Plant General Manager

PLANT GENERAL MANAGER

General Summary

The General Manager (GM) is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, profitability, compliance, and strategic growth of an electronics recycling and IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) facility. The GM oversees all operational, financial, environmental, health and safety, sales, and customer service functions while ensuring the facility meets business objectives, regulatory requirements, and sustainability goals.

This role requires a strong combination of operational leadership, financial acumen, process improvement expertise, environmental compliance knowledge, and people management skills. The GM drives a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and customer satisfaction while delivering profitable growth.

Essential Job Functions

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the facility’s strategic plan.
• Establish annual business objectives, budget expectations, and performance targets.
• Identify growth opportunities in electronics recycling, ITAD, data destruction, and commodity recovery markets.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that increase productivity, quality, and profitability.
• Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability and operational excellence.
• Monitor industry trends, regulations, and market conditions to maintain competitiveness.

Operations Management

• Direct all recycling, refurbishment, dismantling, shredding, logistics, warehousing, and downstream processing activities.
• Ensure operational efficiency through standardized processes and Lean methodologies.
• Develop and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) including:
• Throughput
• Productivity
• Recovery rates
• Inventory turns
• Labor efficiency
• Equipment utilization
• On-time shipping
• Optimize plant layout, workflows, and resource allocation.
• Manage facility maintenance and capital equipment planning.
• Ensure proper handling of hazardous and regulated materials.

Financial Management

• Manage annual operating budgets.
• Monitor revenue, expenses, margins, and profitability.
• Analyze financial performance and implement corrective actions as necessary.
• Drive cost reduction initiatives without compromising quality or compliance.
• Manage capital expenditures and return-on-investment analyses once completed.
• Forecast business performance and prepare management reports.

Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS)

• Maintain compliance with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations.
• Ensure adherence to industry certifications and standards including:
• R2
• e-Stewards
• ISO 9001
• ISO 14001
• Lead safety programs and maintain a zero-incident culture.
• Conduct regular audits, risk assessments, and corrective action reviews.
• Ensure proper training for all employees.

ITAD and Data Security Management

• Ensure secure handling, tracking, and destruction of customer assets.
• Maintain chain-of-custody controls and data destruction procedures.
• Ensure compliance with customer contractual requirements and data security standards.
• Oversee inventory accountability and asset tracking systems.
• Support audits and customer inspections.

Sales and Customer Relationship Management

• Partner with sales leadership to achieve revenue growth targets.
• Maintain strong relationships with key customers and strategic partners.
• Support contract negotiations and service agreements.
• Resolve escalated customer issues.
• Ensure exceptional customer experience and service delivery.

Team Leadership and Development

• Recruit, develop, and retain high-performing employees.
• Provide leadership and coaching to department managers and supervisors.
• Establish performance goals and accountability measures.
• Develop succession plans and employee development programs.
• Promote employee engagement and continuous learning.

Quality and Continuous Improvement

• Implement Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma principles.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action processes.
• Utilize process engineering techniques to improve:
• Throughput
• Yield
• Quality
• Labor productivity
• Equipment effectiveness
• Develop systems for data-driven decision making.
• Drive operational excellence initiatives across all departments.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in:
• Business Administration
• Engineering
• Operations Management
• Environmental Science
• Supply Chain Management
• Related field
• MBA preferred.

Experience

• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience in:
• Electronics recycling
• ITAD
• Manufacturing
• Waste management
• Industrial operations
• 5+ years managing multi-department operations.
• Experience managing P&L responsibility.
• Experience leading teams of 50–200+ employees preferred.
• Experience with environmental compliance and regulatory audits.

Core Competencies

• Business Leadership

• Strategic planning

• Financial management

• Budgeting and forecasting

• Profit and loss management

• Business development

• Customer relationship management

• Operations Excellence

• Lean Manufacturing

• Six Sigma

• Process optimization

• Capacity planning

• Supply chain management

• Inventory control

• KPI development and management

• Engineering and Analytical Skills

• Root cause analysis

• Statistical analysis

• Process mapping

• Value stream mapping

• Data analysis

• Workflow optimization

• Continuous improvement methodologies

• Leadership Skills

• Team building

• Coaching and mentoring

• Change management

• Conflict resolution

• Communication

• Decision making

• Organizational development

• Compliance and Risk Management

• Environmental regulations

• Occupational safety

• Data security requirements

• Industry certifications

• Audit management

• Risk assessment

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The General Manager will be measured on:

• Revenue growth
• EBITDA performance
• Facility profitability
• Throughput volume
• Labor productivity
• Recovery and commodity yield rates
• Safety performance
• Customer satisfaction
• Regulatory compliance
• Audit results
• Employee retention
• Inventory accuracy
• Continuous improvement savings