Manufacturing Operations Manager

L.L.Bean•Brunswick, ME

18d•$108,700 - $135,900

About The Position

The Operations Manager provides overall leadership and accountability for executing the manufacturing operating plan, ensuring employee safety and delivering high-quality products in line with service, cost, and business expectations. The role leads manufacturing management and support functions to ensure the organization has the people, processes, equipment, materials, capacity, and capabilities needed for current and future business needs. The position is accountable for production, quality, delivery, cost, workforce, and capacity objectives; employee and leadership development; safety performance; manufacturing budgets and financial results; strategic and multi-year business planning; continuous improvement; and coordination of internal and external manufacturing capabilities. It works cross-functionally with teams including product development, engineering, planning, supply chain, maintenance, Human Resources, and Finance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Industrial Technology, Supply Chain Management, Business, or a related technical discipline.
Six to ten years of progressively responsible manufacturing experience, including increasing leadership responsibility.
Demonstrated experience leading multi-shift manufacturing operations, production teams, and frontline leaders or supervisors.
Experience managing safety, quality, productivity, labor utilization, cost, delivery, capacity, and employee performance.
Experience developing leaders, building succession plans, and improving organizational capability.
Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Planning, Maintenance, Human Resources, Finance, and Product teams.
Strong leadership and people-management skills, including employee engagement, accountability, coaching, and talent development.
Strong quantitative and analytical skills, including interpreting manufacturing data and turning it into action.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing KPIs, including safety, quality, cost, delivery, productivity, efficiency, labor performance, capacity, and schedule attainment.
Excellent written, verbal, and executive-level communication skills.
Strong project- and change-management skills, including the ability to lead multiple priorities simultaneously.
Strategic thinking and the ability to connect operational decisions with longer-term manufacturing and business objectives.
Strong problem-solving and root-cause analysis skills.
Ability to lead through other leaders and establish clear expectations and accountability.
Ability to create a culture focused on safety, quality, continuous improvement, employee engagement, and operational excellence.
Ability to balance people, production, cost, quality, delivery, and customer priorities.
Ability to analyze performance, identify trends and gaps, determine root causes, and implement sustainable corrective actions.
Ability to make timely, fact-based decisions in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
Ability to maintain a visible presence on the manufacturing floor and build credibility with employees and leaders.
Equivalent combinations of relevant technical education and significant manufacturing leadership experience may be considered.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or professional certifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Project Management, or Operations Management.

Responsibilities

Lead execution of the manufacturing operating plan in collaboration with internal peers and external manufacturing resources.
Set operating priorities and align staffing, materials, equipment, capacity, outside contracting, and facility requirements.
Direct manufacturing assistant managers and functional support teams to resolve operational issues and meet business objectives.
Identify risks to the manufacturing business plan and develop mitigation and corrective-action plans.
Create an accountable, performance-focused manufacturing environment and assess staffing, leadership capacity, and job responsibilities.
Contribute to workforce and succession planning, make or approve employment decisions, and set performance expectations for direct reports.
Coach and develop leaders, build frontline and operations leadership capability, and promote communication, teamwork, accountability, and engagement.
Ensure equitable and consistent application of company policies and partner with Human Resources on complex employee and organizational issues.
Own manufacturing safety performance, support a strong safety culture, ensure compliance with applicable requirements, and integrate safety into operations and decisions.
Ensure products meet specifications and quality standards, and maintain production capacity and schedules to support customer demand and service expectations.
Control manufacturing operating costs, manage operating and capital budgets, monitor performance, and take corrective action when needed.
Identify opportunities to improve use of manufacturing assets and capabilities, including third-party programs or external business opportunities.
Help develop manufacturing strategy and translate it into annual and multi-year priorities, resources, and measurable objectives.
Evaluate capabilities, capacity, technologies, workforce needs, and external manufacturing alternatives when developing operating strategies.
Identify opportunities to improve flexibility, productivity, quality, cost competitiveness, and responsiveness, and provide input on capacity expansion, new capabilities, and manufacturing footprint.
Establish a continuous-improvement culture and lead improvements in productivity, quality, throughput, labor utilization, cost, material flow, equipment effectiveness, and reliability.
Ensure root-cause problem solving and corrective-action processes address recurring issues; encourage employee-led process and workplace improvements.
Use operational performance information to identify trends, prioritize improvements, and drive accountability.
Evaluate external capacity and coordinate internal and external manufacturing capabilities to respond flexibly to business demand.