Director of Manufacturing - Stamping

POSITION PURPOSE:

The Plant Manager serves as the senior operations leader for the largest manufacturing facility responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. With full P&L responsibility, this role leads a high profile plant, high mix production operation spanning more than 400-500 employees across three shifts.

We are looking for someone with polish and concise responses to our questions as well as experience managing either multiple sites or large sites. they can drive performance, hold a site accountable for driving results, and hold true development conversations with their direct reports.

KPIs & driving results for a fast paced company is key – managing large number of employees – 400-500 and big P&L is important. Developing people at ground level & dealing with leadership – reporting out metrics on a regular basis.

This Plant Manager will set clear direction, develop strong leadership capability across the organization, and ensure safe, efficient, and reliable production to meet growing customer demand. This facility has undergone significant investments in capital, technology, and workforce development, and the ideal leader will harness that momentum—driving operational excellence, fostering a culture of accountability and empowerment, heightening a sense of urgency, and building a positive, people‑first environment.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

• Set the overall direction and performance expectations for the region’s largest plant, ensuring operational excellence and profitability.
• Convert business goals into actionable operational and workforce plans across all three shifts.
• Champion a strong culture of safety, quality, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.
• Represent the facility on the Americas leadership team and contribute to both short- and long-term strategic planning.
• Partner with global operations, engineering, supply chain, sales, and product teams to ensure alignment and share best practices across the enterprise.

Operational Excellence

• Manage end‑to‑end production operations—from order receipt through shipment—including materials planning, manufacturing engineering, quality, environmental compliance, maintenance, logistics, and field service.
• Ensure production volumes, quality levels, and delivery schedules consistently meet or exceed commitments.
• Lead development of resource plans, capacity strategies, and plant loading models.
• Drive continuous improvement using Lean principles to enhance Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost.
• Support major capital projects, ensuring new production capabilities are effectively installed and utilized.

Financial & Business Management

• Maintain full P&L ownership, ensuring strong operating efficiency and productivity.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and monthly financial performance reporting.
• Identify and mitigate operational risks, while ensuring robust internal controls and compliance.
• Ensure all plant operations meet or exceed regulatory requirements at the local, regional, national, and corporate levels.

People Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a diverse team of managers, supervisors, and functional leaders.
• Build a strong leadership pipeline through targeted development, coaching, and succession planning.
• Maintain clear and consistent communication across all levels of the organization.
• Foster a culture grounded in teamwork, accountability, continuous improvement, and respect.
• Model and reinforce the company’s commitment to safety, ethics, and inclusion.

Success Metrics (First 6 Months)

1. Establish a Clear Understanding of Plant Performance

• Review safety results, production metrics, financials, bottlenecks, CI maturity, and talent capabilities.
• Conduct listening tours across all shifts to build credibility and identify cultural strengths and gaps.
• Identify top risks related to safety, quality, capacity, retention, and operational stability.

2. Build Strong Relationships Across the Organization

• Maintain a visible presence on the floor across all shifts.
• Establish consistent communication routines (stand‑ups, weekly reviews, monthly all‑hands).
• Demonstrate transparent, hands‑on, and authentic leadership.

3. Develop and Socialize an Operational Excellence Roadmap

• Identify critical bottlenecks and stabilization needs.
• Define required systems, standards, and training.
• Highlight long‑term opportunities enabled by recent capital investments.
• Strengthen leadership team effectiveness through clear norms, decision processes, and accountability standards.
• Communicate the roadmap broadly to ensure alignment and clarity.

4. Ensure All Team Members Have Clear Goals

• Cascade plant‑level strategy and KPIs into department and individual objectives.
• Ensure each functional leader clearly understands their contribution to safety, quality, delivery, cost, and engagement.
• Implement a consistent performance review rhythm with visible expectations.

5. Create Functional Area Roadmaps

• Define the “next level of performance” for each function.
• Document capability gaps and constraints.
• Establish priorities, milestones, success metrics, and clear ownership.

6. Implement Development and Coaching Plans for Direct Reports

• Assess each leader’s strengths, gaps, readiness, and potential.
• Create individualized development plans aligned with leadership capabilities and succession planning.
• Launch consistent coaching routines (weekly 1:1s, feedback loops, quarterly check‑ins).
• Provide targeted leadership training and skill‑building sessions.

7. Strengthen Core Operational Outcomes

• Improve safety performance and reduce incidents through proactive leadership.
• Successfully execute capital investments and transformation initiatives.
• Enhance communication, alignment, and a culture of ownership, accountability, and high performance.

KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• 15 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience, including significant plant or operations management responsibilities.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, operations management, or related field required.
• Proven success leading large-scale operations (400 employees) in a multi-shift environment.
• Demonstrated experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, JIT, or similar methodologies.
• Strong financial acumen, including P&L ownership and experience managing multimillion‑dollar budgets.
• Track record of leading through growth, transformation, or rapid demand increases.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and change leadership capabilities.
• Experience working within a global or matrixed organization strongly preferred.

Critical Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinking and decision‑making
• Operational and financial acumen
• Leadership presence and team development
• Change management and resilience
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Effective communication and collaboration
• Problem‑solving and critical thinking
• Conflict resolution and negotiation
• Adaptability and composure under pressure
• Action orientated; knows how to get things done through others in a way that energizes and excites people.

NATURE & SCOPE:

The Plant Manager reports directly to the Regional VP, Operations. The position will have major interactions with all levels of the organization in all worldwide locations. In addition to being fully accountable for the plant, the position will have significant interaction with the sales, marketing, product engineering, and financial functions to drive overall execution. The Plant Manager will also participate directly on Global teams designed to compare Key Performance Indicators across global facilities and collaborate on best practice sharing to improve overall global operations.

Pay: $170,000.00 - $200,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Relocation assistance
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Have you managed 450 employees in a plant?
• Whats the maximum P&L that you have managed?

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Manufacturing Plant management: 10 years (Required)
• Stamping Operations: 10 years (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Dayton, TN 37321: Relocate with an employer provided relocation package (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $170,000 - $200,000