Director of Manufacturing

Clickstop•Urbana, IA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Manufacturing leads Clickstop’s manufacturing operations across multiple product lines while designing and building the scalable systems needed to support future growth. This role is responsible for shaping a high-performing, efficient, and sustainable manufacturing function through strategic leadership, process design, capability development, and continuous improvement. This leader focuses on developing people and operational systems, ensuring the right information drives priorities and decisions, and translating strategy into execution. They partner cross-functionally to align manufacturing with business growth and customer demand, while also advancing technology and AI-enabled tools to improve performance and scalability. Importantly, the Director connects day-to-day operations to broader business outcomes such as profitability, efficiency, and long-term value creation, while building leadership depth through their management team and reinforcing Clickstop’s core values and operational principles.

Requirements

Strong leadership and people development skills, with experience building high-accountability teams, leadership depth, and succession plans.
Experience leading manufacturing operations and scaling systems, teams, and processes to support growth beyond individual dependence.
Strong strategic, operational, and business judgment, with the ability to balance safety, quality, capacity, technology, and financial outcomes.
Ability to analyze operational data, performance metrics, and complex information to identify priorities, solve problems, and drive sound decisions.
Strong understanding of manufacturing workflows, Lean principles, process improvement, capacity planning, and operational efficiency.
Experience leading organizational change, process transformation, technology adoption, and continuous improvement initiatives.
Effective communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to influence and align leaders and teams.
Ability to connect operational decisions to broader business performance, including labor efficiency, margin, ROI, cash flow, and working capital.
Commitment to safety, quality, accountability, professionalism, and continuous improvement.
Ability to work in manufacturing and warehouse environments.
Prolonged periods of standing, walking, and observing operations as needed.
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
May occasionally lift or move items related to manufacturing observation or setup.
Ability to travel occasionally, if needed.
Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

Lead manufacturing operations across multiple product lines, ensuring scalable, efficient, and reliable execution.
Set the long-term direction for manufacturing in alignment with company growth objectives, operational excellence, and customer expectations.
Design and evolve operational systems, structures, and standard work that support consistency, quality, safety, and scalability.
Establish clear performance expectations, accountability, and operational standards across the department.
Lead initiatives that improve safety, quality, throughput, efficiency, and overall team effectiveness.
Identify operational constraints, diagnose root causes, and implement sustainable solutions that strengthen long-term performance.
Use operational data and business insights to improve staffing, workflows, equipment utilization, and production capacity.
Evaluate and implement technologies, systems, and AI-enabled tools that improve manufacturing performance and scalability.
Identify and lead the implementation of new manufacturing capabilities that support future business growth.
Prioritize investments and operational improvements based on ROI, customer demand, strategic value, and production capacity.
Ensure new capabilities are supported with the right people, processes, equipment, and operational standards.
Collaborate closely with Purchasing, Sales, Service, Marketing, and Operations leaders to align manufacturing priorities with customer demand and company strategy.
Communicate priorities, expectations, changes, and progress clearly across teams and leadership.
Support business growth by aligning manufacturing capabilities with product opportunities and operational needs.
Lead workforce planning efforts to ensure the organization can meet current and future operational demands.
Champion employee development through cross-training, succession planning, and leadership development initiatives.
Foster a culture of accountability, adaptability, ownership, professionalism, and continuous learning.
Build and maintain a safe work environment that reinforces safe work practices across all manufacturing areas.