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Production Unit Leader

Valmet
United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 28 Jul 2026

About the role

JOB STATEMENT & ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Financial & Business Performance

  • Own the workshop operating budget and financial performance.

  • Deliver business targets including revenue, product margin, profitability, absorption, and indirect cost performance.

  • Monitor operational and financial KPIs and implement corrective actions.

  • Lead initiatives that improve productivity, profitability, and cost competitiveness.

  • Develop forecasts, capacity plans, and investment recommendations.

  • Prepare monthly operational, financial, quality, and HSE reports.

  • Identify cost reduction opportunities while maintaining safety and quality.

Operations Leadership

  • Lead daily workshop operations to achieve production, delivery, quality, and financial objectives.

  • Manage production schedules, capacity, labor, equipment, and subcontracting.

  • Establish long-term operational strategies.

  • Drive Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement.

  • Optimize throughput, equipment utilization, logistics, and material flow.

Health, Safety & Environmental Leadership

  • Promote a strong safety culture.

  • Ensure compliance with HSE policies and regulations.

  • Lead safety observations, investigations, and corrective actions.

  • Maintain safe equipment and facilities.

Quality Management

  • Maintain responsibility for workshop quality performance.

  • Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions.

  • Reduce scrap, rework, and Cost of Poor Quality.

  • Drive First-Time-Right performance.

Continuous Improvement

  • Champion Lean Manufacturing and Kaizen.

  • Standardize best practices.

  • Improve productivity through process optimization.

Systems & Operational Data

  • Ensure effective ERP and production planning system utilization.

  • Promote data accuracy and reporting.

  • Support operational decisions through analytics.

Leadership & People Development

  • Lead, coach, and develop supervisors and employees.

  • Conduct performance management and succession planning.

  • Build an accountable, engaged, high-performing team.

Customer & Cross-Functional Collaboration

  • Partner with Sales, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and Quality.

  • Maintain strong customer relationships.

  • Support business development and procurement planning.

Decision Making Authority

  • Daily management of workshop operations.

  • Production scheduling and workforce planning.

  • Operational spending within authority limits.

  • Continuous improvement implementation.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Financial: Revenue, Product Margin, Profitability, Absorption, Indirect Cost.

  • Operations: OTD, Productivity, Capacity Utilization, Throughput, Schedule Adherence.

  • Quality: COPQ, Scrap, Rework, Customer Complaints, First-Time-Right.

  • HSE: LTIR, Near Misses, Safety Observations, Compliance.

  • People: Engagement, Training, Workforce Stability, Succession.

AUTHORITY & LEADERSHIP:

This position requires a high degree of decision-making authority working in conjunction with the Senior Manager, Global Workshop Operations and Area Management Team members and the leaders within assigned Business Line responsibilities. Position has direct reports. 

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS – Education & Experience:

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).

  • Minimum 5 years of manufacturing or industrial operations leadership experience.

  • Strong financial and business acumen.

  • Experience with Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement.

  • Knowledge of ERP systems, production planning, quality systems, and HSE.

  • Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills

COMPENTENICES:

Core Competencies

  • Strategic Leadership

  • Operational Excellence

  • Financial Acumen

  • Lean Manufacturing

  • Customer Focus

  • Decision Making

  • Talent Development

  • Change Leadership

  • Continuous Improvement

  • Collaboration

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Company

Valmet

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