Department Manager

Mountville Mills, Inc; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Mountville Mills, Inc. is seeking a Department Manager for Production / Quality Management to lead a manufacturing department, drive safety, quality, and cost performance, and translate plant priorities into actionable shop-floor execution.

You will supervise shift leads and hourly staff, manage the department budget, and lead continuous improvement projects (Lean, Six Sigma). Strong communication and ERP/MES proficiency are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in operations, engineering, or business.
• 3+ years of manufacturing experience, with 2+ years in supervision.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies.
• Proficiency with ERP/MES systems and standard office software.
• Strong communication across all levels, from shop floor to leadership.

Responsibilities

• Owns day-to-day performance of the department including safety, quality, output, cost, and people leadership.
• Lead safety policies, incident investigations, and OSHA/EHS compliance.
• Schedule production to meet customer delivery commitments and monitor quality metrics.
• Drive root-cause analysis for downtime and defects; reduce scrap/rework.
• Manage budget, labor efficiency, and material yield; lead CI projects.
• Coordinate with HR for hiring, coaching, and performance management.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Continuous improvement

Team management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, or Business or equivalent experience

Tools

ERP/MES systems

Job description

Department: Production / Quality Management

Reports to: Plant Manager

Position Summary

The Department Manager owns the day-to-day performance of an assigned manufacturing department, including safety, quality, output, cost, and people leadership. This role serves as the primary link between plant leadership and the shop-floor team, translating company priorities into department-level execution, in line with Mountville's commitment to doing the right thing and doing what is best for the customer.

Key Responsibilities

Safety & Compliance

• Enforces safety policies and maintains a safe working environment for all team members.
• Leads incident investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective action follow-through.
• Ensures department compliance with OSHA regulations and internal EHS standards.

Production & Quality

• Manages daily production schedules to meet customer delivery commitments.
• Monitors quality metrics and partners with the Quality team to resolve nonconformances and reduce scrap/rework.
• Drives root-cause problem solving on downtime, defects, and process variance.
• Ensures that all processes are managed properly within the company ERP system (D365)
• Directly supervises shift leads/supervisors and, through them, hourly production staff.
• Handles hiring, training, performance management, coaching, and disciplinary actions in coordination with HR.
• Builds a culture of accountability, engagement, and cross-training to strengthen bench depth.
• Manages department budget, labor efficiency, and material yield.
• Identifies and leads continuous improvement projects (Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, waste reduction).
• Recommends and justifies capital or process investments to plant leadership.

Planning / Scheduling:

• Partners with Suppliers, Production Departments, Maintenance, Quality, and Engineering to resolve constraints.
• Communicates department status, risks, and needs to plant leadership in daily/weekly reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Engineering, Business, or equivalent experience preferred
• 3+ years of manufacturing experience, including 2+ years in a supervisory or leadership role.
• Experience with Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies preferred.
• Proficiency with ERP/MES systems and standard office software.
• Strong communication skills across all levels, from the shop floor to executive leadership.

Core Competencies

• Decisive, hands-on leadership with a bias for being on the floor, not just in the office.
• Sound judgment under pressure; prioritizes doing the right thing even when it's the harder call.
• Customer-first mindset when balancing schedule, cost, and quality trade-offs.
• Drives improvement rather than defaulting to “how it's always been done.”

Physical Requirements / Work Environment

• Manufacturing floor environment with exposure to noise, heat, and machinery.
• Ability to walk or stand for extended periods; occasional lifting up to 50 lbs.
• Use of standard PPE required in designated areas of the plant.

Mountville is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.