Operations Manager (m/f/d) - Powertool Manufacturer

The Operations Manager will be in charge of the whole operations area consisting of Industrial Engineering / Maintenance, Production, Purchasing, Logistic and Quality. The new position holder will take an important role with respect to the future strategy of the company as part of a leading group in the field of power and pipe tools.

Your Role

The Operations Manager manages the industrial and technical domain, promotes innovation and develops the operations footprint of the location in a lean environment. The new position holder ensures a maximum degree of capacity utilization and of highest quality while respecting fixed and variable cost as well as quality targets. As a driver of processes, the Operations Manager continuously develops the strategy in operations with his team and establishes a reliable and relevant KPI system. He helps to drive growth in the market by ensuring a quicker and optimized response to the market and customer needs. Cost/Performance Management related to the group manufacturing excellence program is an additional key responsibility of the position holder. The main functions are:

• Prepare and manage the company's operations policies aimed at achieving the objectives of the company's strategic plan, proposing departmental objectives and areas of operations with the special focus on efficient production (higher level of automation, standards, processes etc.) and industrial engineering (design to manufacturing, low standard cost etc.)
• Operations: Means: Ind. Engineering (serial development), purchasing, Production, SCM, Quality + location commandant
• Direct, motivate and coordinate the teams in charge: 9 direct reports.
• Manage the continuous improvement and profitability of the operations area especially by implementing a lean culture
• Supervise the planning in the short, medium and long term taking the necessary measures to be able to cover the demand of the clients real or foreseen in each moment at the best cost and with the smallest possible stock.
• Improvement of the operational processes (incl. service rate and delivery performance), establishing solid and lasting relationships with the suppliers at the same time.
• Analyze and evaluate the present and future technological needs of the area
• Design and defend the industrial investment plan, plan its industrialization and ensure its implementation in time and cost
• Maintain and develop the appropriate relations with the community, city council and works council

Requirements

We are looking for a highly qualified leader in production, engineering and innovation management with experience in the field of (power) tool industry or a comparable industry segment. In addition to this, the ideal candidate brings along a strong background in lean production and lean development. The incumbent has acquired a relevant degree in engineering with a career track, which shows several years of experience in leading organizations in production, industrial engineering and processes. We are searching for an entrepreneurial and strategic thinking leader who takes a key role as driver in a changing environment and who works efficiently with internal and external stakeholders. The incumbent uses his skills to manage and to improve complex production and operation processes. The successful candidate is a self-motivated character with a flexible attitude; he should be at the same time a leader and a team motivator. He should be characterized by a positive and service-oriented mind-set and by the ability to work constructively on an international basis with different teams and functions in the headquarter and other locations.

Functional Skills

• Comprehensive knowledge and overall understanding of complex production (turning/milling, plastic injection molding, assembly, set building, warehousing and shipment, service), logistics and engineering fields with high running automated production processes.
• Leadership and capability to guide and develop teams and create an efficient development plan and succession pipeline in cooperation with HR.
• Financial awareness and cost management, driven for results.
• Proficient with project management, engineering development and analysis tools.
• Lean Management experience (shop floor management, continuous improvement processes, Kaizen, 5S).
• Strong analytics and expertise in strategy definition.
• Operational rigor and strong implementation capabilities.
• Business fluent in English, knowledge of the German language is a plus – but not mandatory.

Personal

• Experience in working in an international environment (medium-sized companies, group affiliate).
• Ability to communicate and influence teams also across multiple locations, functions and hierarchy levels.
• Show enthusiasm in continuously developing production and innovation processes and motivating the teams to follow the continuous improvement process.
• Strong communication skills internally and externally, innovative thinker.
• Change leader with open and honest communication style (no silos, no politics, no kingdoms) and ability to convince, motivate and make colleagues move.
• Strong leader but also team player with exceptional organizational, multi-tasking skills.