Operations Manager

Reporting to the President, the Operations Manager is a critical hands-on operational leadership role that oversees production, maintenance, production planning, and project management of our client’s manufacturing facility. The role will lead day to day operations, drive performance and support continuous improvement and other key projects in a growing and customized engineering manufacturing environment.

Our Client....

A decades old exchangers and vessels fabricating company in Sarnia that offers a fully integrated experience, including engineering, machining, welding & testing. They bring deep knowledge and offer the highest standards of quality.

What you will do...

Operational Leadership :

• Collaborate with Production Supervisor, Shop and Machine Shop Lead Hands, Project Management, Quality, Engineering and Purchasing to ensure coordination and timely completion of contracts as well as budget, quality, safety performance.
• Develop and implement short- & long-term operational plans that improve performance, reliability, and operational efficiency objectives.
• Collaborate with department managers to set expectations, track results and hold teams accountable.
• Ensure strong cross-functional integration of the operational process (PM, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Maintenance)
• Act as the operational counterpart to Project Management :
• Jointly own job kick-offs, master plan creation and updates, and risk registers.
• Provide realistic execution inputs to bids and change orders when requested.
• Partner with Engineering to :
• Ensure drawings and technical clarifications arrive in time and are practical for fabrication.
• Promote “design for manufacturability” and feedback from the shop into design standards.
• Partner with Supply Chain to :
• Confirm material and consumable availability in line with the Weekly Plan.
• Resolve escalations on late POs, wrong materials, missing requirements.
• Create and maintain operational reporting and KPIs to evaluate performance and drive improvements. Productivity, Cost and Asset Utilization. Monitor and improve labor productivity at work-center and job level : Hours vs plan, overtime levels, rework and idle time.
• Support Finance / Controller in understanding : Drivers of job margin (labor overrun, rework, scrap, waiting on info, etc.). Required actions to improve cost performance.
• Collaborate and coordinate with the Quality team to integrate the appropriate activities, required inspection & testing while optimizing schedule and client contract commitments. Treat Quality as a critical internal customer : no “us vs them”; jointly solve problems.
• Support root cause analysis on NCRs and ensure process changes are implemented on the shop floor.
• Identify potential capital, facility investments
• Drive basic lean and 5S practices on the shop floor to reduce waste and variability.
• Maintain, develop or support Quality Control, production, company, policy and procedural updates, Non-compliance and appropriate client documentation.
• Participate on the OHSC as a management representative.

Planning, Scheduling and Execution :

Manage the Shop and Associates :

Maintenance :

Expected Outcomes :

What you will bring...

Cultural Fit

Hands on – an individual who promotes a culture of interaction and engagement across all levels and group of companies. A leader who knows when to “roll up the sleeves” to pitch in or to understand challenges at a deep level and is oriented to lean into a problem and solve it through collaboration, seeking clarity and with energy and drive.

High Emotional Intelligence – along with leadership maturity. An open, engaging leader who builds trust, inspires others, listens well, holds people accountable and drives positive change and growth.

Adaptable - Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast paced, informal and collaborative culture.

Entrepreneurial mindset - a business builder with a bias for action, driving results, and creating value for clients, and stakeholders (owners, associates, etc.).

Change Maker – Able to lead significant change with good change management practices, bringing people along with strong communication, clear processes, expectations.

Client Focused – a leader who understands the importance of the client in every decision and fosters a client centered approach.

Caring – fosters a values-based culture, caring & empathetic towards associates and all stakeholders. Demonstrates an appreciation of others, works with people holistically, and knows we only win as a team.

Ownership – makes sound judgements for the long term and owns the results; pragmatically manages risk. Takes pride in work and relationships.

Integrity – Acts in good faith and takes pride in getting things right, not necessarily perfect and knows when each is required. Guided by a sense of purpose and enabled by an optimistic outlook.

Humility – a low ego leader who treats others with respect, is approachable to all, and places the larger organizational interest first.

Intellectual Curiosity – enjoys learning, problem solving, and brings emotional stamina & passion that drive results.

What you should expect...

An opportunity to join a company whose new owners are the gold standard in terms of leadership and embrace & inspire continued learning and curiosity. The corporation exemplifies a value-based respect for its employees throughout their entire portfolio of assets.