Senior Production Manager

Baxters North America; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Baxters North America seeks an Operations Leader to oversee production activities, drive safety, quality, and efficiency, and align with supply chain goals. You will direct cross-functional teams to execute the production plan and manage resources to meet customer demand.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business, 5–7 years in operations leadership, and strong proficiency in Lean, planning, and ERP/MES systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business Management is required.
• 5–7 years of experience in Operations Management or related leadership roles.
• Strong knowledge of Lean/CI methodologies and cost management.
• Experience with ERP/MES systems and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead factory production and production support teams to maximize output and minimize cost.
• Ensure supply continuity by coordinating with the supply chain team and timely inventory production.
• Provide leadership for safety, staff development, and performance metrics.
• Drive continuous improvement, cost reductions, and Lean initiatives across the site.
• Oversee budgeting inputs and resource planning for the plant.

Skills

Operations management

Lean Manufacturing

People leadership

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business Management

Tools

ERP systems

MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems)

Job description

Scope of Job: Oversees and directs operations of production areas to ensure that volume, cost, waste, and quality standards are achieved. Collaborates with cross-functional teams to develop overall production schedules, materials, and resource requirements to meet production goals. Monitors shift production metrics to identify and resolve issues and develop process improvements. Plans and directs maintenance, turnarounds, and downtime for efficiency and speed. Establishes staff training processes, equipment, gear, and tool requirements to comply with health and safety regulations. Coaches supervisors in best practices to provide a safe and efficient work environment and resolve production problems. Provides input to strategic decisions that affect the functional area of responsibility. May give input into developing the budget. Capable of resolving escalated issues arising from operations and requiring coordination with other departments.

Essential Job Functions And Responsibilities

• Lead the factory production and production support teams (direct line, including direct labour, indirect labour, and temporary employees) for daily execution of the production plan to maximise output and minimize cost.
• Ensure that the factory plays an integral role in maintaining supply (working with the supply chain team) to timely produce inventory at the right quality and lowest cost to meet customer/sales needs.
• Provide robust management and people leadership across the factory, including both those with direct line factory responsibilities and those without.
• Provide quality stewardship of our products, assets, and their quality attributes with efficient delivery to ensure customer satisfaction. Collaborate with Commercial and Technical/R&D functions to ensure product quality and service.
• Assist Plant Manager in effective Supply management evaluation and business inputs on staffing, cost, capacity, assets, and the supply chain execution to ensure a feasible “Voice of Supply” is reflected.
• Lead the Operations employees by coaching, mentoring, and training/development to ensure the deliverables of manufacturing are met.
• Ensure engaging morale-building programs and robust communications to team members about the business and site performance.
• Provide direct leadership for the factory operating system, safety, discreet production scheduling, materials ordering and expediting, local raw and FGS inventory management, shipping/receiving, and application/usage of business systems. Provide indirect support for QA/QC audits/inspections, finance cost controls, HR, business planning process inputs and local IT.
• Be a member of the Site Operations Leadership Team / the plant managers direct staff member.
• Identify and evaluate financial labour and efficiency opportunities and recommend solutions that will drive overall cost reductions and labour management to continuously improve the factory P&L by direct leadership and support of the Value Stream Production and the Production Support Managers.
• Drive timelines for efficiency improvement, manages site projects and other initiatives for the plant and share/establish best practices across site for CI.
• Maintains factory staffing within cost/financial targets, standards and tracking for produced goods (waste/NQC, inventory and cash delivery, operational costs/tonne, etc.)
• Maintains factory KPI’s and cost roadmaps, including routine, periodic metric dashboards. Provide improvements to MES information systems to drive executional performance.
• Support and partner with local factory technical support managers/engineers as part of the leadership team in support of production goals. Ensure asset maintenance for both current business and integration of new capital/capacity investments. Being a steward for all site assets (infrastructure and equipment).
• A partner in maintaining site safety employee and product controls and traffic systems to ensure both people and product safety, including site security and overall capability of the site.
• Maintain the daily factory operating systems, shift turnover meetings, stand-up meetings, and relevant communications to employees.
• Delivery of factory cost per tonne, NQC waste and productivity objectives, as part of the BNA segment operating design.
• Ensure inventory controls for both raw materials and finished goods are maintained as part of supporting the overall supply chain objectives and targets.
• Incorporate Lean/CI processes and systems in support of Value Streams.
• Mentor/coaching and career development of direct reports.
• Primary interface is with Plant Manager and peers on PM staff and associated central Supply teams.
• Ensure continued progress towards improvement of the Site P&L.
• Manage introductory execution of new business by supporting Site IE and Tech Services using techniques such as CVS, line/trial runs, handover sequences, learning curves, etc.
• Assist Commercial, Procurement and Technical Services in the analysis and progression of new ideas for supply chain feasibility and improved viability.
• The operations function primarily exists to produce goods and services safely with high quality, at the right time and at the right cost to ensure customer service and satisfactory delivery.
• Maintain relationships and timely communication with Commercial & Tech Services, at Site level in support of production, scheduling, and maintenance.
• Develop and coach VSM Managers, support functions and employees as needed.
• Coach direct reports or peers on approach, style, career path.
• Provide input related to operations functional competency development plan.
• Foster the Winning Environment for setting operational performance within factory team structures, focusing on high engagement, team morale and incentive schemes.
• Personal Development - Stays abreast of managerial leadership through constant self-development and a regimented Baxter’s program to be a “state of the art” people leader.
• Collaborate with production and supporting departments to ensure the food safety and quality of our products.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, or Business Management. Master’s in Supply Chain Management, Business, Industrial, other Engineering discipline preferred. MBA or advanced Supply Chain or International Business also preferred.

Experience: 5-7 years of experience in Operation Management, 2-3 years of experience in Engineering or Technical Manager and 2-3 years of experience in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering or Activity management required.

Competencies: Capacity Planning, Data Analysis, Maintenance Planning, Manufacturing Management, Materials Requirement Planning, Production Planning, Production Scheduling, Resource Planning, Safety Policies and Procedures, Troubleshooting, Performance Metrics, Staff Coaching and Training, ERP Systems, Manufacturing Lean Principles, Business Acumen, Planning/Project Management, Strong Communication Skills, Leadership, Teamwork, Detail Oriented, Problem Solving, Results and Goal Driven, Analytical, Initiative, Integrity, and Operational Excellence.

Physical Requirements: Requires prolonged sitting and continuous use of computer. May lift, carry, push, or pull objects up to 10 lbs.