Vice President Ice Cream Manufacturing

Centennial is seeking a Vice President of Ice Cream Manufacturing to provide strategic and operational leadership for a well-established company headquartered in Cincinnati. This individual will oversee a non-union production facility producing ice cream, frozen yogurt and other frozen novelties for sale in company owned convenience stores and to wholesale accounts (for example Kroger, Walmart, Meijer, Fresh Market, etc.) within a multi-state area. Additionally, this person will be responsible for the co-pack business working with ice cream/frozen novelty CPG companies as a third-party ice cream manufacturer.

This position reports to the President & CEO and has a team of roughly 50 associates covering Production, Sanitation, Quality, Plant Maintenance and Product Development.

The role will support the execution of the strategic and tactical business plans by working directly with Plant Engineering, Quality Assurance, R&D, Warehouse and Distribution, the Retail and Wholesale management teams, Ordering, and Accounting employees to ensure that the business objectives are met.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible and accountable for Ice Cream Manufacturing quality compliance, inventory control, and efficiencies with respect to labor, overhead, packaging and ingredients, operational budgets, and profit and loss statements.
• Oversee production, distribution, warehousing including production forecasting and scheduling for ice cream plant.
• Coach and counsel direct reports without “over managing” or “micromanaging” their decisions. Work with direct reports to define plant goals and plans to meet their goals.
• Create, develop and sustain a “can-do” climate and high levels of frequent communication, cooperation, rewards, training and mutual support among departments.
• Demonstrate an adequate understanding of plant machinery; equipment; processing; products, quality, and/or other requisite technical knowledge to engage in overall direction, meaningful conversation across functions, and leadership of managers across the plants.
• Demonstrate strong integrity and a sense of ethics and responsibility to the plant and its employees daily, serving as a model for others.
• Source, negotiate and purchase raw ingredients and packaging used in the production process.
• Manage relationships with regulatory agencies.
• Respond effectively and work cross-functionally within the organization.
• Collaborate successfully and build additional volume with co-packing customers.
• Effectively partner with Human Resources and others regarding associate development and overall engagement.
• Perform in a variety of capacities related to employment decisions throughout the employment life cycle. i.e. hiring, firing, performance evaluation, salary recommendations, associate relations issues as appropriate etc.
• Understand and manage, as appropriate, capital project expenditures or/or the implementation of capital projects in conjunction with Plant Engineering.
• Effectively implement, improve and reinforce the company’s environmental health and safety programs, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and product food safety program.
• Manage the operational activities to ensure programs, policies and practices are followed to produce safe quality foods that meet regulatory and company requirements.
• Support the development, implementation, maintenance and ongoing improvement of the SQF 2000 Food Safety Code.
• Perform sales, business development and client management activities with co-pack customers.
• Establish performance metrics and KPIs (i.e. toiling fee) to successfully gain and effectively manage co-pack relationships balancing the needs of this group of clients against internal needs.

Education and Experience:

• College Degree and or equivalent experience preferable in manufacturing, engineering, business, food science or related field
• 7-10 years operational and management experience in food production environment
• At least 5 years’ experience in Ice Cream manufacturing
• 5+ years of experience as a manager including experience managing manager direct reports
• Familiar with the functionality of basic plant equipment (pumps, hydraulics, electricity, boiler, compressors, refrigeration, etc.)
• Planning, scheduling and project management experience necessary
• Food Technology experience

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to prioritize plant operations in light of multiple priorities and conflicting demands
• Fundamental understanding of key financial and manufacturing performance metrics
• Self-starter, strong drive, highly motivated to make change and bring about fact driven decisions
• Strong analytical skills
• Well-organized and able to coordinate multiple tasks and requests
• Proven track record in assessing the effectiveness/ROI of operational programs
• Ability to create actionable strategies for operations and partner functions
• Able to create and lead cross-functional teams (initiating action, facilitation, planning and organizing, conflict management, etc.)
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written; ability to articulate and present vision or concepts that educate and influence thinking
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to interact effectively with employees at all levels
• Demonstrated leadership skills and problem-solving capabilities
• Proven track record of being able to collaborate with key stakeholders across functions and levels
• Ability to operate in a complex, rapidly changing environment while adhering to tight schedules and budgets
• Demonstrated project management skills and proven ability to balance multiple projects in varying degrees of implementation