Manufacturing Director

AFL•Duncan, SC

About The Position

The Manufacturing Director of Extruded Cables oversees operational activities associated with the manufacturing process. The role is accountable for nurturing a safety culture, ensuring products meet required quality parameters, delivering products to customer commitments, and fostering continuous improvement to reduce manufacturing costs. The Director leads six direct reports: an Operations Manager, two Quality Control Managers, a Maintenance Manager, a Materials Manager, and an Engineering Manager. As part of the Operations Leadership team, the Director collaborates closely with Finance, Human Resources, Safety, Continuous Improvement, Quality, Planning & Scheduling, and leaders of Metal Cables, Accessories, and Connectivity operations. Other critical relationships include Supply Chain, Procurement, IT/OT, Product Development, and the Business Units. The role reports to the Executive Director of Cable Operations to support Product Solutions. The Director oversees safety, operational excellence, quality, delivery, cost, and people. This includes implementing AFL Manufacturing Excellence and scalable operating systems; maintaining product and quality-system compliance; executing production plans and capacity planning; managing processing costs and capital projects; and developing staffing, talent, and succession plans. The position also owns critical safety, quality, delivery, and cost KPIs.

Requirements

Manufacturing and operations management experience; 10+ years preferred.
Experience leading technical and manufacturing personnel.
Experience with quality documentation, including ISO 9000, and auditing.
Knowledge of general manufacturing EHS requirements.
Ability to travel as required.
Ability to collaborate on projects, maintain effective relationships, communicate clearly at all levels, adapt to a fast-paced environment, and prioritize multiple assignments.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field preferred.

Responsibilities

Foster engagement and participation in the AFL Safety Process among manufacturing associates and collaborate with the Safety Function to reduce operational risk.
Own critical safety KPIs, including agreed leading and lagging metrics.
Enable implementation of AFL Manufacturing Excellence in collaboration with the Continuous Improvement team.
Support implementation of processes and systems that allow AFL to scale and grow efficiently, including MES and IBP.
Create an environment to review and drive performance for the Extruded Cable Plants.
Ensure quality-control procedures are executed so shipped products conform to requirements.
Ensure corrective and preventive actions (CAPA) for customer complaints are implemented in collaboration with other functions.
Collaborate with the Quality Function to ensure compliance with Quality Systems and foster continuous improvement in product quality.
Own critical external- and internal-quality KPIs, including customer complaint rate, internal scrap, and remakes or reworks.
Execute the production plan to meet customer commitments, including on-time delivery.
Ensure sufficient equipment and manpower capacity to meet customer demand and work with Supply Chain and the Business Unit through IBP to plan long-term capacity.
Own critical operations KPIs that drive customer satisfaction, such as on-time delivery.
Manage processing costs, including efficient use of materials, labor, utilities, supplies, and other manufacturing costs.
Foster continuous improvement in cost and efficiency across cable operations.
Collaborate with Supply Chain, Finance, and the Business Unit to drive gross margin across the P&L.
Manage critical capital projects that sustain operations, improve EHS, and enable growth; own cost KPIs.
Approve staffing plans to support efficient plant operations.
Collaborate with Human Resources on talent management, including succession planning, associate development, hiring, retention, and performance management.
Shape the organization to prepare for the future of manufacturing.
Model the Operating Principles and demonstrate flexibility, attention to detail, independence, analytical problem-solving, results focus, effective communication, collaboration, and adaptability.