Lead, Global Manufacturing Food

Position Title: Lead, Global Manufacturing Food
Department: Manufacturing
Compensation Range: $160,000-200,000 USD
Location: Naperville, IL, USA

About AGI

Ag Growth International Inc. (“AGI”) is a provider of the physical equipment and digital technology solutions required to support global food infrastructure including grain, fertilizer, seed, feed, and food processing systems. With over 4,000 employees worldwide, and facilities and offices in Canada, the United States, Brazil, India, Europe, APAC, Australia, and Africa, AGI sells its products globally through a network of wholly owned subsidiaries and third-party dealers and distributors.

The Opportunity

As a key member of the Global Food Leadership team, the Lead Global Manufacturing Food is responsible for performance of all Food manufacturing locations across the USA, Canada & France, a network of 4 facilities.  This role is responsible for aligning the strategic direction of all Food manufacturing entities to Business objectives and successful execution against the agreed strategy as evaluated against key metrics and KPIs.  A highly collaborative role that works closely with senior and executive leadership, project management, engineering, production, marketing and sales teams.  The role has overall accountability for performance across all Food manufacturing facilities, and will report directly to the VP, Supply Chain & NA Manufacturing, with matrix reporting to the SVP, Global Feed & Food.

The Team

The role will report to the VP, Supply Chain and North America Manufacturing. The role will have 4 direct and 100 indirect reports. The role is global in scope and will closely with teams in US, Canada and France. 

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, direct, and promote AGI culture of SAFTEY in all manufacturing activities, with full accountability and responsibility for the SAFETY performance across the Food manufacturing facilities.
• As a key member of the Global Foods Leadership Team, work directly with the SVP, Global Feed & Food to develop and execute the Global Business 3-Year Strategic Plan
• Provide input into and overall support for the strategic direction of manufacturing units by developing comprehensive product plans, processes, and factory relationships with the goal of increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and driving profitability
• Work with VP, Global Supply Chain & NA Manufacturing and the SVP, Global Feed & Food to develop list of Food manufacturing KPI’s to be tracked at each facility
• Lead Food manufacturing, and serve as a key liaison between manufacturing and business management / sales
• Drive LEAN manufacturing process and automation initiatives to improve quality and operating efficiencies.
• Collaborate closely with product managers and engineers in the product development phase, focusing on the creation of first prototypes to assess market fit, feasibility, impact on processes, and quality in support of large-scale production.
• Provide leadership and coaching to engineering, quality control, and production teams to ensure the smooth execution of all manufacturing operations
• Regularly meet with, procurement, quality control and production managers and set key indicators for evaluating performance
• Contribute continuously towards creating or refining systems and processes to minimize errors and bolster productivity.
• Provide training to the manufacturing team across the region on organization-specific manufacturing practices, risk mitigation, safety protocols, usage of new equipment, and industry best practices.
• Responsible for organization development, talent development, and coaching required to create a high performing team
• Communication of order execution performance through KPIs to SVP, Global Feed & Food and Food Leadership team
• Follow AGI’s Code of Business Ethics and related compliance policies
• Additional duties and responsibilities as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in the field of Engineering, Business or equivalent.
• 15+ years' progressive experience in manufacturing, engineering business development, and / or product innovation and development, preferably in a Food Equipment Manufacturing environment.
• Bilingual strongly preferred: Ability to speak, read and write in French
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt strongly preferred.
• Understanding of complex technical product design requirements.
• Strong communication and relationship building skills across all levels of the organization, from Direct Labor to CEO
• Proven ability to provide leadership to a team of geographically disbursed professional