General management

Vice President of Operations

At GWS Tool Group, part of Sandvik, we’re seeking a VP of Operations – a high-impact role to elevate our operational performance, drive profitability and shape a culture of accountability and engagement across our organization. We offer a unique opportunity to lead from the front and shape the way we work, think and grow.

If you’re a bold, strategic leader ready to drive meaningful change, we want to hear from you. Apply now and take the next step in your career and help us deliver even greater value to our customers!

Some words about us

We're a North American company that specializes in making custom, standard, and modified standard cutting tools. Despite our large-scale resources, we maintain a small and service-focused approach.

Our "Custom Comes Standard" philosophy reflects how we provide value to the market – we're a one-stop shop for customized tooling needs, designing and manufacturing these tools in our various factories. We tailor our capacity to meet the unique requirements of our customers and their preferred partners, encouraging creative thinking because with GWS, the possibilities are virtually limitless.
Your mission

In this role, you lead a team of approximately 450 employees across a network of 12 production sites. You drive operational excellence, build a culture of accountability, and deliver improved financial performance – creating a more agile and responsive operations function that can adapt to fluctuating order volumes and shifting customer demands. By setting strategic goals and driving operational execution, you improve profitability and efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

Responsible for the development and oversight of operational systems, processes, and policies in support of the organizational strategy.

Plays a significant role in long-term planning including initiatives geared toward operational excellence at each of the sites for which they carry responsibility.

Ensures Lean activities address total cycle time reductions, improved throughput, and improved flow.

Implement manufacturing strategies and action plans to ensure that the facility sets and monitors Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Coordinates planning and logistics teams to ensure optimal use of capital and manufacturing resources within the supply chain.

Reviews & coordinates manufacturing activities to ensure the quality of products meets or exceeds customer requirements.

Develops and implements budgets for manufacturing locations per defined targets.

Implements changes to organizational structure and production locations to improve lead times and improve the efficiency of operations.

Drives initiatives in their management teams to contribute to long-term operational excellence.

Collaborate across all business areas to drive profitable growth as well as innovate new product development

Assists and coaches the site managers in lean manufacturing concepts as a way to promote improvements and change within the workshops.

Develops and maintains a results-oriented culture and highly motivated team with strong flexibility and resilience.

Ensure that business is conducted in accordance with the Sandvik Code of Conduct.

Continually improves safety record by addressing both physical safety issues & employee safety attitudes

Required Skills/Abilities:

Relevant Degree in Manufacturing, Production, or Industrial Engineering and/or equivalent combination of education and experience

Minimum 10 years of experience in senior operations management in the engineering industry in the field of manufacturing.

Multi-site production management experience strongly preferred

Past P&L responsibility within an industrial setting

Strong knowledge & experience in cutting tools or adjacent field required

High level of business acumen, business relations, and project management

Ability to promote teams in advancing processes in production, talent to build a climate that supports excellent performance

Knowledge in leading and implementing change projects that have an important impact on work and the organization

The location for this position is flexible in the U.S. Extensive travel, 50% is included in the job to stay connected to your teams, ensuring alignment, engagement, and execution at every level.

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