Plant Manager – The Tallowed Truth
This executive search is conducted by Nelson/Kraft & Associates on behalf of The Tallowed Truth
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Tallowed Truth is searching for an entrepreneurial servant leader to join their team as Plant Manager!
Reporting to the Founder & CEO and working closely with the executive leadership team, the Plant Manager will have overall responsibility for the performance and development of the Peterborough manufacturing operation. The role leads the production, maintenance/equipment, and fulfillment functions and is accountable for safe, reliable, high-quality, and cost-effective plant execution.
The Plant Manager will connect demand forecasts, materials, labour, equipment, inventory, quality, and fulfillment into disciplined operating plans. They will advance Lean manufacturing, strengthen production scheduling and cost visibility, build practical SOPs and training systems, improve supply-chain resilience, and prepare the facility for greater GMP maturity, Health Canada requirements, and future Natural Health Product site licensing.
This is neither a desk-only role nor a strategy-only position. The successful candidate will be visible on the plant floor, comfortable solving immediate problems, and equally capable of building the systems and leaders required for the next stage of growth.
This is a new leadership role for a hands-on manufacturing builder. The Plant Manager will professionalize a fast-growing operation, strengthen the team, and create a scalable plant without importing unnecessary bureaucracy.
If you are a humble, technically credible plant leader who wants to help shape the next stage of a distinctive Canadian growth company, we invite you to reach out about this opportunity.
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
The ideal candidate is an experienced manufacturing leader who combines plant-floor credibility with the judgment to build for scale. They are energized by an environment where the business is successful and growing, but systems and structures are still being developed. They listen before acting, build confidence in others, and raise standards without relying on status, ego, or command-and-control leadership.
WHO WE ARE
The Tallowed Truth is a Canadian, founder-led natural-products company creating animal-based cosmetics from tallow and other simple, carefully sourced ingredients. Founded in 2023, the company has grown rapidly from small-batch basement production into an established direct-to-consumer manufacturer serving customers across Canada and the United States. Its products are manufactured in-house, with craftsmanship, transparency, customer trust, and practical performance at the centre of the brand.
The company has proven demand, is historically cash-flow positive, and is entering its next stage of growth. The priority now is to build the manufacturing systems, leadership depth, regulatory maturity, and operating discipline required to scale sustainably without losing the entrepreneurial energy and ownership mindset that created the business.
OUR VALUES
Radical Energy & Enthusiasm
We believe that vitality is our natural state and that how we show up in the world is a choice. We reject the modern epidemic of apathy and victimization, choosing instead to meet every challenge with the intensity and optimism required to build a better future.
Courage, Honesty & Integrity
We aren't afraid to say the quiet part out loud. In an era of manufactured narratives and corporate deception, we believe that radical honesty is the only path to true freedom and connection.
Ownership & Stewardship
We are the main characters in the story of our life, not the extras. We take full responsibility for our health, our families, and our impact, acting as guardians of the principles that will sustain the generations to come.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required Experience & Qualifications
- Approximately seven or more years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including meaningful responsibility for people, production, equipment, quality, materials, cost, and plant performance.
- Plant leadership experience in cosmetics, personal care, natural health products, food and beverage, nutraceuticals, or another regulated batch-manufacturing environment.
- Demonstrated fluency in GMP and direct experience building compliant systems, SOPs, training, CAPA, documentation, and audit readiness.
- Practical knowledge of Health Canada requirements and useful exposure to FDA expectations or U.S. regulatory environments.
- Proven ability to implement Lean manufacturing or continuous-improvement practices with frontline adoption and measurable results.
- Strong production-planning, inventory-management, cost-analysis, and ERP/MRP capability.
- Proven success developing managers and frontline employees, strengthening accountability, and leading change.
- Ability and commitment to work fully onsite in Peterborough, Ontario.
Preferred Assets
- Experience with Natural Health Product site licensing, cosmetic manufacturing, filling and packaging, shelf-life controls, or regulated product testing.
- Experience professionalizing or scaling a founder-led, entrepreneurial, or rapidly growing manufacturing business.
- Experience with new-product commercialization, equipment selection, automation, facility layout, capital projects, co-packers, and multi-node inventory.
- Experience with Katana or a comparable MRP/ERP platform and connected e-commerce, shipping, and fulfillment systems.
- Post-secondary education in engineering, operations, manufacturing, business, science, or a related technical discipline. Equivalent practical experience and a strong record of results will be considered.
LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES
Servant Leadership: Listens well, develops others, shares responsibility, and puts the team and mission ahead of personal ego.
Hands-On Builder: Enjoys creating practical systems in an evolving environment and is willing to work alongside the team to solve problems.
Operational & Commercial Judgment: Connects safety, quality, service, cost, cash, capacity, and risk when making decisions.
Accountability: Sets clear standards, follows through, addresses issues directly, and owns outcomes rather than assigning blame.
Continuous Improvement: Uses data, observation, and frontline insight to simplify work and produce sustained measurable gains.
Communication & Collaboration: Communicates with clarity and respect, raises risks early, and works constructively with founders, specialists, and generalists.
Adaptability: Prioritizes effectively amid rapid growth, changing demand, and incomplete information without creating unnecessary drama.
Integrity & Stewardship: Protects people, product quality, customer trust, company resources, and the long-term health of the brand.
Location: Peterborough, ON
Application Deadline: October 30, 2026
Start Date: TBD
Salary Range: $120,000 to $170,000, commensurate with experience
ABOUT US
Nelson/Kraft & Associates Inc. is an executive consulting firm that specializes in working with not-for-profits and for-profit businesses across Canada, assisting them in the placement of senior executives and directors.
Nelson/Kraft & Associates Inc. welcomes and encourages all interested applicants to apply for this position. Nelson/Kraft & Associates Inc. is committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion in its hiring practices, and will only make distinctions among interested applicants in accordance with the applicable Human Rights legislation.
Nelson/Kraft & Associates Inc. also welcomes and encourages applications from candidates with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in the selection process. If you require disability-related accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact us.
