ARYZTA, LLC Career Opportunities
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Associate Bakery Director
Columbia, SC
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Play a Critical Leadership Role at the Highest Volume Bakery in North America

Drive your career & super-charge your skill-set in a role that has historically served as a training ground for Bakery Directors.

If you're an engaged operations leader with a knack for delivering top quality production while also managing costs, ensuring employee safety, food safety compliance and more, the role of Associate Bakery Director at our Cayce bakery is your opportunity to spotlight your talent for driving improvements and shine. You will be responsible for production-associated departments at a high-volume, best-in-class bakery. This is a complex facility supporting two ARYZTA divisions and producing three of our major product categories on 5 production lines. It's a facility where an ambitious Associate Bakery Director can quickly enhance his/her skills and gain the wide breadth of experience needed to step up to the top role. Consider a few of the advantages of the position. You will: Relocation assistance is available to an outstanding candidate. 

ARYZTA is a global baking company with a focus on the customer and unparalleled capabilities. These capabilities -- along with our passion for good food -- have allowed us to grow into one of the largest specialty bakery companies in the world. Operating on five continents, ARYZTA has 57 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens worldwide, and a growing workforce of almost 20,000 employees. In North America, we have 29 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens and are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers' expectations!

Video: Hear how ARYZTA, with SuccessFactors solutions including Employee Central, was able to build a foundation for consistent global workflow and processes which helped them integrate their acquisitions quickly and easily.

The Requirements

To be a strong fit for the Associate Bakery Director opportunity, you will have:
  • A bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance or other relevant focus (highly preferred) Quick question for you - click here and 5 years of food manufacturing experience  OR
  • An associate's degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance or other relevant focus and 7 years of food manufacturing experience  Quick question for you - click here
  • Strong managerial and team building skills 
  • Excellent leadership skills; the ability to influence, empower and energize others 
  • General knowledge of process equipment and regulatory compliance; exposure to machine reliability issues
  • Basic P&L and budgeting experience; solid math skills and basic accounting knowledge
  • Computer literacy including MS Office Suite (e.g. Excel, Word, PowerPoint); SAP experience is a plus
  • Excellent interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills
  • Strong analytical and critical thinking ability
  • Ability to lift/carry up to 50 pounds with or without assistance
  • Ability to travel, including some overnights, up to 10%, especially during initial training
  • To meet the basic qualification for this role, you must be legally authorized to work permanently in the U.S. for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship 
Preferred but not required:
  • Food Manufacturing background, ideally cookie, muffin and/or bread
  • Experience supporting and supervising all production departments
  • Lean Six Sigma or other relevant Continuous Improvement training is a plus
  • Strong presentation skills
While you will typically work Monday through Friday, you must be flexible and able to work different shifts, including nights and weekends, as appropriate to meet expectations and interact with all team members. Additionally, you will serve as a primary point of contact supporting all shifts and operations as needed.

Note:

The Role

Opportunity Snapshot
Reporting to the Bakery Director, as Associate Bakery Director, you will oversee all production related departments including Production, Packaging, Hygiene, Warehouse, and Maintenance, and be responsible for the day-to-day food production tasks. 
Your mission will be to ensure the bakery produces and delivers the highest quality food at the lowest possible cost. To meet your mission, you will work closely with the Bakery Director and a team of onsite managers responsible for production operations.

The Bakery
Cayce is a large, non-union bakery with approximately 400 employees, flexing to 450 as needed. We are currently running three shifts on five lines six days per week (M-S). Maintenance works seven days per week, with others may work Sunday as needed to meet expectations. We have two sheeted frozen dough lines, two frozen cookie lines, and one fully baked muffin line producing products for both our US Baking Solutions and US Consumer Foods divisions (branded products and QSRs).

In addition to the Bakery Director and yourself, the leadership team includes three Production Managers and managers in charge of maintenance, shipping/receiving, hygiene, food safety, and QA. We also have an onsite Controller, FSQA Manager, and HR Manager. It's a strong team but there's still plenty of room for improvement and you'll have the chance to make an impact in multiple areas. The Bakery Director is also new to the Cayce bakery, however, he's had strong success in other ARYZTA bakeries, progressing to the top role at our largest facility. With the right Associate Director helping him, we expect a continuous improvement approach to making the bakery even better. 

Role Details
On a daily basis, you will serve as the right hand to the Bakery Director, taking ownership of essential production tasks throughout the facility. You will also directly manage three Production Managers who are responsible for supervising the floor staff. Once you are fully acclimated to your role, you could supervise additional managers, such as Hygiene and Maintenance Managers. Quick question for you - click here

As Associate Bakery Director, you will be fully accountable for meeting plant volume and operating objectives. You will develop and implement strategies, processes, and programs that support ARYZTA systems in order to ensure compliance with company requirements and to meet goals for servicing the customer. Specifically, you will: 
  • Lead teams to deliver and exceed performance metrics in areas of:
    • Employee safety
    • Food quality
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Production yields 
    • Efficiencies
    • Labor costs
    • Production costs (reduction in overall downtime and waste)
    • Production schedule adherence
    • Housekeeping conditions
    • Continuous employee training  
  • Ensure compliance with all safety, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), regulatory and company policies
    • Ensuring bakery safety and security meets/exceeds established goals for food quality specifications, KPIs, budgets, employee training and employee safety
  • Ensure inspection audit readiness at all times
  • Drive quality improvements and initiatives through functional team leadership
  • Oversee the coordination and scheduling of all departments to meet planning demand levels
  • Review Key Performance Indicator (KPI) statistics; provide weekly reports with detailed commentary; include an action plan for needed remediation
  • Assist with the annual budget process
  • Monitor and control the labor budget and departmental spend throughout the fiscal year
  • Provide and support employee performance management with recognition, rewards, and resources that are focused on the development, motivation and engagement of all employees
  • Support the ARYZTA Core Values philosophy
  • Support indirect departments to ensure compliance, to include Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Environmental Health & Safety, and Human Resources
Note: This description is intended to provide you a general overview of the position and is not a comprehensive list of duties and responsibilities.

More Good Reasons

The Best-of-Both-Worlds
At ARYZTA, you will enjoy a strong foundation and history of success built over generations by 10 legacy companies, alongside the entrepreneurial energy and fresh insights of ARYZTA, who has been managing those brands for just 5 years. We take a startup approach to our work. Though we're far outside the risk of a start-up, we take a start-up approach to meeting our responsibilities and developing our bench strength. No one is siloed at ARYZTA.

Compensation & Benefits
In addition to competitive compensation and a bonus opportunity, you will enjoy a strong benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and other insurances, a bakery profit-sharing plan, a 401(k) plan with immediately vested company match, paid time off, parental leave, a tuition reimbursement program and more.

Work Beyond the Day-to-Day
Because this is the largest bakery in North America, there are lots of things happening outside of daily production. For example, you will have the opportunity to do customer tours and presentations; every major test happens here; you may even be involved in a new product launch! It could take you 15 years at a lot of different bakeries to get the same experience you can pick up in Cayce in just a couple of years.

A Company That Invests in Itself
ARYZTA is one of the largest bakery companies in the world. Our mission is to deliver the best possible food so we've built a supply chain that cares about quality, we invest in our company and properties year-over-year, and hire people who are passionate, dedicated and committed to adding value. If that sounds like you, you'll fit right in.

Pictured: A few of our fine brands.

Keys to Success

This is a strong bakery, but there's plenty of room for improvement. You will bring dynamic energy and drive our operation forward in partnership with the Bakery Director. While you'll take full ownership of your role, you will also keep the Bakery Director in the loop. 

Naturally, there will be KPIs that demonstrate quantifiable success, e.g. employee turnover, gross margin, year-over-year growth, equipment uptime, P&L, etc., but total success will require more than KPI achievement. The leader who will excel in this plant will be highly visible and engaged. S/he will be out on the floor and in leadership meetings encouraging employees, supervisors and managers to achieve more. We're looking for a leader who will drive operations while pushing the team in the right way and inspiring them to grow and develop.

About ARYZTA

ARYZTA is a global baking company with a Passion for Good Food. We provide our retail and foodservice customers with a portfolio of bakery solutions so they can deliver memorable, delicious food to consumers. With operations in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, ARYZTA has become a global leader in the baked goods industry and one of the largest specialty bakery companies in the world. Our leading bakery brands in North America include La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. We have 58 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens around the globe, with 26 of those in North America, and are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. The Americas team champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration. ARYZTA Americas operates one of the largest specialty bakery businesses servicing all major customers in the retail, foodservice, QSR and convenience store channels.

Play a Critical Leadership Role at the Highest Volume Bakery in North America

Drive your career & super-charge your skill-set in a role that has historically served as a training ground for Bakery Directors.

If you're an engaged operations leader with a knack for delivering top quality production while also managing costs, ensuring employee safety, food safety compliance and more, the role of Associate Bakery Director at our Cayce bakery is your opportunity to spotlight your talent for driving improvements and shine. You will be responsible for production-associated departments at a high-volume, best-in-class bakery. This is a complex facility supporting two ARYZTA divisions and producing three of our major product categories on 5 production lines. It's a facility where an ambitious Associate Bakery Director can quickly enhance his/her skills and gain the wide breadth of experience needed to step up to the top role. Consider a few of the advantages of the position. You will: Relocation assistance is available to an outstanding candidate. 

ARYZTA is a global baking company with a focus on the customer and unparalleled capabilities. These capabilities -- along with our passion for good food -- have allowed us to grow into one of the largest specialty bakery companies in the world. Operating on five continents, ARYZTA has 57 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens worldwide, and a growing workforce of almost 20,000 employees. In North America, we have 29 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens and are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers' expectations!

Video: Hear how ARYZTA, with SuccessFactors solutions including Employee Central, was able to build a foundation for consistent global workflow and processes which helped them integrate their acquisitions quickly and easily.

The Requirements

To be a strong fit for the Associate Bakery Director opportunity, you will have:
  • A bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance or other relevant focus (highly preferred) Quick question for you - click here and 5 years of food manufacturing experience  OR
  • An associate's degree in Business, Engineering, Operations Management, Finance or other relevant focus and 7 years of food manufacturing experience  Quick question for you - click here
  • Strong managerial and team building skills 
  • Excellent leadership skills; the ability to influence, empower and energize others 
  • General knowledge of process equipment and regulatory compliance; exposure to machine reliability issues
  • Basic P&L and budgeting experience; solid math skills and basic accounting knowledge
  • Computer literacy including MS Office Suite (e.g. Excel, Word, PowerPoint); SAP experience is a plus
  • Excellent interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills
  • Strong analytical and critical thinking ability
  • Ability to lift/carry up to 50 pounds with or without assistance
  • Ability to travel, including some overnights, up to 10%, especially during initial training
  • To meet the basic qualification for this role, you must be legally authorized to work permanently in the U.S. for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship 
Preferred but not required:
  • Food Manufacturing background, ideally cookie, muffin and/or bread
  • Experience supporting and supervising all production departments
  • Lean Six Sigma or other relevant Continuous Improvement training is a plus
  • Strong presentation skills
While you will typically work Monday through Friday, you must be flexible and able to work different shifts, including nights and weekends, as appropriate to meet expectations and interact with all team members. Additionally, you will serve as a primary point of contact supporting all shifts and operations as needed.

Note:

The Role

Opportunity Snapshot
Reporting to the Bakery Director, as Associate Bakery Director, you will oversee all production related departments including Production, Packaging, Hygiene, Warehouse, and Maintenance, and be responsible for the day-to-day food production tasks. 
Your mission will be to ensure the bakery produces and delivers the highest quality food at the lowest possible cost. To meet your mission, you will work closely with the Bakery Director and a team of onsite managers responsible for production operations.

The Bakery
Cayce is a large, non-union bakery with approximately 400 employees, flexing to 450 as needed. We are currently running three shifts on five lines six days per week (M-S). Maintenance works seven days per week, with others may work Sunday as needed to meet expectations. We have two sheeted frozen dough lines, two frozen cookie lines, and one fully baked muffin line producing products for both our US Baking Solutions and US Consumer Foods divisions (branded products and QSRs).

In addition to the Bakery Director and yourself, the leadership team includes three Production Managers and managers in charge of maintenance, shipping/receiving, hygiene, food safety, and QA. We also have an onsite Controller, FSQA Manager, and HR Manager. It's a strong team but there's still plenty of room for improvement and you'll have the chance to make an impact in multiple areas. The Bakery Director is also new to the Cayce bakery, however, he's had strong success in other ARYZTA bakeries, progressing to the top role at our largest facility. With the right Associate Director helping him, we expect a continuous improvement approach to making the bakery even better. 

Role Details
On a daily basis, you will serve as the right hand to the Bakery Director, taking ownership of essential production tasks throughout the facility. You will also directly manage three Production Managers who are responsible for supervising the floor staff. Once you are fully acclimated to your role, you could supervise additional managers, such as Hygiene and Maintenance Managers. Quick question for you - click here

As Associate Bakery Director, you will be fully accountable for meeting plant volume and operating objectives. You will develop and implement strategies, processes, and programs that support ARYZTA systems in order to ensure compliance with company requirements and to meet goals for servicing the customer. Specifically, you will: 
  • Lead teams to deliver and exceed performance metrics in areas of:
    • Employee safety
    • Food quality
    • Customer satisfaction
    • Production yields 
    • Efficiencies
    • Labor costs
    • Production costs (reduction in overall downtime and waste)
    • Production schedule adherence
    • Housekeeping conditions
    • Continuous employee training  
  • Ensure compliance with all safety, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), regulatory and company policies
    • Ensuring bakery safety and security meets/exceeds established goals for food quality specifications, KPIs, budgets, employee training and employee safety
  • Ensure inspection audit readiness at all times
  • Drive quality improvements and initiatives through functional team leadership
  • Oversee the coordination and scheduling of all departments to meet planning demand levels
  • Review Key Performance Indicator (KPI) statistics; provide weekly reports with detailed commentary; include an action plan for needed remediation
  • Assist with the annual budget process
  • Monitor and control the labor budget and departmental spend throughout the fiscal year
  • Provide and support employee performance management with recognition, rewards, and resources that are focused on the development, motivation and engagement of all employees
  • Support the ARYZTA Core Values philosophy
  • Support indirect departments to ensure compliance, to include Food Safety & Quality Assurance, Environmental Health & Safety, and Human Resources
Note: This description is intended to provide you a general overview of the position and is not a comprehensive list of duties and responsibilities.

More Good Reasons

The Best-of-Both-Worlds
At ARYZTA, you will enjoy a strong foundation and history of success built over generations by 10 legacy companies, alongside the entrepreneurial energy and fresh insights of ARYZTA, who has been managing those brands for just 5 years. We take a startup approach to our work. Though we're far outside the risk of a start-up, we take a start-up approach to meeting our responsibilities and developing our bench strength. No one is siloed at ARYZTA.

Compensation & Benefits
In addition to competitive compensation and a bonus opportunity, you will enjoy a strong benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and other insurances, a bakery profit-sharing plan, a 401(k) plan with immediately vested company match, paid time off, parental leave, a tuition reimbursement program and more.

Work Beyond the Day-to-Day
Because this is the largest bakery in North America, there are lots of things happening outside of daily production. For example, you will have the opportunity to do customer tours and presentations; every major test happens here; you may even be involved in a new product launch! It could take you 15 years at a lot of different bakeries to get the same experience you can pick up in Cayce in just a couple of years.

A Company That Invests in Itself
ARYZTA is one of the largest bakery companies in the world. Our mission is to deliver the best possible food so we've built a supply chain that cares about quality, we invest in our company and properties year-over-year, and hire people who are passionate, dedicated and committed to adding value. If that sounds like you, you'll fit right in.

Pictured: A few of our fine brands.

Keys to Success

This is a strong bakery, but there's plenty of room for improvement. You will bring dynamic energy and drive our operation forward in partnership with the Bakery Director. While you'll take full ownership of your role, you will also keep the Bakery Director in the loop. 

Naturally, there will be KPIs that demonstrate quantifiable success, e.g. employee turnover, gross margin, year-over-year growth, equipment uptime, P&L, etc., but total success will require more than KPI achievement. The leader who will excel in this plant will be highly visible and engaged. S/he will be out on the floor and in leadership meetings encouraging employees, supervisors and managers to achieve more. We're looking for a leader who will drive operations while pushing the team in the right way and inspiring them to grow and develop.

About ARYZTA

ARYZTA is a global baking company with a Passion for Good Food. We provide our retail and foodservice customers with a portfolio of bakery solutions so they can deliver memorable, delicious food to consumers. With operations in the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, ARYZTA has become a global leader in the baked goods industry and one of the largest specialty bakery companies in the world. Our leading bakery brands in North America include La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. We have 58 state-of-the-art bakeries and kitchens around the globe, with 26 of those in North America, and are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers’ expectations. The Americas team champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration. ARYZTA Americas operates one of the largest specialty bakery businesses servicing all major customers in the retail, foodservice, QSR and convenience store channels.
ARYZTA, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request an accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career center as a result of your disability. To request an accommodation, contact the Human Resources Department at cmitchell@engage2excel.com.
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