Vice President Operations

About the role

Our client, a market‑leading manufacturer of highly engineered, high‑mix, low‑volume industrial equipment, is seeking a Vice President of Operations. This senior leader will act as the organization’s operational "special forces," deploying to sites that need immediate, hands‑on leadership to stabilize performance, drive turnarounds, or support interim management.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership to identify priority sites and provide on‑site operational support.
• Lead turnarounds addressing safety, quality, delivery, productivity, inventory, labor utilization, and profitability.
• Serve as a trusted operating partner to site Presidents, General Managers, and Operations leaders, holding teams accountable for results.
• Personally conduct Kaizen events, value‑stream improvements, production recovery, and continuous‑improvement initiatives.
• Diagnose issues on the shop floor, develop actionable plans, and standardize best practices across business units.
• Mentor plant leadership to build sustainable operational capability.
• Collaborate with Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and Commercial teams to remove execution barriers.
• Support facility launches, capacity expansions, footprint optimization, and strategic manufacturing projects.
• Step into interim VP/General Manager roles during leadership transitions.
• Monitor performance through KPIs while maintaining a strong floor presence.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience in high‑mix, low‑volume industrial environments.
• Proven track record of hands‑on operational turnarounds and continuous‑improvement leadership.

Required skills