Plant Head Biscuit Confectionery Manufacturing

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced and result-oriented Plant Head to lead the complete manufacturing operations of our Biscuit & Confectionery manufacturing plant. The incumbent will be responsible for overall plant performance, production planning, quality, productivity, cost optimization, maintenance, safety, manpower management, and compliance.

The ideal candidate should have strong hands-on experience in biscuit and/or confectionery manufacturing, with a proven track record of managing large-scale food manufacturing operations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Plant Operations & Production

• Take overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations and performance of the manufacturing plant.
• Ensure production targets are achieved as per the production plan, quality standards, and customer requirements.
• Monitor production efficiency, machine utilization, yield, wastage, downtime, and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Optimize production processes to improve productivity and reduce manufacturing costs.
• Ensure smooth coordination between Production, Quality, Maintenance, Stores, Planning, Procurement, and other functions.
• Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives across the plant.

2. Biscuit & Confectionery Manufacturing

• Ensure efficient manufacturing of biscuits, cookies, crackers and confectionery products as per approved formulations and specifications.
• Monitor critical manufacturing parameters including mixing, dough preparation, baking, cooling, coating, depositing, forming, packing, etc., as applicable.
• Ensure adherence to approved recipes, processes, SOPs and batch parameters.
• Identify opportunities for process improvement, automation, capacity enhancement, and waste reduction.

3. Quality & Food Safety

• Ensure strict compliance with food safety, quality, hygiene and sanitation standards.
• Work closely with the Quality Assurance team to maintain consistent product quality.
• Ensure implementation of HACCP, GMP, GHP, FSSAI and other applicable food safety requirements.
• Drive corrective and preventive actions for customer complaints, quality deviations and process issues.
• Ensure effective pest control, hygiene, sanitation and allergen management practices.

4. Maintenance & Engineering

• Ensure high availability and reliability of production equipment and utilities.
• Coordinate with the Engineering/Maintenance team for preventive and breakdown maintenance.
• Minimize machine breakdowns and unplanned downtime.
• Support installation and commissioning of new machinery and plant expansion projects.
• Drive preventive and predictive maintenance practices.

5. Cost Control & Productivity

• Control manufacturing costs through efficient utilization of manpower, materials, energy and resources.
• Monitor and reduce raw material losses, process wastage, rejections and energy consumption.
• Develop and implement cost-saving and productivity improvement initiatives.
• Monitor plant budgets and operating expenses.

6. Manpower & Team Management

• Lead, develop and motivate the plant workforce.
• Plan manpower requirements in line with production capacity and business needs.
• Establish clear performance objectives and KPIs for plant teams.
• Develop a culture of accountability, discipline, teamwork and continuous improvement.
• Identify training and development requirements for employees.

7. Health, Safety & Compliance

• Ensure a safe working environment and compliance with statutory safety requirements.
• Implement and monitor plant safety procedures, emergency preparedness and risk-control measures.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable statutory, environmental, labour and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain proper documentation and records for audits and inspections.

8. Planning & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Work closely with Supply Chain, Sales, Procurement and Finance teams to align production with business requirements.
• Ensure optimum inventory levels of raw materials, packaging materials and finished goods.
• Support demand planning and capacity planning.
• Ensure timely dispatch and achievement of customer service levels.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Production achievement vs. plan
• OEE and machine utilization
• Production yield and material efficiency
• Reduction in wastage and rejection
• Manufacturing cost per unit
• Downtime and breakdown reduction
• Quality and customer complaint levels
• Energy consumption
• On-time production and dispatch
• Safety performance
• Manpower productivity
• Audit and statutory compliance

Desired Candidate Profile

• 1220 years of relevant experience in Food/FMCG manufacturing, preferably in Biscuit, Bakery, Confectionery or related industries.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a Plant Head / Factory Head / Unit Head / Senior Plant Operations role.
• Strong understanding of biscuit and/or confectionery manufacturing processes.
• Experience in handling large production teams and multiple manufacturing functions.
• Strong knowledge of production planning, quality systems, maintenance, food safety and cost control.
• Experience in implementing Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Kaizen, 5S or other continuous improvement methodologies will be preferred.
• Strong leadership, analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management abilities.
• Candidate should be comfortable working in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.