Plant Manager, STL

Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemistry for water intensive industries. For more than 100 years, our chemistry has advanced human progress and quality of life. We call it chemistry with a purpose, better every day. At Kemira, we foster a collaborative and inclusive work culture that empowers our employees to thrive and make a difference. Learn more about Kemira at www.kemira.com/careers.

We are now looking for a Plant Manager for our St. Louis site who is people-focused to lead all aspects of operations at our chemical manufacturing facility. This role is responsible for providing strategic and day-to-day leadership across production, maintenance, engineering, safety, quality, and site administration to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient plant performance.

The Plant Manager will play a critical role in building a strong site culture centered on teamwork, accountability, communication, employee engagement, and operational excellence. The ideal candidate will be a visible leader who can develop talent, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, drive continuous improvement, and create alignment across the organization while delivering business results.

In this role you will be responsible for:

• Provide overall leadership and direction for all plant operations, ensuring safe, compliant, and efficient manufacturing performance.
• Build and maintain a strong site culture focused on teamwork, accountability, employee engagement, communication, and continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop site leadership and hourly teams to create a high-performing organization with strong employee ownership and accountability.
• Serve as a visible and active leader within the facility, fostering trust, collaboration, and strong working relationships across all functions.
• Drive a world-class safety culture by ensuring compliance with all environmental, health, safety (EHS), Process Safety Management (PSM), and regulatory requirements.
• Establish clear operational expectations, goals, and performance metrics while holding teams accountable for results.
• Collaborate with operations, maintenance, engineering, supply chain, quality, and commercial teams to optimize plant performance and customer satisfaction.
• Lead efforts to improve operational reliability, productivity, quality, and cost performance.
• Develop and execute plant strategies aligned with company objectives and long-term business goals.
• Manage plant budgets, capital expenditures, staffing plans, and operational resources.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives utilizing Lean Manufacturing, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and operational excellence principles.
• Support talent development, succession planning, employee training, and workforce engagement initiatives across the site.
• Lead plant response efforts during operational upsets, emergencies, and audits.
• Ensure strong communication and alignment between site leadership, corporate leadership, and plant personnel.

What you'll bring to the team:

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or related field preferred; equivalent manufacturing leadership experience considered.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in manufacturing or chemical plant operations, with at least 5 years in progressive leadership roles.
• Proven experience leading teams within a process manufacturing environment.
• Strong leadership presence with demonstrated ability to build teams, develop employees, and improve organizational culture.
• Experience managing plant operations, production, maintenance, safety, quality, and financial performance.
• Working knowledge of OSHA, EPA, PSM, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Strong communication, conflict resolution, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Experience with SAP or similar ERP systems preferred.
• Ability to lead effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic manufacturing environment.
• Any other duties as assigned

Preferred:

• Experience leading operations in a PSM-regulated chemical manufacturing facility.
• Strong background in operational excellence, Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing capital projects, turnarounds, and major operational improvement programs.
• Six Sigma, Lean, or other operational excellence certifications preferred.
• Demonstrated success improving employee engagement, retention, and site culture.

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What you can expect from us:

• Work with a global company that is committed to innovation, cares for people and dedicated to customer success.
• Opportunity for personal and professional growth
• Attractive benefits package compensation
• A multicultural and positive working environment

The starting salary range for consideration for this position is $122,500 to $152,500 per year with opportunities for performance-based bonuses. The actual starting salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to relevant employment history & experience, skill set/competencies, qualifications, and other business and organizational needs. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes health insurance, paid time off, life/disability insurance and a 401k retirement plan (which includes a company match).

Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemistry for water-intensive industries. We operate globally and serve a wide range of customers including municipal and industrial water treatment companies and the fiber industry. Our solutions and services help secure clean water for millions of people every day and support our customers in advancing circularity and responsible resource use throughout their value chains. In 2025, Kemira reported annual revenue of EUR 2.8 billion with a global team of 4,911 colleagues. Kemira is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki. www.kemira.com