Vice President of Operations

About This Role

This high-impact leadership position involves taking ownership of facility operations and overall performance for a specialized manufacturing company. The role is designed for an experienced manufacturing leader who is comfortable setting operational direction and maintaining a visible presence on the production floor, leading a cross-functional operation spanning manufacturing, quality, maintenance, materials, and other plant support functions.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for manufacturing and plant operations
• Coordinate production, quality, maintenance, materials, and supporting functions to keep operations aligned
• Ensure production goals, customer commitments, quality expectations, and delivery requirements are consistently achieved
• Track plant performance and use operational data to identify bottlenecks, cost concerns, and opportunities for improvement
• Manage staffing levels, labor utilization, operating expenses, and departmental budgets
• Develop supervisors, managers, and other key employees while establishing clear expectations and accountability
• Support hiring, training, performance management, and workforce development across the facility
• Lead initiatives focused on improving throughput, reducing waste, strengthening quality, and increasing operational efficiency
• Maintain a strong presence on the manufacturing floor and stay closely connected to daily production challenges
• Partner with leadership on business priorities, operational planning, and longer-term improvement initiatives
• Build strong relationships with important customers and support the resolution of production, delivery, or service concerns
• Maintain a safe and compliant workplace while reinforcing established environmental, quality, and regulatory standards

Requirements

• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience within a manufacturing environment
• Experience overseeing plant, production, or manufacturing operations with increasing levels of responsibility
• Strong understanding of production planning, labor management, quality, cost control, and operational KPIs
• Experience managing budgets and plant operating expenses; direct P&L exposure is highly valued
• Demonstrated success leading and developing managers, supervisors, and production teams
• Ability to identify operational problems, establish priorities, and drive solutions through completion
• Comfortable working in a hands-on environment where leadership requires regular interaction with employees on the production floor
• Experience using ERP/MRP platforms and operational reporting tools

Nice to have:

• Experience with Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, or process optimization