Plant Human Resources Manager

Position Summary:

Responsible for developing strategic people priorities in support of site objectives, with a strong focus on union relations, collective bargaining, and labor compliance. This includes developing, implementing, and governing human resources policies, programs and services, including recruitment, selection, retention, legal compliance, employee & labor relations, total rewards programs, performance and talent management, employment practices and procedures, leadership development, training, change management and employee communications.  Serves as an internal consultant to facility management team, supervisors and employees on issues that affect performance and business relationships while fostering a workplace environment consistent with the values and mission outlined by leadership of Ventura Foods.  Serves as the primary liaison between management and union representatives, ensuring constructive labor relations, contract compliance, and fair employment practices while supporting organizational goals. Leads the HR team in the plant and serves as a leader on the plant leadership team.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Leads a team of 2 direct reports.  Responsible for goal setting, individual development, and building a strong, collaborative team dynamic.
• Develops the site-specific people-strategy, driving improvement in overall site efficiency and performance, with a goal of high engagement and low turnover  
• Provide effective coaching, counsel, and feedback to site leaders to support overall employee engagement and retention.  Ensure site management team is effectively collaborating and promoting a high-performance, people-driven culture.  Manage employee relations and conflict resolution. 
• Oversees and supports talent acquisition for all exempt and non-exempt positions. Leads and manages the recruitment process to include development of the sourcing strategy, selection approach, participation in external job engagements, interviewing, offer, etc.
• Oversees site learning and development programs to upskill employees and improve operational performance.  Work with corporate L&D resources as needed in the design and creation of programs that drive focused solutions.  
• Responsible for managing key programs and initiatives, such as Wellness, Benefits Enrollment and Education, and other Company sponsored programs. Guide the site in relevant change management efforts where applicable.  
• Engage in constructive union-management relationships and collective bargaining process. This includes coordinating and acting as a key participant in the collective bargaining process, advising management and working with union officials on the interpretation and application of the collective agreement, and managing the grievance process.
• Responsible for executing all talent management processes to include performance planning & management, people planning, and succession management. 
•  Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws, as well as company policies and procedures.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree required, emphasis in HR or Business is preferred.
• 5+ years experience in the Human Resources field, including direct people leadership/management experience required.
• Ability to travel 5%.
• Experience in union work environments is strongly preferred.
• On-site manufacturing HR experience at a manager level is a definite asset.
• Professional certification preferred (i.e. SHRM or PHR), Professional Human Resources certification.
• Experience/involvement in employee training strategy and implementation.
• Experience with talent assessment & succession planning.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Ability to observe confidentiality.  
• Ability to influence and build positive relationships and foster a collaborative work environment.
• Strong understanding of federal, state, and local labor laws and regulations.
• Demonstrated ability to bring outdated HR processes into the modern era using technology and best practices.
• Detail-oriented with excellent organizational, communication, interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Excellent customer service, time management and analytical skills with a proven ability to multi-task, prioritize, and work efficiently in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to coach and advise employees and leadership with candor, integrity and credibility through complex issues.
• Action orientation with ability to prioritize and follow through on commitments.
• Quantitative and analytical skills necessary to effectively analyze, communicate and interpret human resource metrics.