Manager, Manufacturing Excellence & Operating Systems

Graco•Rogers, MN

17h•$98,300 - $172,000

About The Position

The Manager, Manufacturing Excellence & Operating Systems defines and maintains Graco’s Manufacturing Operating System, including its deployment roadmap, standards, governance and maturity model. The role establishes common approaches to structured problem solving, value stream improvement, standard work, visual and daily management, leader standard work, and sustainment. It assesses operating-system adoption and performance across manufacturing locations and develops plans to close gaps. The manager also establishes role profiles, decision rights and interaction models for manufacturing leaders, plant teams and functional partners, and owns the learning and capability development system, including role-based learning paths, coaching expectations and adoption measures. The position owns the Continuous Improvement Portfolio, covering project intake, prioritization, resource allocation, execution discipline, benefit validation and sustainment. It leads enterprise initiatives and partners with operational, financial and functional stakeholders to align improvement resources with business priorities, measure and validate benefits, address conflicts and provide visibility into committed, completed and at-risk results. The manager coaches site and functional leaders, builds a network for sharing and scaling effective practices, and partners across Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Information Systems and Finance to improve operating discipline and management-system effectiveness. The role also leads, mentors, manages and staffs the Manufacturing Excellence organization, sets team goals and supports professional development, and is accountable for the annual Manufacturing Excellence budget. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a permanent and unrestricted basis. The position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship now or in the future, and candidates working under temporary employment authorization are not eligible. The listed base salary range is $98,300 to $172,000; final pay depends on factors including location, skills, competencies, education and experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, operations, business or a related field, or equivalent experience.
At least 7 years of manufacturing, operations or continuous improvement experience.
At least 2 years of people leadership or sustained program leadership experience.
Knowledge of daily management systems, leader standard work, structured problem solving, project governance, change management and benefits realization.
Ability to make cross-functional decisions, communicate with leaders and influence across multiple manufacturing locations.
Legal authorization to work in the United States on a permanent and unrestricted basis; temporary employment authorization is not accepted for this position.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or MBA.
Operational excellence, structured problem solving or equivalent certification.
Experience building, deploying or scaling a manufacturing operating system across multiple locations.
Experience developing enterprise learning or capability systems.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the Manufacturing Operating System, including its deployment roadmap, standards, governance and maturity model.
Establish common methods for structured problem solving, value stream improvement, standard work, visual management, daily management, leader standard work and sustainment.
Set operating-system maturity expectations, assess adoption and performance across manufacturing locations, and develop gap-closing plans.
Define role profiles, decision rights and interaction models for manufacturing leaders, plant teams and functional partners.
Own the learning and capability development system, including role-based learning paths, role coaching expectations and adoption measures.
Own the Continuous Improvement Portfolio, including project intake, prioritization, resource allocation, execution discipline, benefits validation and sustainment.
Lead enterprise initiatives involving portfolio simplification, operating discipline and cross-functional process improvement.
Align improvement resources with business priorities in partnership with the Value Engineering Lead, Operations & Supply Chain leaders and other stakeholders.
Establish benefit measurement methods, validate forecasted and realized results, and provide visibility into committed, completed and at-risk results.
Resolve portfolio priorities, resource conflicts and escalation needs with site and functional leaders.
Coach site and functional leaders in operating-system deployment, daily management, leader standard work, structured problem solving and ownership of results.
Build a network of leaders and practitioners who use common methods, share learning and scale effective practices across Graco.
Partner with Operations & Supply Chain leaders to strengthen operating discipline, accountability and management-system effectiveness across manufacturing locations.
Coordinate with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Information Systems and Finance to align improvement work with business priorities.
Lead, mentor, manage and staff the Manufacturing Excellence organization.
Set clear team goals, provide ongoing feedback and facilitate professional growth opportunities.
Establish, manage and be accountable for the annual Manufacturing Excellence budget.