Regional Operations Director

Enviva combines earth’s oldest renewable energy source with 21st century technology to make wood pellets.  By using wood pellets instead of coal, electric utilities can reduce the lifetime greenhouse gas emissions intensity of power generation by 80%. And wood pellets can provide uninterrupted power at any time, at a large scale and at comparatively low cost.  As a result, Enviva delivers a sustainable, cost-efficient, and essential complement to wind and solar power. Founded in 2004, Enviva is today the world’s largest producer of wood pellets – a small and ordinary product that is helping solve intractable challenges of energy and the environment and delivering tangible results.

Enviva owns and operates ten plants strategically located in the southeastern United States that produce over 6 million metric tons of wood pellets annually. We export our pellets primarily to power plants in the United Kingdom and Europe that previously were fueled by coal, enabling them to reduce their lifetime carbon footprint by about 80%. We make our pellets using sustainable practices that protect Southern forests.

The  Regional Operations Director has direct responsibility for managing Enviva’s manufacturing plants in Hamlet, NC, Sampson, NC, and Greenwood, SC to achieve safety, environmental, quality, production, and cost targets.  

Responsibilities

• Drive a culture of Operational Discipline and through Enviva’s Management System to ensure no one gets hurts
• Establish, monitor, and report on key performance indicators and ensure actions are in place to address gaps
• Ensure facilities have appropriate environmental permits and remain in compliance
• Establish quality specifications that optimize plant performance and meet customer requirements and ensure product shipped to the ports meets specifications
• Ensure the plants have adequate predictive/preventive maintenance processes and effectively plan and schedule corrective maintenance to achieve plant reliability and production targets
• Monitor plant process performance metrics and ensure plants are taking appropriate actions to remain in process control
• Forecast plant production and costs and ensure plans are in place to meet budgeted financial targets
• Ensure plans are in place and executed to continuously improve talent and build a strong bench trained and experience leaders and operators.
• Directly supervise Plant Managers and provide feedback and performance
• Develop a fiber mix and procurement plan that optimizes plant throughput and fiber cost for the region
• Develop a long-range capital plan to maintain assets, increase throughput, and reduce operating costs
• Approve high risk MOCs (Management of Change requests) to ensure changes to plant equipment and processes are executed safely and effectively

Required Qualifications

• BS degree in management, engineering, or closely related field 

• Experience managing manufacturing plant operations in a 24/7 operating environment with direct responsibility for safety, environmental compliance, quality, reliability, production, and financial results
• Ability to manipulate, analyze, and interpret large amounts of data including pressures, temperatures, material flow rates, etc.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Proficient with Microsoft Suite as well as other applications 
• Must be able to analyze financial and cost data and develop conclusions and recommendations 
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines 

Preferred Qualifications - What Will Set Them Apart

• Multi-site operational management experience
• Masters in Business Administration
• Experience in Wood Products related industry and/or complex, high hazard, continuous flow manufacturing process

Working Conditions

• Mix of office and field environments

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to climb stairs and ladders in wide range of environmental conditions (heat, cold, rain, etc.)

Travel Requirements

• 50-75%