About This Role
This newly created role on the Executive Leadership Team reports directly to the CEO and is responsible for the operational foundation supporting the company's growth. The Vice President of Operations will own Supply Chain & Vendor Management, Inventory Management & Logistics, Order Management & Fulfillment, Shop Execution, and Quality & Warranty across the Product and Rental lines of business. Success will be measured by KPIs tied to margin, cost control, fulfillment efficiency, inventory velocity, and quality.
Responsibilities
- Own vendor relationships and strategic sourcing, including transformer procurement through strategic partnerships and shop parts and material sourcing
- Build and maintain vendor scorecards; own cost-savings targets and vendor diversity goals
- Negotiate strategic supply agreements that balance cost, lead time, and quality
- Provide Sales and Inside Sales with timely pricing to support live quoting
- Own accurate, real-time inventory tracking across Sharon, South Carolina, and Alvin, TX
- Own inventory maintenance (condition, testing/certification currency, stock rotation) so everything on hand is sale-ready
- Build systems that give the sales team real-time visibility into what's in stock and available to ship
- Own shipping logistics, including carrier selection, routing, and freight cost management
- Drive measurably faster inventory turns
- Own end-to-end order management for Product and Rental post-order execution
- Own forecasting and visibility into made-to-order (MTO) production timelines, from order entry through invoicing
- Ensure on-time delivery across all facilities
- Lead shop operations across Sharon, PA; South Carolina; and the new Alvin, TX facility through dedicated Shop Manager(s)
- Direct workload across facilities based on capacity and specialization, with cross-trained teams who can flex between Product and Rental work
- Execute Shop Service work to the pricing and target margins set by the VP of Transformer Services, and report actuals against those targets
- Manage facilities as shared-service cost centers against defined SLAs: turnaround time, cost per order, and quality/accuracy
- Partner with the VP of Deployable Power Solutions on Rental execution SLAs (make-ready time, refurb cost per unit)
- Partner with the VP of Transformer Services on Shop Service quoting, margin guardrails, and execution
- Partner with the VP of Sales on product cost inputs, pricing support, inventory availability, and delivery commitments
- Work with the CFO on inventory cost accounting and the MSA/risk-management process
- Develop a strong Shop Manager to run day-to-day shop operations, and grow the supply chain function over time with a player-coach team leader
- Own Operational Excellence (OPEX) company-wide: standardized processes, tools, and continuous-improvement discipline that support every function, not just Operations
- Own Quality and Warranty for Product and Rental, including root-cause analysis and corrective action, and support the VP of Transformer Services on warranty issues within Service's scope
- Own cost of non-conformance company-wide, tracking and reducing the cost of defects, rework, and warranty claims
- Build out future Quality headcount, including a dedicated Quality resource supporting both shop and field
Requirements
- 10+ years of progressive operations leadership, ideally spanning supply chain/vendor management and shop-floor or plant operations in distribution, industrial, or manufacturing environments
- Experience building and scaling operational infrastructure in a PE-backed or high-growth company
- Experience leading multi-site operations and cross-trained, flexible workforces
- Experience with inventory management systems and freight/logistics management, ideally in distribution or capital equipment
- Experience owning quality and warranty programs, including root-cause analysis and cost-of-non-conformance reduction
- Strong process discipline and comfort building KPIs, SLAs, and scorecards from scratch
- Comfort operating at both the strategic (executive leadership) and tactical (shop floor, vendor negotiation) level
- Operations management: 10 years (Required)
Benefits
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Important Details
- Locations: Sharon, PA headquarters; South Carolina; Alvin, TX facilities
- Willingness to travel: 25% (Required), with heavier travel during the first 90 days
First Year Success
- Vendor scorecards in place, with demonstrated forecast accuracy, delivery performance, and cost savings against target
- Real-time inventory visibility, with Sales able to confirm what's in stock and ready to ship without manual lookups
- Measurably improved inventory turns, shipping cost, and shipping reliability
- A warranty root-cause and resolution process in place, with cost of non-conformance tracked and trending down
- Reliable MTO production-timeline visibility for Sales and leadership
- Measurably improved on-time delivery across all three facilities
- A capable Shop Manager running day-to-day operations, freeing you to lead at a coordination and oversight level
- Clear, working SLA relationships with the VPs of Deployable Power Solutions, Transformer Services, and Sales
Application Process
- Have you led operations across multiple sites or facilities?
- Have you owned both supply chain/vendor management and shop-floor or plant operations?
- Have you owned a quality or warranty program, including root-cause analysis and corrective action?
- Briefly describe the largest operation you've led: number of sites, headcount, and the functions you owned.
About the Company
JCL Energy supplies, rents, and services power transformers through three lines of business: Product, Rental (Deployable Power Solutions), and Transformer Services. It has facilities in Sharon, PA, South Carolina, and Alvin, TX, and is growing quickly.
