Description

POSITION SUMMARY

As a member of the senior leadership team, this critical position is responsible for leading key operations functions across a North American network of manufacturing facilities.

The Vice President, Operations is accountable for the best-in-class delivery of products to customers and operating the integrated supply chain of product quality and customer service as the priority of all decisions. Leads the direction and control of capital planning & engineering, procurement, product quality, continuous improvement, facilities, and transportation. The Vice President, Operations must be able to work collaboratively across the LDI leadership team to deliver results both in direct and in matrixed functional areas.

Critically, the role must integrate the operations function, while maintaining and optimizing a consistent and efficient set of operational processes and systems across facilities and businesses. This effort must be directed with an eye towards the future and anticipated organic and M&A driven growth, ensuring it is consistent with the longer-term network strategy.

This role reports to the Chief Executive Officer of LDI and is located in LDIs headquarters in New Hope, MN. Functional direct reports include corporate engineering, facilities, transportation, and procurement. Matrix reporting relationships with General Managers across LDI enterprise.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Define and implement consistent operations, materials, planning, and continuous improvement tools and processes throughout the company. These must be both pragmatic and achievable given existing infrastructure and organizational capabilities. The emphasis is on generating near-term results, while laying groundwork for the future.
• Ensure the execution and continuous improvement of logistics processes, such as the replenishment system, business processes, demand management and related functions.
• Reinforces, in partnership with the EHS team, an employee driven safety culture with ownership and engagement at all levels of the organization. Ensures people safety is a top priority in all facilities.
• Ensure the total supply chain is optimized vis--vis procurement, leveraging total company spend and partnerships with suppliers who can develop product differentiation solutions.
• Build relationships with strategic customers through procurement and logistics initiatives. Integrate customer, competitor and industry best practices to improve competitive positioning of logistics and customer fulfillment
• Oversee the capital planning process and engineering function.
• Ensure a discipline of effective tracking and measurement of success relative to prior year and budget via periodic reports and analysis.
• Establish, enhance, monitor, and maintain quality control procedures, programs and policies to ensure the highest possible quality standards.
• Monitor and ensure appropriate ongoing company-wide regulatory compliance with applicable laws, standards and other pertinent standards.
• Partners with customers in a strategic manner to achieve required quality control standards that meet and exceed customer's expectations.
• Establish strong working relationships with customers by being responsive to needs and requests and demonstrating the strength of the company's quality functions.
• Support sales in customer presentations by detailing their quality control capabilities and expertise.
• Actively participate with sales and product management leadership to position the customer teams to respond to customer needs in product and service development, cost effective production and efficient delivery of finished goods.
• With the leadership team peers and operations team members, develop a long-term operations strategy for the business including capital requirements and acquisitions.
• Lead efforts to improve operational efficiencies throughout the manufacturing process and supply chain and champion efforts to reduce costs delivering on key goals.
• Continually assess the talent within the organization to capitalize on strengths and identify areas of need. Recruit new talent when needed and manage succession planning with an eye on long-term growth. Establish individual development plans for all leaders and oversee the establishment of plans for managers and professionals throughout the organization.
• Team building: Build and develop a strong team able to deliver the strategy.
• Serve as a strategic partner to M&A team in due diligence and acquisition assessments.
• Prepare the organization to effectively assimilate acquisitions into the companys operating systems.
• Up to 25% travel within the United States and Mexico.
• Other duties, as assigned.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• A bachelors degree in engineering and/or operations.
• 15 years of progressively responsible and successful leadership experience gained primarily in manufacturing with significant experience with contemporary supply chain and operations systems and practices.
• Functional depth in manufacturing and supply chain
• Additional exposure to logistics, engineering, continuous improvement, warehousing, transportation, procurement and planning is highly desired.
• Proactive approach to safety and quality, including experience coming from an organization that operates sophisticated safety and quality programs and processes.
• Thorough understanding of maintenance systems and processes
• Experience with automation and technology in manufacturing environment
• Experience leading OE/lean manufacturing environment
• Experience large capital projects and management of capital plan
• M&A experience

PREFERRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Buttoned-up and hands-on execution capabilities; tough-minded and results-oriented.
• Systems thinker; ability to develop comprehensive models of operational excellence and deploy through outstanding collaboration and leadership.
• Ability to develop infrastructure/scale to support business growth.
• Proven team builder; ability to surround self with and develop a highly capable staff.
• Expert at assessing, coaching, developing, retaining, and acquiring ever-improving talent
• Strong interpersonal skills with a record of successfully building leadership teams and mentoring and developing employees.
• Collaboration and experience in matrix organization
• A strategic and visionary thinker with strong communication skills.
• Prior success in driving change in complex operational situations.
• Experience operating in a middle market environment where success comes from quickly identifying opportunities to maximize the resources at hand.
• Sets and achieves aggressive goals; ability to confront difficult business problems, make a decision and move forward.
• Exceptional judgment complemented by creative problem-solving and strong decision- making capability with a bias toward action. An executive who thrives on creating a winning and successful environment for people in the business and exhibits personal accountability.
• Transparent decision maker who actively seeks input and feedback from peers, subordinates, and executive leadership. Does not attempt to operate in a vacuum.
• Active listener with strong and direct communication skills, including written, verbal and presentation skills. Strong persuasive capabilities. Inquisitive and engaged; questions things and digs deep.
• Tough minded and decisive, yet fair, with courage of conviction in making decisions that are pragmatic, practical and strategic.
• Performance driven maintains an eye to the bottom-line impact of recommended strategies and pushes back on those projects that do not add real economic or strategic value.
• Coalition builder ability to influence those beyond immediate subordinates, anticipating the needs and concerns of more removed staff and managing their motivation and performance from a distance.
• Hands-on leader with a high energy level, work ethic, and leadership skills. However, he/she is also flexible, collaborative, puts the shareholders, customers, and team before personal gain, and is comfortable with the gray areas and give-and-take inherent in a candid, fast- moving meritocracy.
• Has the presence to interface effectively with senior level customers, corporate leadership, and the companys board.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Regular sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day to accomplish tasks.
• Manual and finger dexterity used regularly with some repetitive finger motions.
• Ability to work in front of a computer screen for long periods of time.
• Specific vision abilities include close and distance vision; able to identify colors, small letters, and numbers; hand/eye coordination, depth perception and able to adjust focus.
• Hearing and speaking
• Other conditions may include frequent reaching, stretching, pushing, pulling, pinching, grasping, and gripping.

about our company:

Comprised of multiple companies with headquarters in New Hope, Minnesota,Liberty Diversified International (LDI)is a privately held company employing more than 1,900 individuals across our manufacturing facilities, production facilities and core business operations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, California, and Mexico. With deep roots in the corrugated box manufacturing industry, we operate in the core markets of paper, packaging, workplace products, corrugated plastics and building products.

Since 1918, our values Caring, Innovation, Trust and Excellence have guided our day-to-day activities. We believe that when our employees are aligned with these values, we create superior solutions and service for our customers. The LDI family of companies includesLiberty Packaging, Liberty Paper, Liberty Plastics (Custom SolutionsandQuarrix Building Products) and Safco.

Liberty Diversified International is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, age, creed, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, or any other protected class.