Production Manager, Pellet Mill

Job Summary

The Production Manager leads all production efforts and crews at our Outdoor Brands’ BBQ pellet manufacturing facility in Peebles, Ohio, while striving for a zero-incident culture and ensuring a safe and clean workplace. This role enforces and holds teams accountable to all safety, environmental, and health standards and practices, and supports employee training and development in the work.

Through alignment of support across production, maintenance, quality, and distribution, the Production Manager builds the success of the team by achieving business results. This role models extreme ownership — taking full responsibility for outcomes and fostering a culture where team members support other functions and step in wherever needed, regardless of job title or assigned responsibility. This includes delivering stable, predictable production performance, partnering with maintenance to maximize uptime, developing team members, and providing accurate daily performance data to the Plant Manager to drive continuous improvement.

Duties and Responsibilities

Pellet Mill Operations

• Strive for stable production results, meeting or beating expectations for volume, quality, and delivery.
• Build and schedule the weekly production plan, sequencing SKU-level runs, shift assignments, and changeovers to meet customer demand and inventory targets.
• Partner with distribution and warehouse teams to align production output with loading, shipping, and inventory requirements, ensuring seamless product flow from the mill to the customer.
• Ensure effective manning and resource planning across all shifts to support reliable, efficient operations.
• Audit teams to established standards, standard operating procedures, and performance expectations.
• Partner with maintenance leadership to achieve uptime results, minimize downtime, and support execution of preventive maintenance programs.
• Responsible for teams’ daily shift results, including production output, quality, and housekeeping.

Safety and Housekeeping

• Adhere to and follow all safety policies and standards and hold teams accountable to the same.
• Ensure the safety of the team through proper PPE use and adherence to all policies, standards, and combustible dust housekeeping practices.
• Ensure timely reporting of all process upsets, near misses, and safety incidents.
• Follow up on incident reports to ensure investigation and corrective actions are completed.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and safe work environment across all production areas.

Team Development

• Hire, train, and integrate new team members into the production organization.
• Resolve conflicts between team members promptly, fairly, and professionally.
• Develop people well enough that they grow, while treating them well enough that they stay.
• Track employee growth to prepare and implement individual team member evaluations.
• Model and promote extreme ownership — building a team culture where members support other functions and one another, regardless of job title or assigned responsibility.
• Promote the WC Bradley culture of safety, integrity, and operational excellence.

Data Tracking and Reporting

• Collect and input daily KPIs from production teams’ daily shift reports.
• Track and record downtime, identifying root causes and trends.
• Report any production or performance variances to the Plant Manager with recommended corrective actions.
• Use production data to identify bottlenecks and support continuous improvement initiatives.

Other Duties

• Provide leadership during emergencies, shutdowns, and high-priority operational situations.
• Perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Qualification Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in related area

7 years of experience

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Working knowledge of mechanical and process equipment common to pellet manufacturing, including pellet mills, dryers, hammermills, and bagging systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead crews across multiple shifts in a twenty-four-hour production environment.
• Strong communication, leadership, conflict resolution, and team development skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities under pressure and make sound decisions.
• Proficiency with production reporting tools, daily KPI tracking, and data analysis; familiarity with computerized maintenance management systems preferred.
• Ability to work in outdoor environments and occasionally in temperatures above 100°F and below 32°F.
• Ability to maintain regular attendance and work flexible hours, including nights, weekends, or holidays when needed.
• Ability to work in a constant state of alertness and perform physically demanding tasks when required.

Physical Requirements

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