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BW Packaging

Vice President Operations, North America

BW Packaging, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55400

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Vice President Operations, North America The Vice President, Operations – North America is a key senior executive responsible for full P&L ownership of North American operations, including new equipment and rebuilds. This leader drives execution across multiple sites and functions, ensuring alignment to growth objectives and strategic priorities while cultivating a high-performance, people-centered culture. Success in this role requires strong cross-functional collaboration to connect site and regional operations with broader product, commercial, and supply chain priorities—ensuring customer value remains central from strategy through delivery.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this role oversees a team of site and multi-site leaders and collaborates with international operational leaders and Managing Directors to ensure consistency and coordinated execution across regions where appropriate. The VP supports growth by ensuring tight alignment with product, commercial, operational, and supply chain strategies—delivering customer value, efficiency, and margin expansion.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Growth Alignment

Own and lead P&L performance for all North American operations (New Equipment + Rebuilds)

Align operations strategy to broader business growth plans through close collaboration with Product (CPMO), Commercial (CCO), Operational Strategy (VP, Operational Strategy), and Supply Chain (EVP, Finance & Supply Chain and BW Enterprise)

Translate long-range strategic priorities into site-level execution roadmaps, investment plans, and performance targets

Contribute to Packaging’s overall operational model by influencing footprint strategy, cross-site roles, and process alignment

Coordinate with international Managing Directors and operations leaders to share best practices, ensure alignment where needed, and support globally consistent operational standards

Operate effectively within a matrixed structure to ensure shared accountability and integrated decision-making

Execution & Site Leadership

Lead day-to-day operations across a network of domestic manufacturing facilities

Manage 9 direct reports, including site and multi-site operations leaders; oversee a span of care of approximately 437 team members

Drive consistency and collaboration across all locations to ensure world-class execution

Champion a culture of safety, quality, and delivery excellence

Performance Improvement & Customer Trust

Drive adoption of the Customer Trust Experience system to deliver high-quality solutions on time, with minimal warranty exposure

Apply continuous improvement and structured problem-solving principles to eliminate inefficiencies and improve throughput, leveraging knowledge of CI and OpEx frameworks

Partner with Finance to lead operational reviews and align around shared performance drivers

Serve as the escalation point for delivery challenges, quoting risk, or field warranty concerns

Organizational Design & Talent Development

Continuously evolve site-level team structures to optimize cost, support growth, clarify roles, and strengthen cross-site alignment

Develop a strong leadership bench with a focus on growing talent from within and preparing for future needs

Support and coach direct reports to foster shared accountability, consistency, and operational ownership

Promote a leadership culture grounded in care, clarity, and high expectations

Strategic Leadership & Impact

Align operations with our ambition to be a formidable global packaging solutions provider

Address operational and execution challenges through strategic thinking, discipline, and transformation

Implement systems and practices that drive efficiency, scalability, and customer impact across all facilities

Develop a culture where people and performance work in harmony — balancing care with accountability at all levels

Contribute clear vision and leadership while operating within the Barry-Wehmiller values and vision

Act as a strategic and cultural force across the operational senior leadership team

Qualifications & Experience

Bachelor’s degree required; degree in Engineering, Operations, or a related field preferred

20+ years of relevant experience, with 10+ years of experience leading multi-site manufacturing operations across states or regions

Demonstrated success driving operational efficiency, productivity, and sustainable margin improvement

Experience managing P&L and leading large teams across complex operations

Familiarity with Lean, continuous improvement, and structured problem-solving — with a proven ability to deploy when needed

Flexibility to take on evolving responsibilities in response to strategic priorities and business needs

Strong leadership and collaboration skills, especially in matrixed environments involving supply chain, engineering, and commercial teams

Ability to lead through complexity, build strong leadership teams, and deliver results through others

Travel:

50–60%, domestic & international, primarily within North America

Direct Reports: Site Leaders; Multi-site Operations Leaders

Site and Multi-Site Operations leaders have direct staff accountability for Manufacturing & Assembly, Testing, Project Management, Planning, Operational Excellence / Continuous Improvement (CI), and matrixed, indirect oversight for Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Stockroom / Logistics

Success Profile This role requires a grounded, high-accountability leader who can deliver operational results while building organizational strength. It demands someone who leads with clarity, develops talent intentionally, and drives performance across a complex, multi-site manufacturing network. The successful candidate will be a disciplined, people-centered executive with end-to-end operational fluency and a track record of scaling execution, efficiency, and team capability. This individual ensures alignment across engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain, optimizing cost, margin, and throughput without compromising safety, customer trust, or employee engagement. The leader aligns to the vision set by the Chief Operating Officer and serves as a central force in delivering North America delivery and cultivating a culture of accountability, consistency, and care that enables sustainable growth and customer confidence.

At Barry-Wehmiller we recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please still consider applying. People from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Please let us know if you require reasonable accommodations during the interview process.

Barry-Wehmiller is an equal opportunity employer. M/F/D/V This organization uses E-Verify.

Applicants may be subject to pre-employment screening which may include drug screening, reference checks, employment verifications, background screening and/or skills assessments.

Company BW Integrated Systems

Seniority level Executive

Employment type Full-time

Job function Management and Manufacturing

Industries Machinery Manufacturing

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