Operations Manager

Overview:

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager to lead day-to-day manufacturing and warehouse operations within a growing industrial organization. This individual will be responsible for driving operational excellence, productivity, cost efficiency, inventory performance, and customer service, while building a strong culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will bring a combination of hands-on operational leadership and strategic thinking.

The ideal candidate has leadership experience within a high-volume, discrete manufacturing environment, ideally with exposure to multiple production and value-added finishing processes. Formal engineering training is required.

Success in the role will be measured by improvements in productivity, inventory accuracy, on-time delivery, operational discipline, team performance, and overall cost effectiveness. There is a clear path for growth within this role, and the organization is seeking a highly impactful leader who can make a meaningful contribution to its continued success.

Responsibilities:

Manufacturing & Operations Leadership

• Lead daily manufacturing and warehouse operations, ensuring effective execution of production plans, schedules, and customer requirements.
• Drive improvements in productivity, throughput, capacity utilization, and operational efficiency.
• Establish and maintain clear KPIs, dashboards, and daily performance-management routines.
• Ensure effective coordination of production, material flow, warehousing, and logistics activities.
• Identify operational constraints and implement practical solutions to improve performance.

Warehouse & Supply Chain Coordination

• Oversee warehouse activities, inventory accuracy, material movement, and logistics performance.
• Improve inventory management, warehouse utilization, material flow, and order fulfillment.
• Partner with planning, procurement, supply chain, and customer service teams to improve forecasting, material availability, inventory, supplier performance, and fulfillment.

Continuous Improvement

• Lead Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Use structured root-cause analysis and problem-solving methodologies to address operational issues.
• Identify and eliminate waste, inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and unnecessary costs.
• Deliver measurable improvements across cost, quality, productivity, and delivery performance.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead supervisors and frontline employees while establishing a culture of accountability, ownership, and performance.
• Build credibility and engagement across the shop floor.
• Develop team capability through coaching, performance management, and clear expectations.
• Lead operational change and transformation initiatives rather than simply maintaining existing processes.

Financial & Performance Management

• Manage operational budgets and monitor key cost drivers, including labor, overhead, inventory, and logistics.
• Translate operational improvements into measurable financial outcomes.
• Balance short-term operational requirements with longer-term business objectives.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Sales, Customer Service, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain teams.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders across the broader organization
• Ensure operational decisions support customer requirements and overall business performance.

Qualifications:

• 7–12 years of progressive operations experience, including approximately 3–5 years in a plant, manufacturing, or operations leadership position.
• Direct experience overseeing production and warehouse/logistics operations.
• A bachelor’s degree in engineering. MBA or other advanced degree is considered an asset.
• Hands-on experience within a multi-process discrete manufacturing environment, with exposure to complex production processes and value-added manufacturing operations.
• Demonstrated success improving productivity, throughput, inventory performance, and on-time delivery.
• Strong people-leadership skills with the ability to lead through supervisors and frontline teams.
• Demonstrated ability to build accountability and a high-performance culture.
• Proven experience leading change, transformation, and continuous improvement.
• Strong customer orientation and understanding of the relationship between operations and customer satisfaction.
• Highly organized, analytical, resilient, adaptable, and results oriented.
• Demonstrated integrity, ownership, and accountability.
• Strong understanding of production processes, scheduling, capacity planning, and material flow.
• Experience with warehouse operations and logistics optimization.
• Practical knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, and root-cause problem solving.
• Strong KPI, data-analysis, and performance-management capabilities.
• Experience working with ERP and/or warehouse management systems.