Manager, Operations - Centralia, MO

Job Overview

The Operations Manager is responsible for leading daily manufacturing operations to achieve safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people objectives. This role provides direct leadership to production leaders and works closely with Planning, Materials, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Automation, Human Resources, and Finance to ensure production plans are executed effectively, resources are aligned, and operational issues are resolved quickly. The Operations Manager is expected to strengthen shop floor discipline, drive accountability, support continuous improvement, and help build a culture focused on safety, performance, and employee engagement. This is an onsite position in Centralia, MO. #LI-AO1

A Day In The Life

Operational Leadership & Execution

• Lead daily manufacturing operations to meet production, shipment, quality, safety, and cost objectives.
• Ensure production schedules are understood, prioritized, and executed across assigned areas.
• Monitor operational performance and take action to resolve issues impacting output, flow, or customer commitments.
• Maintain strong shop floor presence and reinforce daily operating expectations with supervisors and team members.
• Support labor planning, staffing alignment, overtime planning, and resource allocation based on business needs.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Promote a safe work environment and ensure compliance with company policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Drive accountability for safety practices, incident prevention, housekeeping, and corrective actions.
• Partner with Quality to identify root causes, reduce defects, and improve first-pass quality.
• Ensure production teams are following standard work, process specifications, and documented procedures.
• People Leadership & Employee Engagement
• Lead, coach, and develop production supervisors and team leaders.
• Set clear expectations and hold leaders accountable for performance, communication, and follow-through.
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, performance management, and employee development activities.
• Work with Human Resources and plant leadership to address employee concerns, attendance, discipline, and labor relations matters.
• Build a culture of ownership, teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Coordination & Issue Resolution

• Partner with Planning and Materials to align production priorities with customer demand, material availability, and shipment needs.
• Work with Maintenance and Engineering to address equipment constraints, downtime, process issues, and capacity limitations.
• Communicate operational risks, progress, and recovery actions clearly to plant leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Lead or support daily operating reviews, escalation meetings, and action plans for critical production issues.

Continuous Improvement & Process Discipline

• Identify and remove barriers that prevent teams from achieving expected output and delivery performance.
• Use data and shop floor observation to improve process flow, labor utilization, downtime, scrap, and schedule attainment.
• Support lean manufacturing practices, problem solving, standard work, visual management, and daily accountability routines.
• Recommend and implement improvements that support safety, quality, delivery, cost, and employee engagement.

Expected Outcomes

• Improved safety performance and stronger compliance with operating standards.
• Reliable execution of daily and weekly production plans.
• Improved output, schedule attainment, on-time delivery, and customer support.
• Reduced downtime, quality issues, material interruptions, and operational surprises.
• Stronger supervisor accountability, employee engagement, and communication across shifts.
• Improved coordination between Operations, Planning, Materials, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Human Resources, and Finance.

What will help you thrive in this role?

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred.
• Required: 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, including direct leadership of supervisors or production teams.
• Experience in a union manufacturing environment preferred.
• Strong understanding of safety, quality, production planning, labor management, and continuous improvement practices.
• Ability to lead through urgency, resolve issues quickly, and manage multiple priorities.
• Strong communication, follow-up, coaching, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications required; experience with SAP or similar systems preferred.