Operations Team Leader - Overnights

COMPANY OVERVIEW

We exist to make food the world loves. But we do more than that. Our company is a place that prioritizes being a force for good, a place to expand learning, explore new perspectives and reimagine new possibilities, every day. We look for people who want to bring their best - bold thinkers with big hearts who challenge one another and grow together. Because becoming the undisputed leader in food means surrounding ourselves with people who are hungry for what's next.

General Mills is seeking an Operations Team Leader - Offshift to provide leadership for the overnight shift at our Milwaukee, Wisconsin plant. In this role, you will lead shift operations across a dynamic manufacturing environment that supports beloved salty snack brands, including Chex Mix and Bugles.

This leader helps drive sustainable performance by building strong relationships, developing team capability, and using people, process, and data to solve problems. You'll oversee a team of up to approximately 15 employees across 12 manufacturing lines, set the shift plan based on recent downtime and operational trends, and partner closely with platform team members to prioritize the work that matters most over the next 8-24 hours.

This is a hands-on frontline leadership role for someone who thrives in manufacturing, enjoys coaching teams, and can balance safety, performance, and engagement in a fast-paced plant environment.

Shift for this role is 7:00 PM - 7:00 AM on a rotating 2-on, 2-off, 3-on schedule, including every other weekend.

What You'll Do

• Lead food and human safety through Safety 2.0 leadership principles and standards.

• Build a strong safety culture by proactively identifying, discussing, and controlling risk for people, products, and the broader community.

• Lead the operational plan for the shift and own run results while supporting continuous improvement results.

• Review downtime and prior-shift performance each day, use manufacturing data to identify priorities, and create a clear plan for the shift.

• Partner with other platform team members to respond to downtime, improve system utilization, and execute platform improvement plans.

• Provide clear priorities, direction, and coaching to a team of up to approximately 15 employees.

• Foster a positive, accountable, team-oriented environment that supports engagement, retention, and strong floor communication.

• Spend meaningful time on the floor building trust, reinforcing standards, and developing team capability.

• Lead Daily Direction Setting (DDS) execution, results, and process health, including changeovers.

• Build working knowledge of the production system, equipment, and product transformation process to support better decisions and stronger results.

• Use data and systems to collect, analyze, and interpret manufacturing performance information.

• Strengthen understanding of inventory management, material specifications, quality procedures, and traceability for ingredients, materials, and finished products.

• Apply daily management and process ownership practices across the team, including problem-solving and continuous improvement routines.

• Support labor capability planning through training and skills matrices that identify gaps and track development progress.

• Serve as backup support as needed to ensure business continuity and operational efficiency.

Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma.

• 1+ year of manufacturing or frontline leadership experience.

• Demonstrated leadership success in a highly collaborative environment.

• Proven ability to drive results through process discipline, teamwork, and problem-solving.

• Success reducing losses and improving performance in a manufacturing setting.

• Demonstrated technical capability and knowledge of unit operations and machinery in at least one production platform, or clear ability to quickly learn manufacturing equipment and systems.

• Strong communication skills across work groups, cross-functional partners, and plant leadership.

• Foundational knowledge of data analysis systems and using data to support operational decision-making.

• Comfort working an overnight 7pm-7am rotating schedule, including every other weekend.

• Experience supporting safe operations and reinforcing strong shop-floor standards.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate's degree.

• 2+ years of manufacturing or frontline leadership experience.

• Experience leading in a food, consumer products, or other fast-paced manufacturing environment.

• Experience with 5S, daily management systems, or continuous improvement practices.

• Experience building team trust, coaching frontline employees, and strengthening engagement on an offshift team.

• Exposure to scheduling or production planning decisions, even if not directly responsible for creating schedules.

• Mechanical aptitude and the ability to learn unfamiliar equipment quickly.

Additional Considerations

• International relocation or international remote working arrangements (outside of the US) will not be considered.

• Applicants for this position must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. General Mills will not sponsor applicants for this position for work visas.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is:

At General Mills we strive for each employee's pay at any point in their career to reflect their experiences performance and skills for their current role. The salary range for this role represents the numerous factors considered in the hiring decisions including, but not limited to, educations, skills, work experience, certifications, etc. As such, pay for the successful candidate(s) could fall anywhere within the stated range.

Beyond base salary, General Mills offers a competitive Total Rewards package focusing on your overall well-being. We are proud to offer a foundation of health benefits, retirement and financial wellbeing, time off programs, wellbeing support and perks. Benefits may vary by role, country, region, union status, and other employment status factors. You may also be eligible to participate in an annual incentive program. An incentive award, if any, depends on various factors, including, individual and organizational performance.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet a minimum 18-year age qualification.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER (EOE)

General Mills is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital or familial status, status regarding public assistance, or membership or activity in a local human rights commission.

REASONABLE ACCOMODATION REQUEST

If you need to request an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please fill out our online accommodation request form by following this link: Accommodation Request.