Vice President Utility Operations

Valmont Industries, Inc. • Omaha, NE

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the SVP, Operations, the Vice President Utility Operations leads assigned North American manufacturing operations, Quality Assurance, and Continuous Improvement through Operations Directors, functional leaders, and Plant Managers. The role translates Valmont’s enterprise strategy and Utility growth priorities into safe, reliable, and profitable manufacturing results, building the capacity, workforce capability, and leadership depth needed for sustained growth.

The position partners with Supply Chain, Information Systems, Capital Projects, AMET, Machine Builders, and other shared functions to improve plant performance and prepare the manufacturing network for growth. It promotes continuous learning and digital capability, and advances responsible use of data, automation, and AI to improve manufacturing performance and decision-making. The leader models Safety, Quality, and Respect and advances Win Together, Act with Ownership, and Build for the Future. Domestic and international travel may be required up to 50% of the time.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, manufacturing, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• 10+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership, including senior responsibility for multiple facilities of comparable complexity and results delivered through operating and functional leaders.
• Demonstrated sustained improvements in safety, quality, delivery, throughput, productivity, cost, and cash across a manufacturing network, with examples of personal accountability and measurable results.
• Demonstrated success scaling manufacturing output through capacity expansion, workforce development, and operating improvement, with sustained achievement of production and investment objectives.
• Experience implementing Lean operating systems and sustaining measurable improvement through standard work, management routines, and leadership accountability.
• Demonstrated integrity, transparent reporting, sound judgment, and consistent protection of company assets and internal controls.
• Strong financial acumen in operating budgets, working capital, inventory, capital returns, and the relationship between operating performance, earnings, and cash.
• Experience aligning demand, effective capacity, workforce, materials, and production schedules in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Proven record of developing operating and functional leaders who sustain results independently, exercise delegated authority, advance into broader responsibilities, and build successors for critical roles.
• Strong supply-chain and digital business acumen, including material planning, inventory, data integrity, systems adoption, and technology investment decisions; ability to partner with specialist functional leaders and integrate their expertise within enterprise standards.
• Demonstrated business judgment, adaptability, and curiosity, including challenging assumptions, incorporating frontline insight, and adjusting plans to changing business conditions and performance data.
• Demonstrated success delivering operating results with critical support functions outside direct authority; effective communication, sound business judgment, timely decisions, and resolution of competing priorities across organizational boundaries.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 50% of the time.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in utility infrastructure or engineered-to-order manufacturing with complex customer commitments and production requirements.
• Experience with multiple manufacturing processes, including steel fabrication, welding, concrete, composites, or protective coatings.
• Leadership of major capacity expansions, manufacturing startups, capital programs, or acquisition integrations.
• Experience partnering with technical functions to implement finite-capacity scheduling, advanced planning systems, automation, or AI with sustained adoption and measurable throughput or productivity gains.
• Experience building reliability programs, skilled-trades pipelines, welding training, or apprenticeship programs.
• Experience leading operations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico and coordinating shared manufacturing resources.
• MBA or master's degree in engineering, operations, or a related technical discipline.

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned manufacturing operations, Quality Assurance, and Continuous Improvement through operating and functional leaders; achieve approved operating profit, cost, productivity, inventory, and working-capital targets while owning site performance and customer commitments.
• Translate enterprise strategy and Utility growth priorities into a three-year manufacturing roadmap, annual plans, site objectives, and measurable milestones; deliver capacity, productivity, customer-service, and cash improvements with functional partners.
• Embed safety in daily leadership routines by identifying serious-risk exposures, verifying critical controls, stopping work when controls are inadequate, addressing legacy equipment risks, and ensuring incident investigations, corrective actions, and learning are sustained across facilities.
• Require integrity, accurate records, and compliance with controls involving inventory, scrap, timekeeping, production, quality, purchasing, expenses, and company assets; surface difficult facts early and protect employees who raise concerns.
• Establish a disciplined daily, weekly, and monthly operating cadence using common measures, visible risks, and recovery plans with owners and dates; engage on plant floors to verify conditions and remove barriers.
• Lead Quality Assurance and hold plant leaders accountable for quality at the source, process adherence, and permanent corrective action; establish consistent standards and verification across sites and reduce rework, scrap, customer escapes, and poor-quality costs.
• Develop executable production plans with Commercial, Engineering, Supply Chain, and plant teams through SIOP and finite-capacity scheduling; validate equipment, qualified labor, materials, and production readiness while accounting for maintenance and variability.
• Deliver approved production plans and customer commitments; improve schedule adherence, reduce past-due shipments and manufacturing-related invoicing delays, and reduce operational causes of liquidated damages and back charges; communicate risks and recovery actions early.
• Lead Continuous Improvement across the assigned network to increase throughput and labor productivity through constraint removal, flow, standard work, and Lean; build local capability, verify sustained gains, control overtime, and protect safety, quality, and workforce stability.
• Own site maintenance execution, operator care, equipment condition, and reliability results; partner with Maintenance and technical functions on standards and expertise, and improve uptime through preventive maintenance, downtime analysis, and appropriate OEE, MTBF, and MTTR measures.
• Own manufacturing investment requirements, site readiness, staffing, training, production ramp, and realization of approved benefits; partner on business cases, project delivery, commissioning, and acceptance, and verify capacity, safety, quality, and financial outcomes.
• Manage plant labor, material use, inventory accuracy, controllable costs, and cash with Finance, Supply Chain, and Sourcing; reduce shortages, excess inventory, and avoidable premiums through clear requirements, accurate data, and coordinated recovery actions.
• Attract, develop, and retain skilled employees and strong operating and functional leaders; strengthen onboarding, qualification, supervisor development, and succession coverage, and develop leaders and successors for critical roles.
• Build an engaged, accountable culture through clear standards, direct feedback, recognition, and consistent follow-through; address weak performance early and evaluate results alongside leadership behaviors.
• Require use of approved operating systems, accurate data, and controlled exceptions; identify manufacturing needs and partner with Information Systems, enterprise IT, and technical teams to apply digital tools, automation, and AI within enterprise governance; lead adoption and verify measurable benefits and responsible use.
• Align priorities, decision authority, deliverables, and recovery actions across direct and shared functions; resolve issues directly, escalate unresolved tradeoffs early with recommendations, and share practices, talent, capacity, and expertise across plants.
• Prepare the manufacturing network for future demand through workforce development, capacity expansion, operating flexibility, and readiness for acquisitions or new facilities; partner with shared functions to confirm resources, operating readiness, and performance commitments.

Benefits

• Healthcare, including medical, prescription drugs, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401k retirement plan with company match.
• Paid time off.
• Employer-paid life insurance.
• Employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, including maternity leave.
• Work Life Support.
• Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per year.
• Voluntary programs including tobacco cessation, Type 2 diabetes reversal, one-on-one health coaching, and mortgage services.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive