Entrée / Burrito Business Unit Manager

Founded 28 years ago in Sonoma County, California, Amy's Kitchen is a world leader in the production of natural and organic convenience foods. Named after Andy and Rachel Berliner's daughter, Amy, the company now has over 2,400 employees. Yet, it remains a privately held, family-owned business and is one of the few remaining U.S. companies to craft its own recipes, source its own ingredients, and make its products in-house.

Directly manages tactical and strategic initiatives in assigned Business Unit in accordance with established company goals, procedures, quality standards, and government or regulatory guidelines.

* Assumes overall responsibility for the performance of the Business Unit. Recognizes areas of opportunity in Business Unit that improve Employee Safety, Product Quality and GMPs/Food Safety, Sensory, Cost, Productivity, and Employee Satisfaction/Morale and empowers team members to take job-appropriate ownership of initiatives to drive improvement. * Advocates a Continuous Improvement mindset among the Business Unit team members, promoting the use of CI methodology including root cause analysis (RCA), “go and see” or “grasp actual conditions” (gemba board review), Problem & Resolution, verification/validation audits, reduction of waste, etc., as part of standard work to solve problems. Once CI methodology is proficient among team members in Business Unit, advocates for more reliance upon tools to facilitate distribution of information. * Creates a culture of problem solving among team members in the Business Unit. Supports a culture based on engaged team members actively promoting ideas to improve the Business Unit and on taking ownership of trialing ideas before suggesting them to Plant Management. Supports a culture whereby proven employee ideas can be implemented expeditiously in the Business Unit. * Champions Amy’s Safety Program within the Business Unit by empowering Business Unit team members to own Safety. Understands the safe operation of each piece of equipment and holds team members accountable to work in compliance with these standards. * Builds strong relationships with support departments. Utilizes these relationships to help support improvement in processes, conditions, and equipment within the Business Unit. * Collaborates with the plant management team to establish effective KPIs and operational objectives that drive improvement year after year in the Business Unit. * Coaches team members to audit to ensure standard work within the Business Unit in relation to: Employee Safety, Product Quality and Food Safety, Sensory, Cost, Productivity, and Employee Satisfaction/Morale. Strives to continuously improve upon existing standards. Where no standard work exists, empowers team members to establish it. * Supports forward-looking production planning within Business Unit and ensures team members adhere to a proactive, system-based approach to planning. * Leads management of the budget and other productivity / cost KPIs (e.g., alias adjustments, material usage variances, etc.) for the Business Unit. Empowers team to take corrective action to address practices on the floor that negatively impact budget or KPIs. Utilizes P-D-C-A to ensure corrective actions are effective. Is responsible for setting, executing, and meeting productivity stretch goals for the fiscal year. * Drives a Continuous Improvement approach through the Business Unit with regards to consumer complaints. Ensures team members regularly receive consumer complaints and that appropriate action is taken to correct deficiencies and to reduce further complaints. Commits to reductions in key consumer complaint areas specific to the Business Unit and demonstrates sustained improvement year over year. * Accountable for Business Unit’s adherence to controls and procedures as established by R&D, Engineering, or Quality Assurance. Empowers team members to audit regularly to ensure standard work. Demonstrates a bias for action when deviations are observed. * With the support of the QA Manager and QA Supervisors, is responsible for implementing and enforcing procedures that are part of the overall plant food safety management system and the SQF standard. * Works with Business Unit team members to find ways to optimize throughput while maintaining safety and quality. Works with team to assign labor and equipment to meet scheduling needs or resolve operational issues. * Constructively and expeditiously confronts and resolves employee conflicts. * Maintains a positive work environment. Promotes a high level of teamwork by maintaining a cohesive group and by managing in a positive work environment that is inclusive and with an open door policy at all levels. * Develops controls and procedures to ensure smooth flow of information and communication. Organizes cross-functional meetings between departments as needed. * Actively supports the development of all team members. Coaches and mentors Supervisors and Team Leaders to inspire exceptional leadership. * Performs other duties as assigned by the plant management team. **Supervisory Responsibilitites** * Directly manages Business Unit. Supports team members in the Business Unit. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

**Qualifications** To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. **Education and/or Experience** * Bachelor's degree (BA or BS) from four-year college or university and four years manufacturing experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and manufacturing experience and/or training. **Language Skills** * Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations in English (and Spanish, where applicable). * Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals in English (and Spanish, where applicable). * Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public in English (and Spanish, where applicable).