Production Unit Leader

Valmet•Florence, AL

6d•Onsite

About The Position

The Production Unit Leader is responsible for owning the workshop operating budget and financial performance, delivering business targets including revenue, product margin, profitability, absorption, and indirect cost performance. This role involves leading daily workshop operations to achieve production, delivery, quality, and financial objectives, managing production schedules, capacity, labor, equipment, and subcontracting. The position also drives Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement, optimizes throughput, equipment utilization, logistics, and material flow, and promotes a strong safety culture, ensuring compliance with HSE policies and regulations. Additionally, the Production Unit Leader maintains responsibility for workshop quality performance, leads root cause analysis and corrective actions, and ensures effective ERP and production planning system utilization. This role requires a high degree of decision-making authority working in conjunction with the Senior Manager, Global Workshop Operations and Area Management Team members and the leaders within assigned Business Line responsibilities. The company offers a challenging work environment that values innovation and suits development-minded people who enjoy working in a fast-paced and dynamic setting, including a generous wage and benefits package that includes a pension and a 401k with company match. Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).
Minimum 5 years of manufacturing or industrial operations leadership experience.
Strong financial and business acumen.
Experience with Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement.
Knowledge of ERP systems, production planning, quality systems, and HSE.
Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Responsibilities

Own the workshop operating budget and financial performance.
Deliver business targets including revenue, product margin, profitability, absorption, and indirect cost performance.
Monitor operational and financial KPIs and implement corrective actions.
Lead initiatives that improve productivity, profitability, and cost competitiveness.
Develop forecasts, capacity plans, and investment recommendations.
Prepare monthly operational, financial, quality, and HSE reports.
Identify cost reduction opportunities while maintaining safety and quality.
Lead daily workshop operations to achieve production, delivery, quality, and financial objectives.
Manage production schedules, capacity, labor, equipment, and subcontracting.
Establish long-term operational strategies.
Drive Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement.
Optimize throughput, equipment utilization, logistics, and material flow.
Promote a strong safety culture.
Ensure compliance with HSE policies and regulations.
Lead safety observations, investigations, and corrective actions.
Maintain safe equipment and facilities.
Maintain responsibility for workshop quality performance.
Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions.
Reduce scrap, rework, and Cost of Poor Quality.
Drive First-Time-Right performance.
Champion Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen.
Standardize best practices.
Improve productivity through process optimization.
Ensure effective ERP and production planning system utilization.
Promote data accuracy and reporting.
Support operational decisions through analytics.
Lead, coach, and develop supervisors and employees.
Conduct performance management and succession planning.
Build an accountable, engaged, high-performing team.
Partner with Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and Quality.
Maintain strong customer relationships.
Support business development and procurement planning.