility.

Employee management function requires basic supervisory skills while leadership function requires ability to work together in a diverse group to make decisions regarding strategic direction of company operations and performance.

Process engineering function requires a working understanding of phosphate manufacturing operations and technical troubleshooting skills including a knowledge of chemistry, mechanical skills, basic electrical and instrumentation skills, distributed and PLC process control systems, material science related to phosphates, PFD and EFD drawings, project management, and unit operations.

Project development support function requires thorough knowledge of capital project management process that includes a working knowledge of finance, engineering, and construction.

Knowledge requirements include budgeting and finance, cost control and knowledge of SAP is helpful.

Physical Demands
The work requires both sedentary and limited physical exertion to include sitting; walking; standing; bending; traversing of stairs and ladders,  carrying of light and heavy items (up to 50lbs); driving an automobile, forklift, etc.  Work routinely requires speaking and hearing (expression or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words and perceiving sounds by ear).

Must be able to work long hours in an industrial manufacturing environment that includes high heat and humidity or winter cold and dry. Must be able to work “hands on” in troubleshooting process and equipment problems.  

Work Environment
The work environment requires normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, meeting and training rooms, personal or commercial transportation methods.  Requires use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, observance of fire regulations and traffic signals, etc.  Generally, the work area is well lighted, heated and ventilated.  Also includes work that requires normal safety precautions typical of industrial/manufacturing environments.  Requires use of safe work practices with equipment, avoidance of trips and falls, and observance of fire regulations. Manufacturing and warehousing areas are not climate controlled, and environment includes work that requires special safety precautions such as working around moving parts, carts or machines or with irritant chemicals. Employee will be required to use protective clothing or gear such as masks, gowns, coats, safety shoes, boots, goggles, gloves, safety glasses or shields.