Manager, Operations

Merck • Durham, NC

2d • $96,200 - $151,400 • Onsite

About The Position

Our Manufacturing Operations teams are the people that make our products. We work in the manufacturing plants with a “Safety First, Quality Always” mindset striving for continuous improvement. We work in the local plant connected to our global manufacturing network to ensure the highest quality of raw materials, intermediates and finished products.

This is a night shift position, 12.5 hour 6:00PM - 6:30AM rotation (2-2-3).
The role of Operations Manager at our Company's Durham facility is a manufacturing leadership role. The individual in this role must provide direction, coaching, and technical expertise to operations personnel responsible for the manufacturing processes. This individual must actively manage their assigned team to reliably support customer demand (including hiring as needed, employee development, routine 1:1 meetings and coaching, recognition, and performance management). Additionally, they must become proficient in the use of manufacturing systems and knowledgeable of site procedures in order to resolve process/equipment issues, minimize downtime, and ensure product quality.

This role will support manufacturing activities at the Durham Site. Successful candidate(s) will be assigned to support either pre-thaw (e.g. preparation of sterile components, tanks, and stabilizer) or post-thaw (e.g. bulk thawing, pooling, filling, lyophilization, capping and inspection) activities.

Requirements

• High School Diploma/GED required
• Minimum six (6) years of experience in a manufacturing, technical, support, or Military role or at least three (3) years of experience in a manufacturing, technical, support, or Military role with a Bachelor’s degree in Life Science or Engineering
• Must be willing to work 12-hour dayshift (6:00PM to 6:30AM) on a rotating 2-2-3 schedule. Note that this schedule does include working alternating weekends and holidays
• Demonstrated ability to lead a team (i.e. experience leading directly as a supervisor/coach or indirectly as part of a project or through routine process execution)
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and coordinate people/resources to meet a production schedule
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Willingness to work a 12 hour rotation (2-2-3) schedule, including some weekends (shift assignment may change based on need)
• Adaptability
• Aseptic Manufacturing
• cGMP Compliance
• Coaching
• Coach Team Members
• Customer Management
• Data Analysis
• Employee Performance Standards
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Life Science
• Manufacturing Processes
• Manufacturing Quality Control
• Operational Excellence
• Organizational Compliance
• Packaging Operations
• People Leadership
• People Management
• Process Engineering
• Process Improvements
• Process Manufacturing
• Production Planning
• Production Scheduling
• Safety Culture

Nice To Haves

• Previous supervisory experience
• Experience in a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-regulated manufacturing environment
• Experience using electronic manufacturing systems (e.g. PAS-X, SAP, Delta-V, etc.)
• Experience interacting with regulatory auditors as part of area tours and/or topic discussion
• Lean Six Sigma certification

Responsibilities

• Develop, motivate, and manage a team to ensure reliable manufacturing process execution
• Assign yearly performance objectives for the team in alignment with department and site goals
• Provide regular feedback and coaching to employees on work performance
• Provide leadership to the team as needed based on the team’s capabilities and maturity
• Provide a leadership presence on the manufacturing floor
• Champion standard work to drive consistent use of best practices across teams
• Regularly help the team troubleshoot issues to minimize downtime and maintain product quality
• Identify opportunities to improve the process (e.g. cycle times, ease of execution, reliability)
• Support work as needed to implement improvements (e.g. scheduling, staffing, protocol execution)
• Coach team members in executing smaller improvement projects in their operational area
• Represent Operations on project teams as needed
• Lead and support daily (Tier) meetings to facilitate flow of information up/down through the organization
• Hold regular team meetings to cascade information and collect team feedback
• Provide clear consistent communication from shift to shift
• Escalate issues as needed to ensure the right support/awareness is given to issues as they arise
• Serve as an Subject Matter Expert (SME) during tours to provide area/process overview information to visitors/auditors upon request
• Foster strong safety culture on the team through actions, coaching, and prioritization
• Coach individuals when reporting safety issues and completing corrective/preventative actions
• Drive culture of compliance through actions, consistent quality-driven decision making, and coaching of the team (e.g. documentation, housekeeping, area 5S, etc.)
• Participate in safety/regulatory audits (i.e. tours, topic discussion)
• Coach the team to ensure SAP transaction completion is timely and accurate
• Manage team staffing and overtime to support customer demand while meeting budget targets
• Recognize opportunities for cost savings and communicates them for potential project chartering

Benefits

• medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family)
• retirement benefits, including 401(k)
• paid holidays
• vacation
• compassionate and sick days

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: High school or GED