Plant Manager

We’re Tovala, a food-tech company reinventing home cooking to save consumers time. Through an innovative combination of hardware, software, and fresh food delivery, we make it incredibly simple for anyone to prepare and enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals without sacrificing time to do whatever matters to them. Through our superior technology, product experience and food quality, we have separated Tovala from the busy pack of other meal delivery businesses.

In the process, we’ve amassed a loyal, rapidly growing following and our retention, product engagement and customer NPS are all best-in-class. We’ve raised over $100mm from great investors like Left Lane Capital, Origin Ventures, Y Combinator and Comcast Ventures and have invested strongly in building a unique culture that fosters growth, personal development and camaraderie.

In this role you will direct and manage all plant operations with overall responsibilities for food production and production-related activities. You will provide direction and foster the professional development of departmental managers and supervisors. You will also drive continuous improvement, execute change management, and ensure plant and employee safety standards are met.

• How you'll spend your time at Tovala: Oversee and monitor the day-to-day operations of the entire facility and ensure a smooth flow and efficient food production
• Employee engagement is a must. At least 50% of time spent on the floor engaged and working with the team
• Oversee and monitor that all company policies and procedures are followed
• Embrace and live out Tovala’s company values. Foster a culture based on the values
• Partner with people team as needed
• Collaborate with maintenance team with regard to the physical facility, production equipment, and all associated maintenance in accordance with best practices
• Actively anticipate issues impacting production and troubleshoot in advance
• Collaborates with operations and culinary teams to ensure quality, quantity and integrity of all product meets expectations
• Set a high standard for facility organization and hold team accountable
• Promote a strong, healthy and safe culture via compliance with policies, procedures and regulations
• Collaborate with engineering, and operations team to implement and drive adoption of new processes, tools and technologies
• Collaborate with FSQA and QA teams to ensure Food Safety is #1 priority
• Collaborate with supply chain team regarding inventory levels are met, ensuring 100% on-time deliveries to customers
• Responsible for the development and administration of plant-related budgets and authorization of associated expenditures

Manage to daily, weekly, and quarterly KPI targets, exhibiting an ability to develop and implement a plan of action to improve KPIs.

Collect, review, an analyze data to improve efficiencies and reduce waste

Provide coaching, mentoring and development that enables and optimizes the team’s effectiveness.

• Establish, monitor and review individual and team performance
• Follow and help enforce GMPs throughout the facility
• Other duties as assigned

About You: Experience owning and improving KPIs

• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead teams
• Strong decision-making and people management skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Comfortable with Microsoft Word and Excel; willing to learn new online tools and communication channels
• A self-starter with effective leadership, interpersonal, and verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to excel in a fast-paced work environment with a growing company
• 10+ years of manufacturing experience within the food industry preferred
• Knowledgeable in all aspects of food manufacturing, processing, and warehousing
• Proven leadership abilities in championing continuous improvement, safety, and team building