Operations Director - Pasadena - Vertellus

Description

Operations Director - Vacancy No: VN493 | Department: Operations | Location: Pasadena | Employment Type: Full-Time

Company Overview

Aurorium is the materials innovation partner that helps global manufacturers harness the power of possibility to make the world a better place. Their specialty ingredients and high-performance materials enhance quality of life, support health and wellness, and enable customers to deliver value-added solutions. Key industries served include healthcare, personal & home care, mobility, infrastructure, and paper & packaging. A Responsible Care company, Aurorium follows the highest regulatory standards across all manufacturing facilities. The company's global integrated supply chain offers the customer product consistency, easy access, supply security, and reasonable turnaround on delivery. Aurorium is committed to operating at the highest levels of manufacturing consistency, quality control, and safety.

Job Description

The Operations Director is responsible for delivering production and financial goals across the Aurorium Specialty Solutions sites - currently: Greensboro NC, Midlothian TX, Berkeley Heights NJ, Zeeland MI; and Pasadena TX. This role will lead the development of sustainable competitive advantage and operational excellence in safety, quality, delivery and cost, working closely with Specialty Solutions commercial and corporate functional teams. Accomplishing these objectives will require a highly motivated leader with demonstrated experience in business and cultural transformations, including implementation and continuous improvement of lean manufacturing processes, as well as the development of a highly efficient and effective organization, culture and talent base. The Operations Director will be part of the Specialty Solutions Leadership team, reporting into the Vice President and General Manager, Specialty Solutions.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership to the individual Site Directors to drive fulfilment of customer demand in a safe manner at optimal levels of quality and cost.
• Accountable for P&L for the global Specialty Solutions sites.
• Act as the key manufacturing interface, partner cross-functionally with EHS/Compliance, Commercial, R&D, Engineering, Procurement, and Global Quality Teams to achieve operational goals and targets, driving optimization of Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory, and Productivity through continuous improvement tools.
• Partner with R&D and marketing to lead operational aspects of new product development, launches, product transfers, etc.
• Drive and champion a culture of continuous improvement at the sites; leverage predictive and reliability maintenance processes and tools to achieve optimal performance in safety, quality, delivery, and productivity.
• Create an organizational culture where daily management and continuous process improvement are fully embraced as the way to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.
• Lead monthly Operations Reviews with site leaders, providing guidance for strategy, business initiatives and action plans. Identify synergies and develop action plans to gain competitive advantage.
• Lead and develop a team of Site Directors, Value Stream Managers, Supply Chain Leaders and Engineering Professionals, focusing on skills development, engagement, and performance management.
• Establish optimal organizational structures to provide strength of leadership to deliver performance improvement, inclusive of succession plans for all key positions.

Key Focus Areas

• Safety Lead the operational culture with safety at the forefront of every business decision.
• Quality Create and effectively implement sustainable business processes that improve product quality.
• Delivery Create and effectively implement sustainable business processes that meet customer expectations and ensure reliable product shipments.
• Working Capital Create and effectively implement sustainable business processes that improve leverage of working capital.
• Cost / Productivity Create and effectively implement sustainable business processes that lower product costs and operating expenses.
• Organizational Development Develop a highly productive and efficient organizational structure and talent base.

Compliance

• Complies with company Health, Safety and Environmental policies, procedures and arrangements.
• Reports all Health, Safety and Environmental accidents, incidents and near misses promptly.
• Acts in a safe and responsible manner at all times.

Problem Solving and Innovation

• Active participation within continuous improvement activities.
• Participates in problem solving.
• Takes responsibility and ownership for own learning and development in the spirit of continuous improvement of both self and the business.
• Assists in the training, mentoring and assessment of other team members.
• Exercises autonomy and judgement subject to overall direction or guidance.

Education and Qualifications

• Demonstrated strong leadership, coaching, communication and planning skills.
• Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Lean Practitioner / Six Sigma Black Belt.
• Further education in Business Management or related/equivalent experience preferred.

Experience

• A minimum of ten (10) years' experience in production, plant maintenance or engineering, with a minimum of five (5) years' experience in a senior chemical manufacturing leadership, multi-site role.
• Experience working within PSM / RMP / GMP / Food or other equivalent regulatory framework required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience driving process improvement and cultural change across multiple production sites.
• Proven track record of successful implementation of LEAN/Six Sigma manufacturing tools and techniques.
• Planning/Organizing: Prioritizes and plans work activities; uses time efficiently; plans for additional resources.
• Problem Solving: Identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; develops alternative solutions; works well in group problem solving situations; ability to analyze technical data and proposals.
• Project Management: Ability to manage multiple projects and tasks. Develops project plans; coordinates projects; communicates changes and progress; completes projects on time and budget; manages project team activities.
• Strong team mentoring and staff development experience. Demonstrated experience building high performing teams.
• Knowledge of standard budgeting and cost control techniques and ability to learn software packages quickly as required. Candidates with related SAP experience are preferred.
• Provide effective leadership with a passion for driving continuous improvements. Must be fact/data driven with the ability to navigate obstacles and barriers and influence for results.

Core Values

• Credible: keeps their word and honors commitments, acts with integrity, holds themselves accountable.
• Outcome-oriented: adheres to an unparalleled standard of excellence to deliver results with real impact.
• Driven: passionate about delivering authentic, world-class experiences that engage customers and inspire greatness.
• Empowered accountability: empowered to achieve common goals and accountable for delivering performances and results that exceed standards.

Strong communication skills and ability to present complex information across all levels of the organization.