ASSISTANT PLANT MANAGER

JOB DESCRIPTION

Position: Assistant Plant Manager
Department: Operations
Reports To: Mill Operations Manager
Location: Iringa, Tanzania

Direct Reports:

• Production Supervisors / Shift Supervisors
• Control Room Operators
• Dispatch Team

Functional Interfaces:

• Maintenance
• QASHE (Quality, Safety, Health & Environment)
• Warehouse / Stock Control
• Procurement
• HR
• Logistics

Maintenance, QASHE and Stock Control remain functional interfaces rather than direct reports. Coordination by this role does not alter their functional accountability.

1. Job Purpose

The Assistant Plant Manager is responsible for coordinating and controlling the day-to-day execution of plant operations to ensure production, dispatch, inventory management and operational activities are completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with approved production plans, quality standards and SAP procedures.

The role serves as the operational link between Production, Maintenance, Quality, Warehouse, Dispatch and other support functions, while acting as the second-in-command to the Mill Operations Manager for routine plant operations.

2. Qualifications & Experience

Minimum Qualifications

• Degree or Diploma in Engineering, Manufacturing, Production, Operations Management, Food/Feed Technology or a related field.
• Relevant supervisory or management training will be an added advantage.

Experience

• Minimum 3 years' experience in the feed milling industry.
• At least 2 years in a production supervisory or management role.
• Practical experience in production planning, inventory management and ERP systems.
• Experience in feed milling operations and SAP will be a strong advantage.

3. Key Responsibilities

A. Production Planning, Execution & Control

• Translate approved production plans into daily and shift production schedules.
• Ensure production targets are achieved according to volume requirements, product specifications and delivery priorities.
• Monitor throughput, capacity utilisation, downtime, yields, wastage and overall production efficiency.
• Coordinate product sequencing, line changeovers and production priorities.
• Ensure optimal utilisation of labour, equipment and available production hours.
• Conduct regular plant-floor inspections and address operational abnormalities promptly.
• Escalate significant production constraints and risks to the Mill Operations Manager.

B. Inventory Management & SAP Control

• Enforce adherence to approved SAP procedures across production, warehouse and dispatch operations.
• Ensure timely and accurate completion of production orders, goods issues, receipts, transfers and related system transactions.
• Monitor movement of raw materials, packaging materials and finished products between physical operations and SAP records.
• Participate in daily and weekly stock reconciliations and investigate any variances.
• Ensure completed production orders are reviewed and closed promptly.
• Work closely with Stock Control and Finance to maintain inventory accuracy and eliminate uncontrolled material movements.

C. Dispatch & Customer Order Fulfilment

• Coordinate with Sales, Warehouse and Logistics teams to ensure finished products are available for dispatch.
• Monitor daily order fulfilment and align production priorities with customer requirements.
• Ensure finished goods are correctly identified, transferred, staged and released for dispatch.
• Monitor truck turnaround times and loading efficiency.
• Escalate dispatch bottlenecks that may impact customer service.
• Ensure dispatch documentation and related system transactions are completed accurately and on time.

D. Quality, Food Safety & Process Compliance

• Work closely with Quality Assurance to ensure raw materials, work-in-progress and finished products meet approved specifications.
• Ensure compliance with approved formulas, batching instructions, production parameters and sequencing requirements.
• Support investigations into product non-conformances, customer complaints and process deviations.
• Ensure product traceability, sampling procedures and production records are maintained.
• Stop or escalate production activities where significant quality, food safety or feed safety risks are identified.

E. Maintenance Coordination & Equipment Reliability

• Coordinate planned maintenance activities around production requirements.
• Ensure equipment abnormalities and breakdowns are reported promptly and followed through to resolution.
• Participate in daily reviews of downtime and recurring equipment failures.
• Support implementation of preventive maintenance programmes and planned shutdowns.
• Ensure production teams perform required autonomous maintenance activities and equipment inspections.
• Monitor availability of critical production equipment and escalate operational risks accordingly.

F. People Leadership & Shift Management

• Provide day-to-day leadership to Production Supervisors, Shift Supervisors and operational teams.
• Allocate manpower in line with production requirements.
• Conduct shift handovers and daily operational review meetings.
• Monitor attendance, overtime, productivity, discipline and performance.
• Coach and develop supervisors and operators to strengthen capability and succession planning.
• Drive accountability for production performance at shift level.

G. Safety, Health & Environmental Compliance

• Enforce PPE requirements, safe working procedures and housekeeping standards.
• Promote compliance with plant safety policies and operational standards.
• Participate in incident investigations and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Identify and address unsafe conditions and behaviours promptly.
• Support QASHE initiatives and compliance with statutory, environmental and hygiene requirements.
• Foster a strong culture of safety and operational discipline throughout the plant.

4. Authority & Accountability

The Assistant Plant Manager is authorised to:

• Coordinate and adjust daily production priorities within approved production plans.
• Allocate operational manpower according to business needs.
• Coordinate Production, Dispatch, Warehouse, Quality and Maintenance activities during daily operations.
• Escalate raw-material, equipment, inventory, quality and manpower constraints.
• Stop production or dispatch activities where there is an immediate safety, quality or compliance risk.
• Enforce operational procedures and SAP compliance within areas of responsibility.

Strategic decisions relating to budgets, CAPEX projects, organisational structures, major procurement commitments, production strategy and overall plant performance remain under the authority of the Mill Operations Manager.

5. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance will be measured against:

• Production plan attainment
• Capacity utilisation and throughput
• Plant downtime
• Production yield and material variance
• Order fulfilment and on-time dispatch
• Finished goods availability
• Inventory accuracy
• SAP transaction compliance
• Production order closure compliance
• Product non-conformance and rejection rates
• Quality and process compliance
• Planned maintenance coordination and compliance
• Labour productivity
• Overtime management
• Truck loading and turnaround efficiency
• Safety incidents and PPE compliance
• Housekeeping and hygiene standards

6. Key Competencies

• Operational and production management
• Leadership and people management
• Production planning and scheduling
• Inventory and materials control
• ERP/SAP systems discipline
• Problem-solving and root-cause analysis
• Maintenance and equipment reliability awareness
• Quality and process-control management
• Strong safety orientation
• Data analysis and KPI management
• Cross-functional coordination
• Communication and reporting skills
• Ability to work under pressure and make timely decisions

7. Role Success Profile

A successful Assistant Plant Manager maintains strong operational control of the plant, ensuring production, dispatch, inventory, SAP, quality and maintenance activities function as one coordinated system.

The role enables the Mill Operations Manager to focus on strategic priorities such as capacity expansion, capital projects, cost optimisation, supply resilience and long-term operational development, while maintaining confidence that daily plant execution remains efficient, compliant and under control.