Operations Manager Chemical Jobs (NOW HIRING)

The ECO Manufacturing Manager is responsible for the safe, compliant, efficient, and reliable operation of the Ethylene Oxide (ECO) unit, the PowerHouse (POHO), and the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) at the Atlas Point facility. This role is a critical operational leadership position with direct accountability for plant availability, process safety management (PSM), environmental compliance, team development, budget management, and capital project execution.
The Manufacturing Manager directly supervises the Shift Team Leaders (STLs). This position operates in a continuous, high-hazard chemical manufacturing environment and must demonstrate exceptional leadership in safety, reliability, and people development.
All duties are to be performed in strict accordance with Croda's Safety, Health, and Environmental (SHE) policies, OSHA PSM regulations, site-specific operating procedures, in an union environment.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
MANUFACTURING:
* Establish world class operation capability and PSM operational discipline.
* Responsible for meeting Uptime Goals.
* Accountable for production procedures and training and insuring continuous improvement.
* Investigate any deviation from plant standards and propose and implement corrective actions and solutions.
* Meet complex production schedule to ensure production plan targets meet on-time delivery to customers. Ensure cost effective operation driving for lowest unit cost. Drive continuous OEE and productive improvement tools through work with technical team.
* Assure all production policies and procedures (SOP"s) are followed.
* Develop operations team to execute sustainability.
* May be required to cover shifts as necessary for shift team leaders.
SAFETY, HEALTH, & ENVIRONMENT:
* Compliance with all environmental permits, health, and safety regulations, and with corporate and site-specific policies and rules through employee engagement.
* Continuous improvement through Croda Safety Framework.
* Ensure appropriate action is taken in the event of emergencies, incidents, inadequacies of procedure or inappropriate operational practice.
* Implement safety training and participate in various safety audits.
ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES:
* Manage shifts supervisors and operating teams.
* Manage employee training and competency.
* Develop personnel performance documents and conduct performance reviews.
* Proactively drive site culture through operations to achieve safe and efficient performance.
* Lead interactions with functions, including maintenance, capital projects, SHE Lab and engineering.
* Lead and participate in key operational meetings including shift handover reviews, labor-management meetings, learning team sessions, and site leadership reviews.
* Ensure all operational data, incident reports, training records, and regulatory documentation are accurately maintained in the applicable systems (SAP, Intelex, Ecesis, Q-Pulse).
* Be the DRC for wastewater treatment tank. Necessity to obtain and maintain Level II Delaware Wastewater Treatment Plant within a year.
All other duties will be assigned by management.
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION & TRAINING
BS in chemical engineering or other technical degree required
KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE
* Minimum of 10 years operations experience in continuous High Hazard chemical manufacturing.
* Experience with OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) regulated facilities is required.
* Experience with ethylene oxide (EO) operations or highly hazardous chemical manufacturing environments (refining, petrochemical, and specialty chemical industries) is strongly preferred.
* Prior experience managing teams in a union environment (USW or comparable) is strongly preferred, including experience with collective bargaining agreement administration, grievance response, and labor relations.
* Demonstrated experience with plant reliability improvement, root cause analysis, and maintenance strategy development.
* Demonstrated experience serving as Incident Commander, Emergency Coordinator, Fire Brigade Officer, HAZMAT Team Leader, or a comparable emergency response leadership role during drills and/or actual incidents.
* Experience leading responses to chemical releases, fires, process upsets, loss-of-containment events, medical emergencies, severe weather events, or other plant emergencies in a 24/7 operating environment.
SKILLS & ABILITIES
COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
* Must have oral & written proficiency in the English language.
* Strong interpersonal, organizational, oral, and written communication skills.
COMPUTER SKILLS:
* Proficient in MS Office.
* Record and communicate data accurately in several paper & computer systems (e.g., SAP).
OTHER SKILLS:
* Proven ability to lead, develop, and hold accountable a team of shift supervisors and operators in a high-hazard, 24/7 continuous manufacturing environment.
* Demonstrated ability to build a strong safety culture, coach performance, and manage labor relations consistently and fairly under a collective bargaining agreement.
Ability to drive accountability across shifts without creating a culture of fear or pressure that undermines stop-work authority or incident reporting.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
Able to walk, stand and sit for a minimum of 8 hours per day. Required to move throughout production areas on uneven surfaces, climb stairs and ladders. Must be able to lift 50 pounds.
#ZRNC