Job Description
Opportunity Overview
The Vice President (VP) of Operations & Supply Chain will deploy the manufacturing operations, facilities, logistics, and supply chain strategy to support company growth. This executive will serve as a key member of the All Flex Solutions leadership team, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
All Flex Solutions is a Granite Company, sharing the Granite Partners objective of 100-year sustainability. This is a fantastic opportunity for a leader who appreciates and embraces the entrepreneurial environment surrounding All Flex Solutions as well as the benefits and support of being a Granite Company. The VP of Operations & Supply Chain will collaborate with other leaders throughout the Granite community and serve as a member of the Lean & Operations Affinity and the Sustainability Affinity.
The Position
Reporting to the CEO, the successful candidate will be charged with planning, directing, and controlling the company’s operations activities across four manufacturing plants in Northfield and Bloomington, Minnesota, to ensure a high performing organization that safely delivers low cost, high quality, consistent products. Operational excellence through the use of contemporary lean manufacturing and global supply chain management concepts is a critical focus area of the position.
The VP of Operations & Supply Chain is a key position for the All Flex team, responsible for leading a world-class manufacturing approach that optimizes employee safety, customer satisfaction, quality, efficiency, employee relations, and performance measures. This individual will work collaboratively with other functions to align operational capabilities with short- and long-term customer needs in a growing market.
The VP of Operations & Supply Chain is responsible for manufacturing, supply chain, facilities, and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) with a continuous focus on improvement and efficiency. This position requires a strong, interactive leader who is fully competent in manufacturing systems and processes – from purchasing materials to forecasting to producing components and final assemblies to specific customer requirements. The role works closely with Engineering and Quality to drive manufacturing, facilities, and product improvements. The Operations team includes Plant Management, Supply Chain Management, EHS, and Continuous Improvement functions. The Operations team contributes to the overall success of the business by ensuring operational efficiency, compliance with regulations, a safe working environment, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Major elements of the VP of Operations & Supply Chain’s responsibilities are to:
- Lead operations strategy and planning. Provide specific leadership and expertise for manufacturing, supply chain, facilities, and logistics-related objectives, including capacity planning, scheduling, and on-time delivery.
- Provide strategic and tactical guidance to ensure world-class supply chain operations that support forecasted and targeted sales growth, reduce operating costs, and ensure customer service needs are met or exceeded.
- Develop and implement a capital spending plan to achieve targeted growth, process improvements, lean initiatives, and cost savings in addition to addressing current maintenance and growth.
- Work with Engineering to enhance and maintain organizational focus on lean manufacturing efforts to ensure implementation of world-class technologies and practices.
- Assist and support new product development for design for manufacturability.
- Lead the Facilities & Maintenance team to ensure the existing plants and equipment run optimally and future growth is supported through plant and equipment expansions.
- Ensure that the Operations and Supply Chain departments are staffed with highly motivated, trained, and skilled professionals who contribute to the company’s overall mission.
- Maintain effective working relationships with employees, at all levels and across all functions of the organization, as well as customers and suppliers.
- Promote and to achieve innovative results through collaboration.
- Partner with HR to enable employee training and development programs that ensure that operations and supply chain teams are equipped with the latest skills, knowledge, and best practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, engagement, and retention, while maintaining high standards of performance.
- Lead and manage the Operations and Supply Chain teams through effective coaching, mentoring, and performance management, setting clear goals and expectations, providing regular feedback, and fostering a supportive environment that promotes professional growth and high performance.
- Maintain current certifications and compliance: AS9100, ISO 9001, MIL-PRF-31032/3 & MIL-PRF 31032/4, ITAR\JCP registered, RoHS compliance.
Candidate Profile
The VP of Operations & Supply Chain must be a proven, highly effective leader with well-honed business skills and a history of leading operations in a growing business. This key position requires a minimum of 10 years of operations and manufacturing leadership experience in a job shop manufacturing environment.
The VP of Operations & Supply Chain must possess an understanding and passion for developing people, and a candidate will possess an understanding of medical and defense industry standards for how PCBA interconnect flex circuits and Thermofoil heating solutions are produced. An undergraduate degree, ideally with a technical or business management focus is required; an advanced degree is desired.
Qualified candidates will possess a strong operations and manufacturing background with a broad understanding of customer relations, product specifications, and market conditions that affect competitiveness when dealing with engineered products. Experience managing production in compliance within a Quality Management System, with certifications (QMAS, ISO, NadCap, IPC, etc.) and a proven track record of leading Lean manufacturing improvements, implementing and sustaining 5S, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints (TOC), and Cell Manufacturing.
Prior management experience is desired, as is a track record of achieving superior growth and profitability results within an industry. Exceptional leadership skills are essential, characterized by a drive to succeed through staff development. NetSuite (or broad ERP) experience is a significant plus, along with a proven ability to manage resources and schedules within the system.
Additional qualifications include:
- Solid analytical and strategic skills in terms of operations strategy planning and implementation with the ability to lay out a long-term vision for the operation and to manage and implement to that vision and modify direction along the way as required.
- Strong knowledge of today’s best practices in manufacturing, including lean manufacturing techniques. Demonstrated success implementing continuous improvement concepts.
- Experience in or demonstrated knowledge of supply chain functions from procurement (including international sourcing) to distribution is required, particularly the ability to reduce costs, improve customer service, and integrate processes across functional areas.
- Experience using ERP software and other analytical tools in a manufacturing environment; NetSuite experience is highly desirable.
- An understanding of manufacturing standard cost systems.
- A proven ability to drive a proactive safety culture.
- A track record of motivating and leading production teams of 300+ through a team of managers and supervisors.
- An understanding of quality systems and best practices for implementation; ISO 9001 experience is a plus.
Additionally, this individual must have the capacity to collaborate with other leaders within All Flex and Granite Partners, taking advantage of resources throughout the organization and becoming an integral part of the overall team and serving the organization as a whole.
Location
All Flex Solutions is headquartered in Northfield, Minnesota, and has four Minnesota manufacturing facilities: one in Northfield and three in Bloomington. The VP of Operations & Supply Chain will be based in Bloomington. Working arrangements will include a mix of being onsite in both Bloomington and Northfield and travelling for industry and customer contacts.
Compensation & Benefits
We offer a competitive base salary in the $190,000 to $220,000 range, based on experience and qualifications, along with an annual bonus and the opportunity to participate in long-term incentives, including a stock appreciation rights (SARs) program.
Beyond pay, our market-leading benefits are designed to support your wellbeing. These include medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as short- and long-term coverage. We also provide a health savings account with company match, a retirement plan with employer contributions through Vanguard, and access to the Granite Assistance Fund for support when it’s needed most. We value time for rest and personal growth, offering generous paid time off, including volunteer time off and paid holidays.
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