We bring the potential of people, nature, and technology together to make life better.

That’s our purpose. We are all IN to make life better!

Every day, Ingredion employees bring their skills, creativity, and passion together to deliver ingredient solutions that enhance people’s lives. We are innovators who combine the power of technology with the best of nature to delight our customers and consumers. We hold ourselves to the highest standards in ethics, safety, quality, and sustainability. Unlocking the potential of people, nature, and technology to make life better is what drives us in every aspect of our business.

If you are interested in making life better, we are all IN to learn more about you! A bit about what you can expect from the employee experience at Ingredion:

The chance to make a difference

No matter where you work in the company, you’ll have an opportunity to make life better… for our colleagues, customers, communities, and the world.

Passionate people, motivated to excel

Our highly talented people have a passion for learning and achievement and are driven by our inspiring purpose to make life better and our core values: Care First, Be Preferred, Everyone Belongs, Innovate Boldly, and Owner’s Mindset.

A warm, welcoming environment

At Ingredion, everyone belongs! We embrace diversity and foster an inclusive work environment where individuals feel supported and enabled to contribute their very best every day.

A place where you can grow personally and professionally

We believe everyone has great potential, and we strive to nurture that potential into great personal and professional achievements.

An environment that enables innovation and collaboration

We are creating the conditions that inspire and enable innovation - in our products and services, as well as in how we do our work day-to-day

The Operations Manager is responsible for leading the Cedar Rapids site to improved performance in SSHE, quality, productivity, profitability, and efficiency through the implementation of strong leadership, effective processes and procedures, and continuous improvement

Core Responsibilities:

• Lead operations management team to meet the operating plan consistently and reliably.
• Develop site budget, phased for seasonality, and expected output
• Manage the site budget for all spend except maintenance, consistently delivering budget.
• Create, execute, and report on action plans to drive out variances monthly.
• Forecast variances in future periods.
• Report on plant output and communicate concerns regarding future delivery to site leadership.
• Review SKU-specific production plan to ensure viability of the plan, and validate that resources are adequately deployed to deliver it.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of all Quality metrics and incidents to all relevant leadership and agencies.
• Participate in Site Quality Steering Committee.
• Participate in Site Central Safety Committee and lead one or more subcommittees.
• Represent Ingredion to third party agencies and customer auditors.
• Ensure effective use of Continuous Improvement tools to prevent future or recurring failures, and injuries or incidents.
• Ensure accurate and timely reporting of all SSHE metrics and incidents to all relevant leadership and agencies.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with all applicable company, regulatory, and governmental regulations.
• Continuously drive improvement initiatives to reduce cost and increase efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to streamline operations to increase output, reduce waste, and lower costs.
• Identify technologies and methodologies in the greater industry that apply to the site and develop strategies for implementation.
• Partner with Supply Chain, Quality, Engineering and Maintenance to remove obstacles and drive continuous improvement.
• Partner with Process Technology to coordinate product scale ups and technology transfer.
• Set strategy, KPIs, and deliverables for continuous improvement toward 100% first pass quality.
• Set strategy, KPIs, and deliverables for continuous improvement toward the journey to become an injury free workplace.
• Establish, and nurture through personal example, an organizational atmosphere of accountability, internal and external customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Human Resources to manage the hourly workforce in compliance with the collective bargaining agreement.
• Identify and leverage opportunities to streamline the workforce to drive synergies, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency.
• Drive the Supervisory Development Program to enhance the capability and provide ongoing personal development for the salaried staff.
• Lead Performance Management activities across all operational units to ensure consistency of evaluation.
• Identify high performers and recommend ongoing development opportunities for those people.
• Ensure that the site is properly staffed, without excess headcount while monitoring and controlling overtime.
• Well-organized and team-oriented with strong leadership abilities.
• Ability to implement change through effective persuasive, communication, and presentation skills.
• Ability to deliver results in a very challenging and fast-paced environment.
• Analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Project management skills, including multi-tasking and time management.
• Ability to lead a team and work as a team member with a variety of people at all levels within the organization.
• Self-starter with a strong work ethic.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity.
• High level of integrity and sincerity.
• Proactive and innovative with a strong will to succeed.

 Qualified candidates will have:

• 4- year degree minimum.
• 10+ years’ experience in leadership roles within a continuous process industry.
• Strong leadership traits, with demonstrated accomplishments.
• Experience in managing a unionized workforce preferred.
• Experience in demonstrating compliance with OSHA regulations.
• Demonstrated proficiency in computer skills (Microsoft Office and SAP in particular)
• Demonstrated experience and proficiency in managing projects or initiatives