Location: Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Position Overview

The Western Sugar Cooperative is recruiting for the position of a Process Shift Supervisor. This person reports to the Production Manager and is responsible for leading all shift personnel processing sugar beets and producing sugar. The person directs operating personnel working at all processing stations to produce sugar from sugar beets. The person is required to lead with safety and quality by their actions and supporting the Cooperative’s safety and quality standards. This position requires a dynamic person with the ability to understand and implement the best ways of processing sugar beets into sugar through strong employee leadership skills. The person is required to have or learn to have strong mechanical and chemical knowledge, enjoy industrial processing, and be a believer in preventative maintenance.

Essential Functions

• Be a safety leader with solid safety behaviors and demonstrated leadership. Working with others to perform against the plant site safety plan with the goal of being a zero-injury workplace.
• Lead the effort with others to maintain a clean and safe production environment.
• Plan, organize and direct the shift personnel in sugar beet processing to optimize performance.
• Has a focus on producing a quality product by adhering to the company’s quality systems, process, and procedures.
• Has a working knowledge of sugar beet processing or the ability to quickly learn the process.
• Monitors, measures, and reports on production related process performance and general issues.
• Effectively communicates with all employees.
• Works with others to train employees for specific factory stations for overall control and productivity.
• Actively participates in continuous improvement activities.
• Use root cause analysis to permanently solve problems.
• Use key performance indicators and a continuous improvement approach to improve performance.
• Works with purchasing to ensure processing supplies are available to operate equipment properly.
• Works closely with the Process Engineers and the Process Manager, Maintenance Manager and Factory Manager to ensure proper preventative maintenance is occurring.
• Work closely with other Shift Supervisors to ensure a fluid transition between shifts, including establishing shift schedules.
• Collaborate closely with the Maintenance Manager, Maintenance Supervisors, and Maintenance Planner to coordinate and execute maintenance activities during scheduled non-processing downtime, ensuring equipment reliability and operational readiness.
• As needed, understand the labor agreement, and hold people accountable to the rules.
• This position requires the person to be out on the factory floor up to 80% collaborating with employees to perform their station jobs well, getting feedback, troubleshooting, and providing support for improved performance.

Skill & Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required.
• Will consider candidates with proven supervisory experience in a processing environment.
• 3-5 years of maintenance experience preferred but not required. Willingness to learn maintenance and practice maintenance skills.
• 5 to 10 years of process experience preferred, but open to person with no experience but, has the preferred educational background. Experience in Sugar beet processing or sugar refining preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with improvements in safety, productivity, and quality.
• Effective communication skills working with all levels of staff, including an hourly workforce and senior management.
• Willingness to learn continuous improvement processes like Lean Sigma and Root Cause Analysis.
• Good computer competence (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Solid leadership skills, independent thinking, strong organizational and planning abilities, and excellent analytical and problem-solving skills are essential.
• Friendly, results oriented, elevated level of energy and collaborative.
• Provide solid people leadership that lives our Core Values of: Safety, Integrity, Openness & Trust, Teamwork, Entrepreneurship, and Social Responsibility.

Working Relationship:

• Reports to Production Manager

Travel Requirements, if any (please indicate percentage):

• Less than 5%

It is the policy of The Western Sugar Cooperative not to discriminate against any employee or any applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, handicap, sex, physical condition, developmental disability, sexual orientation or national origin. This policy shall include, but not be limited to, the following: recruitment and employment, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, selection for training, layoff and termination.

Western Sugar Cooperative is a Drug Free workplace.