Production Area Manager 

The Production Area Manager is responsible for leading the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of assigned oleochemical manufacturing units. This position oversees production personnel, drives operational excellence, ensures compliance with safety and environmental regulations, and supports the achievement of production, quality, reliability, and cost objectives. The Production Area Manager serves as a key liaison between Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to ensure business goals are achieved while maintaining safe and compliant plant operations.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop production supervisors, operators, and support personnel.

• Foster a culture of safety, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

• Conduct performance evaluations, coaching discussions, and employee development planning.

• Support workforce planning, succession planning, and employee engagement initiatives.

Manufacturing Operations

• Ensure safe and efficient operation of oleochemical processing units, including esterification, distillation, hydrogenation, splitting, fatty acid processing, and related operations.

• Monitor daily production activities to ensure operational targets are achieved.

• Drive improvements in throughput, yield, reliability, energy utilization, and operating costs.

• Manage shift coverage and operational staffing requirements.

Safety, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance

• Promote and enforce compliance with OSHA, EPA, Process Safety Management (PSM), Responsible Care®, and company safety policies.

• Lead incident investigations and ensure timely implementation of corrective actions.

• Support Process Hazard Analyses (PHA), Management of Change (MOC), Job Safety Analyses (JSA), and operational risk assessments.

• Ensure compliance with environmental permits, waste handling requirements, and sustainability initiatives.

Production Planning & Coordination

• Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement, Customer Service, and Planning teams to execute production schedules and customer commitments.

• Coordinate maintenance activities, turnarounds, and planned outages with Maintenance and Engineering teams.

• Manage production priorities to maximize equipment utilization and customer service levels.

Quality & Process Control

• Ensure products meet customer specifications and quality standards.

• Work closely with Quality Control and Laboratory teams to investigate process deviations and implement corrective actions.

• Drive process discipline and adherence to standard operating procedures.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and operational excellence initiatives.

• Utilize production and reliability data to identify process improvements and eliminate waste.

• Drive root cause analysis efforts and implement sustainable corrective actions.

Budget & Cost Management

• Manage departmental budgets, labor costs, overtime, and operating expenses.

• Identify opportunities to improve productivity while maintaining safety and quality standards.

• Support capital project planning and execution.

Required Skills & Qualifications

Manufacturing Leadership

• Proven leadership experience in an oleochemical, specialty chemical, chemical processing, refining, or continuous manufacturing environment.

• Strong leadership presence with the ability to develop and motivate teams.

Technical Knowledge

• Understanding of oleochemical manufacturing processes, including fatty acids, glycerin, esters, surfactants, specialty chemicals, and related processing technologies.

• Knowledge of distillation systems, reactors, heat exchangers, pumps, compressors, utilities, and process instrumentation.

Safety & Regulatory Knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of OSHA regulations, Process Safety Management (PSM), environmental compliance, and chemical manufacturing best practices.

Problem Solving & Decision Making

• Experience conducting root cause investigations and implementing corrective actions.

• Ability to make sound operational decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Communication & Collaboration

• Strong interpersonal, leadership, and communication skills.

• Ability to effectively collaborate across Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and Commercial teams.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field preferred.

• Equivalent combination of education and manufacturing leadership experience will be considered.

• Minimum of 7–10 years of experience in oleochemical, chemical, specialty chemical, petrochemical, or related manufacturing operations.

• Minimum of 3–5 years of supervisory or management experience in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an oleochemical or specialty chemical manufacturing facility.

• Experience leading operations within a PSM-regulated environment.

• Lean Manufacturing and/or Six Sigma certification.

• SAP experience or other ERP/manufacturing systems.

• Experience supporting capital projects, process improvements, and operational turnarounds.