Mgr Operations

Why Hershey:

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey’s enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom. Supported by strategic grantmaking, product donations, cross brand collaboration, and strong employee volunteerism, Hershey offers a place to work where making a difference—locally and globally—is part of how we do business every day.

Location: Bluffton, IN

How will you fit in the big picture?

As the Mgr Extruded Operations in Bluffton, you will lead day-to-day manufacturing execution for the extruded operations discipline in a fast-paced, multi-shift environment. You will translate short-term business priorities into clear operating plans and ensure teams deliver against safety, quality, service, cost, and production commitments.

You will serve as an escalation point for difficult and undefined operational challenges, partner across maintenance, engineering, quality, food safety, human resources, planning, purchasing, and research and development, and build the team capability needed for reliable performance and continuous improvement.

What will you do?

• Lead daily extruded manufacturing operations, including production execution, scheduling, material flow, equipment utilization, staffing, training, and shift-to-shift coordination.

• Develop and execute short-term tactical plans that align labor, materials, equipment, and workflow with production schedules and changing business priorities.

• Monitor operating performance and resolve difficult or undefined issues affecting throughput, downtime, quality, service, cost, and schedule attainment; communicate risks, trade-offs, and resource needs to key stakeholders.

• Strengthen employee safety, food safety, quality, environmental compliance, housekeeping, and regulatory performance by reinforcing standards, addressing physical and behavioral risks, and supporting HARPC, Food Defense, Internal Audit, and Safety Committee programs.

• Manage spending against budget and production-volume changes while improving the effective use of people, equipment, facilities, materials, and capital.

• Drive lean manufacturing and continuous improvement by leading fact-based problem solving, process improvements, capital initiatives, cost reduction, and corrective actions.

• Build an accountable, engaged organization by setting clear expectations, coaching and developing leaders and team members, supporting training objectives, and encouraging employee involvement in problem solving.

• Collaborate with plant leadership and cross-functional partners, including Human Resources, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Sanitation, Food Safety, Planning, Purchasing, Sales, and Research and Development, to improve overall plant effectiveness.

Minimum Requirements

Education: Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Engineering, or a related field.

Experience: 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, including experience leading a large employee population in a multi-shift operation; 3+ years of experience in a process manufacturing environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related field.

• Food processing experience, particularly in baking or extruded manufacturing.

• Experience implementing or maintaining third-party audits and certifications, such as SQF.

• HACCP and/or PCQI certification; OSHA certification or training.

• Formal Lean or Six Sigma training with demonstrated implementation in manufacturing.

• Mechanical aptitude or experience improving performance in a highly automated facility.

Benefits and Perks

At Hershey, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and life outside of work.

• Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health begin on Day 1.

• Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match.

• Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable.

• Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility.

Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.

The anticipated base salary range for this role is $96,160 to $120,200 per year. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of job‑related factors, including, but not limited to, experience, skill set, education, and training. In addition to a market-competitive base salary, our Total Rewards package includes performance‑based incentives and a comprehensive, competitive benefits package designed to support overall physical, mental, and financial well‑being (as applicable). Learn more about Hershey’s benefits and all the resources Hershey provides to support our employees’ physical, emotional, and financial well‑being by visiting the Hershey Digital Employee Experience at www.askHRbenefits.hersheys.com

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans.  You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability.
You can request an accommodation via phone or email.To request an accommodation via phone, please call +1 877-804-1794 and leave a voicemail with your contact information.  You may also email a request for accommodation to ApplicationHelp@hersheys.com. Please be sure to include “Accommodation Needed” in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.