Director, Production Operations
33 Days Old
At Nordic Ware, we have a passion for creating innovative, high quality, American-made kitchenware. We benefit from a collaborative, connected, value-driven culture and we're growing! For 75+ years our products have enhanced food preparation, inspired creativity and fun in the kitchen, and brought people together at tables around the world. Our employees take pride in the products we make, and many choose a lifetime career here.
Due to the retirement of a senior leader, we have an opening for a Director, Production Operations. In this position, you'll provide leadership and direction to production department management ensuring manufacturing excellence, safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness throughout production operations. This role leads and develops high-performing teams, instilling a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and staff engagement.
What you will get to do:
- Provide leadership for all manufacturing operations, overseeing production managers and their departments to ensure production goals, efficiency, and company objectives are consistently met.
- Collaborate with senior leadership to develop and implement long- and short-term manufacturing plans, policies and procedures that support safety, quality, productivity, and on-time delivery.
- Partner with Human Resources and staffing agencies to ensure appropriate staffing levels aligned with projected production volumes.
- Hire, train, coach, and manage high-performing leaders in Production Operations, instilling a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
- Build and sustain collaborative, high-performing production teams by assessing talent, developing skills, and recognizing contributions to productivity, efficiency, and process improvement.
- Champion a positive, equitable workplace culture that enhances teamwork, morale, and employee retention.
- Support digital transformation throughout the manufacturing departments.
- Maintain operational oversight through analytics, reporting, staff meetings, and direct engagement to ensure workflow coordination, schedule adherence, and optimal use of resources.
- Analyze productivity, efficiency, and downtime data to drive data-informed improvements and regularly report performance to senior management.
- Lead timely resolution of manufacturing issues by guiding staff in identifying root causes and implementing corrective actions.
- Develop, document, and maintain standardized procedures for all production operations, including start-up and shut-down processes.
- Ensure a high level of performance is maintained based on company objectives, customer service, efficiency, scrap, labor costs, machine downtime, housekeeping, procedures/systems, etc.
- Partner with the Safety and Environmental Manager to ensure full compliance with OSHA regulations and maintain a safety-first culture.
- Work closely with Quality Control and department managers to ensure products meet established standards, troubleshoot quality issues, and support continuous quality improvement.
- Oversee documentation and training efforts to ensure operational consistency and staff development.
- Instill continuous improvement and cost savings into the Manufacturing culture using consistent processes supported by data analytics.
- Work collaboratively with Maintenance and Engineering on capital projects, equipment acquisition, repairs, renovations, and plant layout improvements.
- Represent the company professionally during customer audits and regulatory inspections.
- Perform other duties as assigned
What you'll bring to the role:
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field preferred
- 8+ years of experience in manufacturing, production, or operations.
- Proven track record in managing teams, meeting production targets and improving processes
- Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Kaizen methodologies is preferred. Skilled in identifying inefficiencies and implementing process improvements.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
- Experience in planning, executing, and overseeing production projects.
- Proficiency in using KPIs, dashboards, analytics tools, tier meetings and visual management boards.
- Familiarity with Microsoft Suite, ERP systems (e.g., Epicor, SAP, Oracle), production planning software, and quality control systems.
- Knowledge of OSHA regulations and other industry-specific safety standards.
- Strong organizational and time management skills required
- Must be able to commute locally for site visits or meetings, occasionally traveling out of town periodically for training or conferences
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to move around the plant, functioning well in both an office environment and in various types of manufacturing environments. Includes daily work in an office on a computer.
- Ability to disseminate information so others can understand.
- Ability to understand information communicated by others.
- Ability to observe activity near and far with or without corrective lenses.
- Must have adequate field of vision, color vision, and depth perception.
- Ability to move up to 30 pounds occasionally.
- Ability to work in fluctuating temperature environments.
- High noise level: hearing protection required on the production floor.
- Exposure to airborne particles: eye protection required on the production floor.
About Us:
Nordic Ware is a leading manufacturer of high quality and innovative kitchenware products. By designing products of superior value, producing them in the United States whenever possible, and marketing them worldwide, we enrich people's lives by adding utility, convenience and enjoyment to the preparation of food.
We strive to offer attentive service that exceeds our customers' expectations, to produce environmentally sound products, and to provide a safe and rewarding work experience for our employees.
We recognize that a growing return on our efforts and investments is essential to maintain our leadership position. We are committed to ethical conduct in all matters and to earning the trust and confidence of our customers, suppliers, employees and of our community.
We value our employees and offer a competitive compensation and benefits package including Bonuses, Medical, Dental, Vision, Health and Wellness Programs (including onsite Pickleball and Yoga, HSA with employer contributions and the new Nice Healthcare), Short and Long-Term Disability, Basic Life and AD&D, Voluntary Life, Dependent Care FSA, Legal Plan Coverage, Paid Time Off, PTO buy and sell opportunity, Paid Holidays, 401(k) Match, Career Development including Tuition Reimbursement, Generous Employee Discount, Performance Based Pay, Weekly Paychecks.
Nordic Ware is an Equal Opportunity Employer
- Location:
- Minneapolis