Senior Manager, Operations Training

Simpson Strong-Tie•Columbus, OH

2d•$123,700 - $210,300•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Operations Training is a strategic and operational training leader responsible for designing, governing and continuously improving the enterprise operations training system, including defining standards, frameworks and capability models that enable consistent, high-quality training execution across our North American manufacturing branches while driving measurable business outcomes. This role is responsible for designing scalable systems, frameworks and processes for production onboarding, on-the-job training (OJT), technical skills training, safety/EH&S capability development, skills and certification management, and trainer development. This leader partners closely with the branch leadership and training teams, VP of Manufacturing, HR and the Training COE Leads to ensure operations training initiatives and programs are scalable, aligned, prioritized and impactful. This role leads through matrix leadership and influence and in strong partnership with branch leadership and training teams, establishing governance, standards, and consistency while enabling local execution and business priorities. This role reports to the Director, Learning & Organizational Development with dotted-line alignment to the VP of Manufacturing and is a key member of the Training Center of Excellence (COE) leadership team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Minimum of 8+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing or operations training.
Experience leading enterprise or multi-site training initiatives, including standardization across plants, branches, or regions.
Proven experience designing and implementing: On-the-job training (OJT) systems, Skill matrices and certification frameworks, Workforce readiness or operator development programs
Demonstrated success working in a matrixed organization, influencing stakeholders and driving results across functions without direct reporting relationships.
Experience partnering closely with operations and manufacturing leadership to identify capability gaps and align training to business priorities.
Proven ability to build and scale training programs tied to operational KPIs (e.g., safety, quality, productivity, time-to-proficiency).
Experience leveraging data, metrics, and reporting to evaluate training effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
Experience working with and leveraging learning management systems (LMS) and learning technology to drive desired learning outcomes.
Strategic thinker with strong execution focus; able to balance long-term vision with immediate operational needs.
Strong influencing capability; ability to lead and drive outcomes within a matrixed reporting structure.
Deep understanding of manufacturing workflows, production environments and plant operations.
Strong stakeholder management, alignment and communication skills.
Proven success in aligning site leaders, training resources and operations stakeholders to shared objectives and defined outcomes.
Strong coaching capability with demonstrated success developing training resources, building capability, and elevating the effectiveness, consistency, and impact of training teams and resources.
Ability to “meet the organization where it is” and drive practical, scalable solutions.
Expertise in adult learning principles and instructional design for technical and operational audiences.
Data-driven mindset with experience using metrics, dashboards and insights to drive decisions and outcomes.
Operational rigor with focus on standardization, scalability and continuous improvement.
Ability to balance enterprise governance and standards with branch-level flexibility.

Responsibilities

Define and execute Operations Training strategy and roadmap aligned to manufacturing and business priorities.
Partner with operations and branch leadership to conduct training needs assessments, identify critical capability gaps (current and future state), and translate business requirements into clear training objectives, outcomes and measures of success.
Establish governance, standards, and scalable models across manufacturing sites and branch operations to drive consistency, leverage best practices and provide “lift” and support to the branches.
Serve as a credible and trusted advisor to manufacturing, operations and branch leadership on OJT and workforce capability priorities.
Design and scale production onboarding processes and programs to ensure consistent, high-quality employee experience, accelerate time-to-productivity and support retention.
Build and implement an enterprise OJT framework, including training progression models, certification requirements, and evaluation standards.
Establish clear standards and expectations for OJT delivery, documentation and evaluation across branches.
Enable workforce readiness strategies that align training with operational throughput, safety, and quality expectations.
Partner with operations and branch leadership to identify skill and capability gaps across production, equipment, safety, quality, and technical processes.
Define and manage enterprise skill architecture, including role-based skill matrices, proficiency levels, and certification requirements.
Provide oversight and guidance for development and maintenance of curriculum for technical, operational and safety training programs.
Build role-based learning paths and capability progression models for operations roles.
Define trainer qualification standards, certification processes and ongoing evaluation criteria.
Build trainer capability through standardized development programs, tools and coaching.
Establish governance and quality assurance processes to ensure consistency and effectiveness of training delivery across branches.
Create a community of practice (COP) to enable knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.
Partner with branch leadership and training teams to ensure alignment and reinforcement of operations training content, programs and initiatives.
Establish strong feedback loops with branch training teams to identify gaps, unmet needs and opportunities to scale best practices.
Maintain regular communication and alignment with key stakeholders to balance enterprise standards and local execution needs.
Lead planning, execution, and management of operations training initiatives, ensuring high-quality design and delivery.
Partner closely with branch training teams to provide functional training guidance, coaching and support.
Leverage shared services team support for instructional design, training operations, and learning technology.
Define and execute a measurement strategy to evaluate effectiveness, capability development, and business outcomes (e.g., time-to-proficiency, safety, quality, productivity).