Plant Manager

Company Description Northam Beverages Ltd. is one of Western Canada’s fastest growing beverage alcohol companies, recognized for brand and product innovation in craft beer, cider, and vodka-based ready-to-drink beverages. The company’s head office is located in Burnaby, with company-owned production sites in Whistler and Kamloops. Founded in 2005, Northam remains privately BC-owned and operated, offering a dynamic environment with strong entrepreneurial roots. For more information on our Kamloops Facility, our brands, and about our company, visit our website at https://www.northamgroup.com/

Role Description Reporting to the President & COO, the Plant Manager is responsible for the overall hands-on leadership, performance, and management of the Kamloops facility. This role ensures the facility achieves its production, quality, service, safety, and financial objectives. The Plant Manager develops and executes operational plans, manages plant resources, and fosters an upbeat culture focusing on accountability, continuous improvement, employee engagement, and regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate is a proven culture builder and hands-on leader who takes a genuine interest in the team, leads with a high level of care, and is visible and engaged in the day-to-day operation of the facility.

THE ROLE

Plant Leadership & Performance 

• Provides overall hands-on leadership, supervision and direction for plant operations including Brewing, Packaging, Maintenance, and Plant Administration. 
• Ensures production targets are achieved safely, efficiently, and in accordance with business requirements. 
• Develops annual operating plans to support Company strategic objectives. 
• Reviews and monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) and implements corrective actions where required. 
• Leads continuous improvement initiatives focused on improved productivity, quality, cost reduction, and operational excellence & effectiveness. 
• Provides timely reporting and updates to senior leadership regarding plant performance, risks, and opportunities. 

Production Operations 

• Coordinates with Supply Chain, Sales, and Product Development teams to ensure production schedules are achieved. 
• Ensures adequate staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation to meet operational requirements. 
• Promotes operational discipline and adherence to standard operating procedures and best practices. 
• Ensures product availability while maintaining efficiency and cost objectives. 
• Evaluates current and future operational capacity requirements. 

Financial Management 

• Develops and manages the annual operating budget for the Kamloops facility. 
• Maintains operating expenses within approved budgets and identifies opportunities for cost savings. 
• Reviews labour absorption to ensure targets are met and corrects or explains variances. 
• Evaluates financial and operational results to identify trends and improvement opportunities. 
• Supports business cases and recommendations for capital expenditures. 
• Oversees and directs approved capital projects to ensure completion within scope, budget and timeline. 

Quality

• Ensures compliance with all corporate quality standards and regulatory requirements. 
• Partners with QC Manager to maintain robust quality management systems. 
• Ensures employees adhere to established quality procedures and operating standards. 
• Supports investigation and resolution of non-conforming product or process issues. 
• Maintains a culture where product quality is a foundational priority. 

Maintenance & Asset Management 

• Ensures preventive and predictive maintenance programs are effectively executed. 
• Maintains focus on equipment reliability, uptime, and operational efficiency. 
• Reviews maintenance performance and identifies opportunities to reduce downtime and extend asset life. 
• Supports long-term facility planning and capacity improvement initiatives. 
• Works with corporate leadership to identify capital investment priorities. 

Health, Safety & Regulatory Compliance 

• Promotes and maintains a safe workplace culture throughout the facility. 
• Ensures compliance with WorkSafeBC requirements and all applicable health, safety, environmental, and regulatory standards. 
• Provides leadership oversight to the Joint Health and Safety Committee. 
• Ensures incidents, injuries, and near misses are properly investigated and corrective actions implemented. 
• Maintains high standards of housekeeping, sanitation, and environmental compliance. 

People Leadership & Culture 

• Provides coaching, mentoring and development opportunities for managers, supervisors and employees. 
• Leads workforce planning, succession planning and talent development initiatives. 
• Conducts performance management activities including goal setting, performance reviews and development planning. 
• Addresses employee performance, attendance, disciplinary and workplace issues in partnership with Human Resources.

WHAT YOU BRING

• Post-secondary education in Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field. 
• Minimum 5 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including management responsibility within a food, beverage, brewing, or consumer packaged goods environment. 
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi-department manufacturing operation. 
• Strong understanding of manufacturing KPIs, budgeting, labour planning and operational cost management. 
• Experience with quality systems, GMPs and regulatory compliance. 
• Experience leading continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives. 
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills. 
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making abilities. 

THE GOOD STUFF

• Paid Vacation: Four weeks to start.
• Benefits: Comprehensive benefits plus a Health Spending Account for you and your dependents.
• Annual Bonus: Bonus potential of up to 15% annually.
• RRSP Matching: 1.5% employer match to start, increasing to up to 4.5% after two years.
• Product Allowance: $75 per month to enjoy our products.
• Casual Dress: Come to work in comfortable attire.

A reasonable estimate of the pay range is $100,000 - $115,000 at the time of this posting. Within the range, individual pay is determined by factors such as job-related skills, relevant experience, education and/or training. The upper end of the range is typically reserved for candidates with demonstrated expertise that is above job requirements or who bring exceptional directly transferable experience.

We understand that candidates may need to relocate to Kamloops for this opportunity, and we are open to discussing flexible relocation timelines and relocation assistance.