Operations Manager

Operations Manager

Status : Salary Exempt

Reports To : Plant Manager

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY

Reporting to the Plant Manager, the Operations Manager leads daily manufacturing departments. The Operations Manager will establish, maintain, and ensure compliance with all procedures necessary for safety, quality, cost, & delivery.

The operations manager must possess and display personal characteristics appropriate for effective leadership and customer relations.

Responsibilities include, but not limited to :

• Directly leads manufacturing operations of a Tier 1 Automotive ductile iron green sand foundry.
• Oversees the development & achievement of departmental KPI’s including safety, quality, OEE, operational cost, and delivery.
• Analyzes variances to plan and working with their management team puts measures in place to mitigate negative impacts.
• Coordinates efforts between manufacturing and support groups and develops cascading policy deployment annually and tactical actions as necessary.
• Directs cross-functional teams and removes obstacles to meet plant objectives and goals.
• Developing a cohesive management team with a commitment to safety, quality, delivery and continual improvement.
• Maintain an engaged, trained and skilled workforce that consistently meets production requirements while prioritizing safety & quality through strong plant floor management presence and support.
• Attends and participates in feasibility and launch meetings, reviews tooling and gating designs, follows-up on test results, and monitors progress of casting samples.
• Attends scheduling meetings, manages the flow of castings through the department, works with the quality group on getting proper casting releases and certification, and oversees maintaining adequate inventory of castings.
• Utilizes quality tools to evaluate problems, identify root causes, implement corrective actions and verify their effectiveness using a PDCA mindset.
• Engages the entire management team with a focus on continuous improvement with the support of industrial engineering & the CI manager.
• Maintains & promotes a strong and productive employee / management relationship with all employees. Participates in labor-management meetings, and processes grievances.
• Administers annual targets with monthly performance reviews to provide direct feedback and coaching to achieve plant goals while strongly supporting their team.
• Develops and maintains manufacturing operations business plans to include all program requirements, labor hours, cycle, production costs, and image.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Strong team building, decision making, communication and people management skills.
• Previous experience implementing a culture of continuous improvement using Six Sigma and / or Lean / TPS tools.
• Excellent planning and organizational skills, with the ability to balance production and maintenance needs.
• Root cause analysis and problem-solving experience utilizing the PDCA cycle.
• Previous green sand foundry experience preferred.
• Technical degree preferred.
• Microsoft Office competence.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree or 10 years in an automotive leadership role.
• 5 years’ experience in operations leadership experience in Tier 1 automotive manufacturing.
• 5 years’ demonstrated experience with TPS / lean.
• Proven ability to effectively communicate (written and oral) at all levels of the organization.
• Capable of working effectively in a dynamic team environment.

DESIRED TRAITS

• High Integrity
• Detail oriented
• Flexible / Adaptable
• Logical / Analytical
• Confident
• Independent
• Customer oriented
• Persuasive / Inspires followership
• Assertive / Tenacious

WORKING CONDITIONS

This position works in a fast-paced environment and must be able to make timely decisions and communicate directives to ensure efficient use of resources.

The nature of the automotive industry results often in changing priorities, and the candidate must be able to adjust as required to allow them to meet required expectations.

The person works in manufacturing office conditions with frequent exposure to production floor environment (25%-50%) to noise, odors, dust, drafts, chemicals, operating machinery, temperature extremes, hazardous substances, etc.

Long periods of walking and standing may be required.