Plant Operations Manager- Recycling and Manufacturing

Cyclic Materials is one of the most exciting cleantech companies in North America.

We are addressing environmental, geopolitical, and supply chain challenges by recovering rare earth elements and other valuable materials from many difficult-to-recycle products of the modern world. We provide the market with a secure and regional supply of metals critical to the energy transition, and do so in an ethical, economically viable, and sustainable way.

With the global market for magnet rare earth elements forecast to increase dramatically by 2030, establishing new sources of these critical elements will be vital to support the electrification of transportation and energy across Canada, North America, and around the world. Cyclic Materials is positioned to be a key player in developing a circular economy to support the energy transition.

We are a passionate, driven group of people who bring a dedication to the entrepreneurial spirit paired with a desire to make a meaningful positive impact on the planet. Cyclic Materials believes in fostering a culture of respect and support across all our stakeholders.

Join our team and help build a global recycling cleantech company!

Job Overview:

The Operations Manager will oversee and manage day-to-day operations in our Spoke NA1 metals recycling plant located in Mesa, Arizona. Reporting to the Plant Manager, the position will oversee the daily and weekly planning and operation of the production department, while coordinating with all departments of the plant (receiving, inventory management, Safety, HR, etc.) and maintain production schedules and short-term forecasting to ensure that all company goals are achieved, and deadlines are met for the facility.

The ideal candidate will foster and develop a work environment within metals recycling that promotes trust, teamwork, performance, quality, and safety.

Key Responsibilities:

Preproduction activities include:

• Interviewing and hiring of production operators
• Organize and assist supervisors in writing SOPs
• Participate in defining site operating policies
• Training of operators on SOP's
• Instruct and manage production supervisors in pre-production activities
• Own the creation of line-up meeting boards and shift hand-over process
• Collaborate with logistics to finalize operating consumables storage locations
• Complete preproduction training

Postproduction activities include:

• Manages day-to-day recycling activities of the plant to ensure that production plans are executed to meet customer demands and due dates.
• Organizes the operations and maintenance scheduling for the operations to ensure they are balanced with the production demands.
• Collaborates with all functions including capital projects and engineering to ensure that all objectives for labour, material, costs, safety, and delivery are achieved.
• Leads, coaches, and mentors production supervisors and manages shift schedules to ensure labour is arranged to fulfill production requirements.
• Conducts daily, weekly, and monthly site inspections to ensure housekeeping and safety standards are maintained at all times.
• Maintains high quality standards and controls in all phases of recycling - raw materials, work in process, and finished goods.
• Promotes and ensures the health and safety of all employees.
• Supports and leads activities to promote cost savings, quality, and overall successful delivery to clients.
• Partners with engineering to optimize operating efficiency and to ensure smooth and successful processing.
• Conducts inspections and audit activities to verify and ensure operational objectives in areas of safety, quality, reliability, cost, continuous improvement, management are achieved.
• Supports and promotes alignment with operations and corporate business strategy and goals while promoting great places to work initiatives.
• Supports the development and tracking of KPI's needed for monitoring and measuring site performance, and completes actions to correct deficiencies as required
• Leads daily discussion on evaluation of operating and maintenance losses and action plans to prevent recurrence.
• Supports a continuous improvement culture throughout the plant.
• Builds and maintains a highly motivated and engaged production team that is willing to move mountains to ensure the highest level of satisfaction for clients
• Supports and ensures adherence to the quality program to ensure the highest quality.
• Ensure corporate on-time delivery reliability goals are achieved. Involves pro-active planning and control (e.g., forecasting, capacity planning, etc.) as well as daily problem-solving (e.g., resolving issues with equipment downtime, etc.).
• Ensure a safe working environment for all employees.
• Enforces the plant safety program
• Coordinates with H&S to ensure employee training and development is maintained current, and in compliance with Cyclic Materials policies and procedures, and compliance with applicable legislation.
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience
• Minimum 3 years' experience in managing a team, in a manufacturing operation with measurable results
• Ability to travel between Canada and United States
• Strong attention to detail and problem-solving skills.
• Flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced work environment.
• Ability to be on call for afterhours concerns on a rotational basis.
• Availability for occasional early/late work hours as the need arises Experience in hydrometallurgical processes would be an asset

Working Conditions:

• This position may require working in outdoor or indoor environments, with exposure to noise, dust, and varying weather conditions.
• The job may involve shift work, weekend shifts, or on-call availability depending on operational needs.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) is required at all times.

What we can offer you:

• An impactful company improving the sustainability of critical materials production.
• The opportunities of a young and fast-growing company. Your success is our success!
• Opportunities for growth.
• A dynamic work environment that's focused on learning with accelerated career paths.
• A competitive salary package.
• Health and wellness benefits.

Learn more about Cyclic Materials here:

An Equal Opportunity employer, at Cyclic Materials, equality is a core tenet of our culture. We are committed to building an inclusive global team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, beliefs, and experiences. The more diverse we are, the richer our community and the broader our impact.

Applicants for employment in the Canada and US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States or Canada and with Cyclic Materials (i.e., H1-B visa, F-1 visa (OPT), TN, L1-A visa or any other non-immigrant status).

Please note that ONLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES will be contacted for this opportunity.