Vice President of Operations - High Growth - High Mix Company

The Avery Point Group, Inc - Executive Search Catalysts for Change™; Lexington (KY); Presencial; USD 180.000 - 280.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Relocation assistance

Competitive base salary + bonus

Performance incentives

Descripción de la vacante

The Avery Point Group, Inc. is seeking a hands-on Vice President of Operations for a privately held, three-plant heavy fabrication business in Lexington, KY. You will own performance across all sites, installing cadence, standards, and visual metrics on the shop floor.

You will lead a floor-present leadership team, drive throughput, on-time delivery and cost discipline, while preserving customization. There is a clear path to COO based on performance and company growth.

Formación

• 15+ years in manufacturing with progression into operating leadership.
• Direct, hands-on experience in heavy fabrication environments.
• Proven track record in high mix, low volume or engineered-to-order production.
• Multi-site leadership experience or leadership of a large complex facility.
• Strong ability to install cadence, daily management and visual metrics.

Responsabilidades

• Own performance across three plants with floor-present leadership.
• Install operating cadence, tiered meetings and standard work across sites.
• Improve throughput, on-time delivery and cost discipline.
• Lead cross-functional coordination between operations, engineering, sales and supply chain.
• Develop bench strength and durable leadership teams.
• Evaluate technology investments aligned to throughput and quality.

Conocimientos

Hands-on leadership

Floor presence

Operational leadership

Multi-site leadership

Lean tools experience

Structured problem solving

Accountability and cadence

Herramientas

Lean tools

Descripción del empleo

Why you should be interested in this role:

This is a real operating seat with real scope. Three plants. Full operational ownership. A heavy fabrication, high mix, made to order business that is large enough to matter and small enough to move. The work is hands on and the impact is visible. You will not be managing through layers. You will be in the plants, with the leaders, building the operating system that takes this company to its next level.

This role exists because the business has grown into a level of complexity that requires a stronger operating system. Leadership wants someone who can lift performance without stripping the flexibility that custom manufacturing demands. The mandate is to install structure, cadence, and accountability across three plants while preserving the responsiveness customers expect.

The approach is practical. Build process where it creates leverage. Build capability in the people who run the work. Invest in technology where the math holds up. Lean tools are welcome where they fit. We are not running a lean program for its own sake. We are building an operating system that makes good results repeatable across leaders, shifts, and sites.

Strong performance in this seat leads to a broader executive role, including COO over time.

Role Critical to Quality Requirements (CTQs):

• 15+ years in manufacturing with progression into operating leadership
• Direct experience leading operations in a high mix, low volume, or engineered to order setting
• Heavy fabrication, weld, paint, and final assembly operating background
• Proven leadership of multi site operations or a large, complex single site
• Track record of improving throughput, on time delivery, and floor execution through process & people
• Practical experience using lean tools where they fit, without turning the business into a lean program
• Hands on, floor present leadership style with the discipline to build durable operating systems

Company: Privately held manufacturer, ~$150M in revenue

Industry: Heavy Fabrication, High Mix / Low Volume, Engineered to Order Manufacturing

Location: Lexington, Kentucky (Northside Suburbs) | Relocation Required

Reporting To: Chief Executive Officer

Direct Reports: Three Plant Managers and key operations support functions

Compensation: Excellent Base and Bonus + Relocation

Future Opportunity: Clear path to COO based on performance and company growth

Company Profile:

Our retained client is a well established U.S. manufacturer operating three facilities focused on engineered to order, high mix, low volume production. The work is fabrication heavy with welding, paint, and final assembly content. Every order carries variation, and execution depends on tight coordination between the floor, engineering, scheduling, and supply chain.

The business is growing. The company has reached a stage where the next level of performance requires a stronger operating system, a deeper leadership bench, and a more disciplined approach to process and technology investment.

Position Description and Responsibilities:

The Vice President of Operations will own performance across all three plants. This is a floor present role. The right leader builds standards in real conditions, not from a conference room. The role requires a leader who can take control of an imperfect environment, stabilize it, and put the operating disciplines in place that make improvement repeatable.

Operating System and Cadence:

Install a consistent operating cadence across all three plants, including daily management, tiered meetings, and visual performance metrics on the floor. Build leader standard work for plant managers and frontline supervisors so the operating system holds when people are absent or rotate. Use simple, practical problem solving methods to surface root causes and prevent repeat issues.

Throughput, Delivery, and Cost:

Improve throughput, on time delivery, and schedule adherence in a high mix environment. Identify and remove bottlenecks, constraints, and waste with a focus on flow through fabrication, paint, and final assembly. Drive labor efficiency, material utilization, and cost discipline. Standardize what should be standard. Protect flexibility where custom work demands it.

People and Leadership Development:

Strengthen plant leadership through coaching, standards, and talent decisions where needed. Build durable leadership teams that own results, develop their people, and run the operating system without constant escalation. Develop bench strength so the business is not dependent on any single leader.

Cross-Functional Coordination:

Tighten coordination between operations, engineering, sales, and supply chain. Build the connective tissue that allows a custom manufacturing business to deliver consistently without sacrificing responsiveness.

Process and Technology Investment:

Evaluate technology investments where they remove friction, improve scheduling, or create visibility. Avoid technology for its own sake. Build a clear, prioritized roadmap of process and technology investments tied to throughput, quality, delivery, and cost.

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 to 18 Months:

• Measurable gains in on time delivery and lead time
• Higher throughput without adding headcount
• Stable schedules and disciplined WIP
• A consistent operating rhythm across all three plants, with visible metrics, daily management, and standard problem solving
• Plant leadership teams that own results, develop their people, and run the operating system without constant escalation
• A clear, prioritized roadmap of process and technology investments tied to throughput, quality, delivery, and cost

Technical Critical to Quality and Skill Requirements (CTQ+S):

• 15+ years of progressive manufacturing operations leadership experience
• Direct, hands on experience in heavy fabrication environments with weld, paint, and final assembly content
• Proven track record in high mix, low volume, or engineered to order production
• Multi site leadership experience or leadership of a large, complex single facility
• Demonstrated ability to install operating cadence, daily management, and visual performance management on the shop floor
• Practical experience with lean tools and structured problem solving applied to real operating conditions
• Strong understanding of flow, constraints, scheduling, and WIP management in custom production environments
• Background in vocational vehicle, truck body, heavy equipment, industrial equipment, or comparable custom fabrication industries strongly preferred
• Experience evaluating and prioritizing capital and technology investments tied to measurable returns
• Operational financial discipline including labor efficiency, material utilization, and cost control

Leadership and Behavioral Critical to Quality and Skill Requirements (CTQ+S):

• Hands on, floor oriented leader who is present every day
• Drives accountability through clear standards and visible metrics
• Builds capability in others rather than carrying the work personally
• Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, imperfect environment
• Communicates clearly & credibly with operators, supervisors, plant leaders, and executives
• Bias for action & structured problem solving over excessive analysis
• Steady under pressure. Tightens process, not control, when conditions get difficult.
• Builds operating systems that hold

What We Are Not Looking For:

• Career corporate executives removed from daily operations
• Pure lean or continuous improvement specialists without full operational ownership
• High volume manufacturing leaders without custom or complex production experience
• Leaders who manage from dashboards rather than from the floor
• Leaders who rely on heroics or personal intensity rather than process and people