Associate Vice President, Manufacturing Operations, Security & Facilities

Jeeter•Tempe, AZ

8d•Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, Security & Facilities provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for manufacturing operations, physical security, and facilities management across the company’s locations. The role ensures safe, efficient, secure, compliant operations while supporting growth and operational excellence. It develops and executes enterprise-wide strategies to optimize production, protect employees and assets, improve facility effectiveness, and strengthen operational resilience. The position works closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams on continuous improvement, standardization, capital planning, security programs, and business objectives across multiple states. The role oversees multi-site manufacturing performance, including enterprise OEE initiatives, operational KPIs, production standardization, supervisory development, Lean manufacturing, and financial performance. It also leads physical security strategy and asset protection, facility operations and maintenance, construction and capital projects, emergency response and continuity planning, and the development of manufacturing, facilities, and security leadership teams. This is a full-time, exempt, 100% onsite position based at one of the company’s core facilities in Desert Hot Springs, California; Hazel Park, Michigan; Tempe, Arizona; or Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Travel to manufacturing, distribution, and corporate facilities may be up to 50%. The schedule requires flexibility to work the hours needed to meet business requirements, potentially including extended hours, weekends, and holidays. Production facilities may involve regular exposure to cannabis plant material, dust, and other potential allergens; appropriate PPE is provided and required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in operations management, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Facilities Management, or a related field.
15 or more years of progressive manufacturing operations experience, including at least 7–8 years in senior multi-site leadership roles at Director level or above with full P&L or operational financial accountability.
Demonstrated success creating and deploying supervisory training and development programs focused on manufacturing principles, root cause analysis, Lean manufacturing, cycle time analysis, bottleneck identification, and corrective action systems.
Proven track record driving enterprise OEE initiatives with measurable improvements in equipment performance and manufacturing capacity.
Hands-on experience managing manufacturing financials across multiple locations, including budgeting, cost control, labor productivity, and translating operational gains into financial results.
Experience overseeing manufacturing operations in highly regulated industries.
Experience managing facilities, maintenance, construction, physical security programs, and capital improvement projects.
Experience leading large, cross-functional operational teams across geographically dispersed sites.
Executive leadership and strategic planning capabilities.
Advanced understanding of manufacturing operations, facilities management, and physical security.
Expertise in Lean manufacturing, root cause analysis, cycle time analysis, bottleneck identification and elimination, and OEE measurement and improvement.
Strong manufacturing financial acumen and ability to link operational metrics to cost, margin, and capacity outcomes.
Knowledge of operational risk management and business continuity planning.
Expertise in process optimization and continuous improvement.
Financial acumen in budgeting, forecasting, and capital planning.
Ability to lead geographically dispersed teams in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.
Exceptional communication, executive presence, and management skills.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities focused on operational excellence.
Knowledge of state cannabis regulations, including track-and-trace requirements.
Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Ability to travel regularly between business locations, walk manufacturing floors, warehouses, and construction sites for extended periods, occasionally lift and carry up to 25 pounds, and work in office, manufacturing, warehouse, and outdoor environments.
Ability to sit and work at a computer for extended periods; perform repetitive hand and arm motions and extended periods of typing; and look at a screen for extended periods or entire shifts.
Willingness to submit to a background check.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in business administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline.
Experience in cannabis, pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods, food manufacturing, or similarly regulated industries.
Experience with enterprise security technologies, including access control technologies and surveillance platforms, and business continuity planning.
Prior responsibility for developing and leading multi-site supervisory academies or formal manufacturing leadership development programs.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
PMP (Project Management Professional) certification.
CPIM or CSCP certification.
Certified Protection Professional (CPP) or Physical Security Professional (PSP) certification.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute enterprise-wide manufacturing strategies aligned with organizational objectives and growth plans.
Oversee production operations across multiple facilities to ensure safe, efficient, compliant, and cost-effective manufacturing.
Lead enterprise OEE initiatives by establishing standards, targets, and accountability to improve availability, performance, and quality.
Establish and monitor operational KPIs for productivity, quality, labor utilization, equipment performance, throughput, cycle time, and bottleneck elimination.
Partner with Supply Chain, Procurement, Quality, Automation, and Compliance to optimize manufacturing performance.
Improve operational efficiency, reduce waste, and maximize manufacturing capacity.
Develop and implement supervisory training programs in manufacturing principles, root cause analysis, Lean manufacturing, cycle time analysis, bottleneck identification, and corrective actions.
Drive multi-site manufacturing standardization and replication of best practices.
Provide executive oversight of physical security across manufacturing, warehouse, office, and distribution facilities.
Develop security standards, policies, and procedures to protect people, facilities, inventory, cash, equipment, and intellectual property.
Oversee internal security leadership and third-party security providers.
Partner with Compliance, Human Resources, Legal, and Operations on security-related investigations.
Lead executive response planning for emergencies, business continuity, crisis management, and physical security threats.
Ensure security operations comply with cannabis regulations, licensing requirements, company standards, and applicable privacy and recording laws.
Oversee security technologies, including surveillance, access control, intrusion detection, alarm monitoring, and visitor management systems.
Develop asset protection strategies to reduce operational risk and financial loss.
Ensure security personnel and third-party providers maintain required state licenses and permits, including guard cards and firearms permits where applicable.
Oversee facility operations, maintenance programs, utilities management, infrastructure planning, and capital improvement projects.
Develop long-term facility strategies that support expansion, manufacturing growth, and scalability.
Oversee preventative maintenance, asset lifecycle management, and facility improvements.
Ensure facilities comply with building, environmental, fire, and life safety regulations.
Partner with Expansion and Engineering on renovations and capital projects.
Lead enterprise continuous improvement and operational excellence programs using Lean manufacturing principles, including root cause analysis, cycle time reduction, bottleneck elimination, and sustainable corrective actions.
Standardize operational processes across manufacturing facilities.
Develop performance dashboards and executive reporting, including visibility into OEE, capacity utilization, and manufacturing financial metrics.
Identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase operational efficiency; promote accountability, quality, safety, and continuous improvement.
Build supervisory capability through structured training and coaching across sites.
Direct maintenance teams and programs, setting standards, schedules, and response times for planned and unplanned work on production equipment and facility systems.
Lead construction, build-out, and renovation projects from planning through completion, including scope, budgets, schedules, permitting, and contractor performance.
Select and manage maintenance and construction contractors and vendors, ensuring safety and insurance compliance.
Ensure maintenance and construction work meets building, fire, life safety, environmental, and cannabis licensing requirements.
Develop and manage manufacturing, facilities, and security capital expenditure plans; evaluate investments in production equipment, infrastructure, automation, and security technologies.
Support new facility development and operational readiness, ensuring investments align with business strategy and produce measurable improvements.
Develop and manage multi-site manufacturing operating and capital budgets, focusing on cost of goods, labor efficiency, yield, capacity utilization, and contribution margin.
Monitor operational costs and identify opportunities to improve financial performance.
Establish manufacturing financial metrics and optimize allocation of personnel, equipment, and operational resources.
Partner with Finance to quantify the financial results of operational improvements.
Lead and develop Manufacturing, Facilities, and Security leadership, Plant Managers, and operational teams.
Build scalable organizational structures, succession plans, and leadership development initiatives.
Foster collaboration across Manufacturing, Compliance, EHS, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Human Resources, Automation, IT, and Quality.
Promote safety, operational excellence, accountability, and employee engagement.
Comply with applicable labor peace and neutrality agreements, including the agreement covering New York operations, and ensure managers and supervisors do the same.