Operations Manager - Seating & Panels

Knoll Inc.; East Greenville (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Knoll is seeking a Senior Operations Leader to oversee multiple Work Team Leaders and their teams, driving safety, quality, reliability, and cost objectives in our manufacturing environment.

You will coach teams on kaizen, develop leaders, ensure on-time delivery, and maintain a safe, 5-S shop floor aligned with Knoll's design-focused and sustainable culture.

A Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of supervisory experience in a technical operations environment are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in manufacturing/operations management or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of six years successful supervisory experience in a technical or complex operations environment.
• Demonstrated coaching and change management skills.
• Experience implementing HMPS (lean manufacturing principles and tools) in a multi-shift environment.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Champion continuous improvement by eliminating waste and creating processes that add value to the customer.
• Coach and develop work team leaders to be capable of managing and leading in a problem solving structure.
• Develop and train employees to increase contribution to the business and improve processes.
• Ensure 5-S, safety training, and compliance with policies and ISO standards.
• Drive on-time delivery and maintain quality across the shop floor.

Skills

Leadership & coaching

Kaizen / Lean

Problem solving

Communication

Change management

Team development

Safety compliance

Excel

PC literacy

Continuous improvement

Education

Bachelor's degree in manufacturing/operations management or equivalent

Tools

Excel

Word

Lotus Notes

Job description

Why join us?

Knoll uses modern design to connect people to their work, their lives, their world. Since 1938, we have been recognized internationally for creating workplace and residential furnishings that inspire, evolve, and endure. Our purpose is design for the good of humankind. It’s the ideal we strive toward each day in everything we do. Being a part of Knoll means being a part of something larger than your work team, or even your brand. We are redefining modern for the 21st century. And our success allows Knoll to support causes that align with our values, so we can build a more sustainable, equitable, and beautiful future for everyone.

GENERAL PURPOSE

Responsible for leading, managing, and setting strategy for multiple Operations Work Team Leaders and their teams to achieve operational objectives (in such areas as safety, quality, reliability, cost, continuous improvement and employee morale), which align with and promote the achievement of Operations' and the corporation's business strategy.

Results are achieved through coaching, leading, and developing Work Team Leaders and their teams. Additional results are achieved through effective planning, organizing, implementation and execution.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

100% Value: Responsible for championing the continuous improvement processes of operations by eliminating the seven forms of waste and creating processes that add 100% value to the customer.

Responsible for championing the continuous improvement processes of operations by eliminating the seven forms of waste and creating processes that add 100% value to the customer.

• Continuous Improvement: Responsible for championing change by using kaizen as a tool to improve the organization's capability by utilizing people's skill to solve problems proactively and constantly move towards the ideal situation or 'true north'.
• Responsible for ensuring that teams are engaging in kaizen activities everyday to proactively go after problems with a shop floor focus.
• Develop and coach work team leaders to be capable of managing and leading in a problem solving management structure utilizing Facilitators and disciplined continuous improvement thinking.
• Development: Responsible for employee selection and training. Also responsible to help employees to develop new skills that will allow them to increase their contribution to the business and improve the processes of the operation.
• People Are the Most Important Resource Perform other activities as assigned.
• Professional Challenge/Participation: Responsible for motivating and involving production teams and work team leaders in improving processes through creativity, problem solving and learning. This is accomplished through setting expectations, teaching, encouraging, coaching and holding employees accountable to utilize standardized work.
• Solicit employees' ideas for improvement and create a work environment where employees are encouraged to take risks and share their ideas for improvement.
• Coach work team leaders on effectively using leadership skills to drive improvements.
• Pull System: Responsible to create an operation that produces product only to customer demand (takt time) using one-piece-flow. Provide leadership through coaching, providing strategies, and removing barriers for successful implementation.
• Quality: Responsibilities include identifying and solving broad problems that impact quality. Ensure performance and accountability to zero defects. Must partner with customer service and corporate quality teams to ensure the identification of quality issues and their root causes, as well as, design and implement solutions. Must also manage and monitor compliance to HMI quality plan and ISO 9000 certification.
• Recognition/Feedback: Responsible to show appreciation of those individuals and teams that demonstrate outstanding performance, which is directly aligned with the company's "Things That Matter". Also responsible for providing timely feedback including formal performance reviews, performance coaching, and discipline.
• Reliability: Ensure 100% on-time delivery of quality products to the customer by providing strategies and removing obstacles.
• Safety: Ensure a safe working environment for all employees and visitors. Responsible for the team's safety program, implementation and commitment to 5-S principles, ensuring all safety training and development is completed for all employees, administration of safety policies and procedures, and compliance with all state and federal legislation. Manage and monitor the achievement of corporate and plant environmental goals.
• Shop Floor Focus: Responsible for ensuring that work team leaders spend 80% of their time directly on the shop floor where the key value added activities take place.

Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor's degree in manufacturing/operations management or equivalent professional experience required.
• Minimum of six years successful supervisory experience required (including leading teams, salaried level employees, multiple departments) in a technical or complex operations environment.
• Demonstrated coaching and change management skills.
• Previous experience in implementing and coaching HMPS (lean manufacturing principles and tools) in a multi-shift/team environment.
• Ability to express ideas effectively (verbally and nonverbal)
• Well developed interpersonal and communication skills, demonstrates professionalism
• Adept at resolving conflict in a team environment
• Demonstrated ability to identify and understand issues and make appropriate decisions
• Proficient in ISO quality systems fundamentals and Lean Manufacturing principles
• Must be PC and systems literate (Excel, Word, Lotus Notes)
• Refer to the Operations WTL Career Ladder for further information such as experience/skills requirements and an illustration of typical supervisory responsibility for this position.
• Critical competencies for this position include: integrity and trust, customer orientation, job knowledge, decisiveness, relationship building, effective communication, systemic thinking, future focused, managing and developing talent, flexibility, innovation and business knowledge.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively use office automation/communication software and tools currently being used in the HMI office environment.
• Must be able to perform all essential functions of the position with or without accommodations.
• Performs additional responsibilities as requested to achieve business objectives.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions Must be able to perform all essential functions of the position with or without accommodations.

Who We Hire?

Simply put, we hire qualified applicants representing a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. Knoll is comprised of people of all abilities, gender identities and expressions, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, veterans from every branch of military service, and more. Here, you can bring your whole self to work. We’re committed to equal opportunity employment, including veterans and people with disabilities. This organization participates in E-Verify Employment Eligibility Verification.

In general, MillerKnoll positions are closed within 45 days and are open for applications for a minimum of 5 days.

MillerKnoll complies with applicable disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.

MillerKnoll is a collective of design brands coming together to remake modern for the 21st century.