Vice President Operations

Job Description - Vice President of Operations

Position Summary

Our client is seeking a hands-on, strategic Vice President of Operations to lead and continuously improve multi-site manufacturing operations. This executive will drive operational excellence across safety, quality, delivery, and cost, while building strong leaders and scalable systems that support growth. The VP of Operations will partner closely with senior leadership across Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS, HR, and Finance to execute business strategy and deliver world-class performance.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead day-to-day operations across manufacturing and distribution functions to achieve targets for safety, quality, throughput, on-time delivery, and cost.
• Own operational performance dashboards and cadence (daily/weekly/monthly operating rhythm), ensuring clear accountability and fast problem resolution.
• Develop and execute the operations strategy aligned to company goals, customer requirements, and long-term capacity needs.

Continuous Improvement / Lean

• Champion Lean manufacturing and structured problem-solving (e.g., Kaizen, 5S, value stream optimization), driving measurable improvements in productivity, scrap, rework, and downtime.
• Standardize best practices across sites/lines and implement scalable operating procedures.

Safety, Quality, and Compliance

• Set a culture of zero harm-drive proactive EHS practices, audits, and leading indicators.
• Partner with Quality leadership to ensure product quality, process capability, corrective actions, and customer satisfaction.

People & Culture

• Lead, coach, and develop plant/site leaders and functional managers; build bench strength and succession plans.
• Foster a high-performance culture grounded in accountability, engagement, communication, and teamwork.

Financial & Strategic Execution

• Own operations budgets, labor planning, and capital planning; drive cost discipline and ROI-focused decision-making.
• Partner with Finance to evaluate performance, manage variance, and execute profitability improvement initiatives.
• Support capital projects, automation, and equipment investments from business case through implementation.

Supply Chain & Customer Delivery

• Collaborate with Supply Chain/Planning to align S&OP, inventory strategy, supplier performance, and service levels.
• Ensure customer commitments are met through strong planning, execution, and issue escalation pathways.

Qualifications

Required

• Significant leadership experience in manufacturing operations, including responsibility for multiple departments and/or multiple facilities.
• Demonstrated success improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost performance in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong leadership skills with a track record of developing teams and driving accountability.
• Data-driven operator comfortable with KPIs, operating rhythms, and structured problem-solving.

Preferred

• Experience in glass, building products, metals, industrial manufacturing, or high-throughput process manufacturing.
• Lean/Six Sigma background (certification a plus).
• Experience leading capital projects, automation initiatives, and capacity expansions.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or related field (MBA a plus).