Director - Manufacturing

Fireclay Partners

6d•Remote

About The Position

Fireclay Partners is a veteran-owned middle market M&A and buy-side advisory firm based in Kansas City. They serve private equity sponsors and family-owned businesses on platform sourcing, bolt-on acquisitions, and select sell-side mandates. Their model pairs investment banking execution with senior operating expertise, and they bring in industry advisors with deep domain experience to support deal sourcing, due diligence, and sponsor engagement. This role involves building a bench of senior operators with deep plant and platform level experience in industrial manufacturing. It is a per-engagement consulting role, not full-time employment, where the individual will partner with the Fireclay team on specific deals, with engagements typically running three to twelve months on a deal-specific basis. They are actively building bench depth across several subsectors within this role, including specialty chemicals, plastics and packaging, metals and metals processing, aerospace components and tier one suppliers, food and beverage processing, and machinery and industrial equipment.

Requirements

Plant Manager, VP Operations, Division President, COO, or CEO at a manufacturing platform, ideally with PE-backed experience.
Twenty years or more in industrial manufacturing operations across multiple sites or product lines.
Direct experience with continuous improvement, capacity expansion, capex deployment, and the operational dynamics that drive multiple expansion in PE platforms.
Existing network of relationships with founders, family owners, senior executives, and PE professionals across your subsector.
Comfort representing Fireclay professionally to PE sponsors and target company management.
Discretion when handling non-public information and competitive intelligence.
Willingness to work on a flexible per-engagement basis without fixed hours or commitments.

Responsibilities

Provide market intelligence on bolt-on targets, competitive landscape, and valuation context within your subsector.
Make introductions to founders, family owners, and senior executives in your existing network.
Review confidential information memoranda and management presentations for sector-specific operating fit and risk.
Participate in PE sponsor pitches when your subsector and operating background are relevant.
Provide operational due diligence input on target companies.
Advise the Fireclay team on positioning and messaging for sponsor outreach and sourcing campaigns.