Operations Manager

The Operations Leader is a member of the Rockford site leadership team. The Operations Leader provides leadership, guidance, and accountability on all aspects of safe product manufacturing, quality control, and product specifications. 

The Operations Leader will lead the AM Pillar, which is critical in Rockford’s successful progression of TPM.

The Operations Leader will be the subject matter expert on all downline processes, quality, and material areas.  The Operations Leader provides leadership examples, coaches, and advises Rockford’s production team and is responsible for the growth and development of all operators in the plant.

The Operations Leader interfaces across the operations network in the Foam Business to provide input and solutions on manufacturing challenges, TPM advancement, and other innovative initiatives. 

Live the Safety stand, adhere to the safety responsibilities

• Foster a culture with safety a core value; ensuring a safe, clean and environmentally compliant facility
• Ensuring that all control plans, work instructions, and other procedures related to the technical operation of the production lines ensure the safety of employees
• Leads primary employee involvement and engagement in safety teams and safety initiative

• Engages in any incident investigation, Near-miss reporting, or environmental upset

Leading Operations

• Engages with all operations team members, on days and on nights
• Set clear and measurable performance expectations in line with plant goals
• Ensures understanding of roles and performance review process to drive progressive results
• Rewards and celebrates achievements, talent progression, and other engagement activity participation
• Effective with coaching, one on one’s, and accountability for themselves and department members
• Ensures the quality systems are utilized to provide a consistent product that meets manufacturing specifications and customer expectations
• Develops and administers training programs and standard work to ensure repeatability and manufacturing excellence throughout operations
• Provides data analytics to identify gaps and opportunities in performance metrics in order to make improvements to efficiencies, quality and cost
• Partners with the Process Engineer and Maintenance Leader to effectively lead Cost Deployment activities and Policy Deployment
• Effectively engage maintenance, warehouse and all other functional areas of the plant as partners/ team members

Leading and Developing Talent

• As the overall leader for plant operations:
  • Leads, coaches and teaches employees to reinforce High Performance values of engagement, empowerment, conflict resolution, and ownership of safety, plant processes and performance
  • Works with all shift coordinators to complete and deliver mid-year and year-end reviews for all employees on the production shift
  • Develops Growth and Development plans for all production shift employees
• Develop a positive employee relations environment
  • Ensures a positive, creative, diverse, and collaborative work environment where employees own the success of the business
  • Establish an engaged workforce characterized by mutual trust, open communications, teamwork, and recognition
  • Builds a department worthy of being used as marketing and communications platform, both internal and external

• Leading and developing others – is mature, balanced, and professional when acting to lead others.  Skilled and confident when coaching and advising primary employees.
• Quick learner – ability to learn concepts and new skills at a very rapid pace and apply learnings to the job.  Can understand deep and complex scientific concepts and troubleshoot problems based on abstract data.
• Collaborator – builds relationships easily with others, and collaborates across leadership and technical networks to drive initiatives and results
• Business acumen – Demonstrates understanding of the financials and metrics of the business as well as technical areas. Shows appreciation for, understands and balances the needs of employees with the needs of the business
• Excellent communicator - written and oral, including presentation and training skills
• Conducts himself/herself with the highest ethical and moral standards

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, or related discipline 
• Minimum of 5 years manufacturing experience leading people in a complex environment
• Academic and practical knowledge of materials science and manufacturing processes
• Managing and delivering results through projects and initiatives
• TPM implementation, lean manufacturing, and/or six sigma certification