Plant Processing Operations Director

Plant Processing Operations Director leads the day-to-day operations of a seed processing facility and quality control and assurance by ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable production that delivers consistent supply and performance to customers. This role is accountable for end-to-end plant execution across commercial and pre-commercial seed processing, distribution, inventory control, and plant maintenance. A core responsibility is to establish and sustain a strong manufacturing culture where adherence to quality, process discipline, and operational excellence are owned at every level.

Worksite Location: Tangent, OR- Onsite

Salary Range : 180-230K-DOQ

Benefits: Provided by the client. Health insurance, Dental, Vision insurance, Life insurance, Flex spending account, HSA, 401K matching

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Roles & Responsibilities

• Direct all commercial and pre-commercial seed processing activities, including cleaning, de-hulling, quality assurance, pelleting, treating, coloring, packaging, and coordination of commercial seed distribution to market and testing agencies.A
• Provide visible, proactive leadership within the production process, prioritizing safety and quality throughout while coaching leaders and senior supervisors in daily execution.
• Develop clear objectives and implement developmental plans for the Processing Management Team, full-time employees, and temporary staffing.
• Direct the building and management of inventory, including supplies and materials relating to production and facility management, to ensure disciplined inventory control and accurate reporting.
• Provide leadership to triage and resolve production bottlenecks; drive practical countermeasures and sustained improvements.
• Oversee plant equipment maintenance and investment planning to support reliability, capacity, and process capability.
• Recommend and administer policies and procedures to enhance operations and standardize best practices.
• Partner with Product Management and Sales to ensure supply and quality expectations meet commercial product needs.
• Work with the Production and Processing teams to align, lead, and implement new quality assurance and seed improvement processes and technologies.
• Ensure required quality control testing is executed consistently and that seed batches meet defined quality standards.
• Establish and reinforce adherence to SOPs, batch traceability, and in-process checks where deviation are investigated and corrected.
• Maintain strong documentation practices and audit readiness, including record retention aligned to internal requirements.
• Lead the processing team in root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions for quality deviations, customer complaints, or nonconforming lots; prevent recurrence through process control improvements.
• Oversee that all standards (safety, cleanliness, etc.) within the facility are maintained, recorded, and reviewed.
• Build a culture of accountability and engagement where safe work and quality execution are non-negotiable expectations.
• Promote positive relations with stakeholders, vendors, and distributors.
• Communicate on an ongoing basis with corporate leadership to ensure overall goals and priorities are achieved.
• Set and prioritize goals, manage multiple priorities, and drive execution through others.

Required Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required in Business, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• 10 + years of production or manufacturing management experience.
• 5 + years in senior leadership roles overseeing plant operations and teams.
• Demonstrated success leading operations where adherence to quality control is critical.
• Experience in regulated or highly disciplined manufacturing environments with strong traceability requirements. To include experience in Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
• Experience leading capital planning, reliability/maintenance strategies, and capacity expansion.
• Ability to lead, develop, and motivate teams while managing multiple priorities and tight timelines.
• Effective written and verbal communication and ability to facilitate effective team meetings and engage stakeholders.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office; comfortable with operating and capital budget preparation and strategic execution.

About Versique Versique: /ver-seek/ adj. being both versatile and unique; n. a high-performance recruiting firm specializing in executive leadership search, direct hire, and interim hiring solutions. Versique Executive, Professional, & Interim Recruiting is a locally owned and operated hiring and placement firm based in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. With specialized practice areas across our three divisions, Versique delivers tailored expertise to a wide range of industries. What sets us apart is our team of recruiters—seasoned professionals who have worked in the very fields they now hire for, providing unmatched industry insight and connections.

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Versique is proud to be an award-winning company, earning recognition on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal's Fast 50 list for 2023. We are also consistently recognized as a Star Tribune Top Workplace and were named a Best Place to Work in 2022 by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

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Versique is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse workforce. We consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.