Production Manager

Job Profile: Production Manager - Houston

Purpose of the job:         The Production Manager is responsible for the safe manufacturing of high-quality recycled rubber products in an efficient, productive and cost effective manner while being highly customer service oriented internally and externally.  The Production Manager  provides day to day leadership, coaching and development to his/her direct reports (Production, Maintenance & Administration) to promote the NWR core values and support the achievement of the company objectives.  The Plant Manager plays a key role in defining and exemplifying the performance culture of the plant and inspiring all plant employees in the achievement of greater results.

This role offers a unique opportunity to stabilize and transform an underperforming manufacturing operation. The successful candidate will play a critical leadership role in resetting performance standards, improving reliability, and rebuilding team engagement.

Key focus areas include:
- Driving immediate safety and operational discipline
- Reducing variability in production output and quality
- Improving workforce accountability and morale
- Stabilizing schedules, staffing, and throughput
- Identifying and executing quick-win improvements while building a longer-term continuous improvement roadmap

This is an ideal role for a hands-on leader who thrives in turnaround environments and is energized by building structure, accountability, and sustainable performance.

Key Result Areas:

1. Safety: Achieve a 0 Lost Time Incident rate, improve safety culture, and reduce risk score


2. Quality: Achieve > 94% 1st grade mat quality


3. Service: Achieve > 98% On-time shipments and > 98% Complete shipments and <7 days to ready


4. Plant Performance: Achieve the annually budgeted volume and productivity targets and develop an actionable list of throughput, productivity, and efficiency improvement initiatives to show measurable continuous improvements.


5. Cost: Achieve budgeted cost per unit targets and identify an actionable list of initiatives to reduce cost per units.


6. People: Ensure organization has the key skills needed in production, maintenance and administration to achieve plant performance.
   
   
   

Key Responsibilities:

1. Operations – Key contributor to larger Operations Team, providing weekly reports and sharing best practices leveraging knowledge across broader organization


2. Health & Safety, Quality, Environment – Drive a safety culture, lead the process of systems development, implementation and management including audits and compliance measures including use of PPE and securitization of the facility. Encourage proactive reporting of risks and hazards by all employees


3. Reliability – Improve plant performance and consistency of results through employee training, preventive maintenance, process improvements & capital projects implementation.


4. Productivity – Lead the culture of continuous improvement and ensure engagement across the organization to make processes more efficient. 


5. Cost – Track, monitor and deliver the budgeted cost per mat.  Play an active role in creating and monitoring budgeting activities and on-going cost management.


6. Capital – As required, support the execution of all current capital projects and the development and justification of all future capital projects.


7. People – Collaborate with HR for all employee related matters including hiring, training, coaching & development, performance management, communications, and formal/informal rewards.


8. Customer Service – Build a sense of pride in the work, output and quality of products delivered to our customers. Foster a positive team environment geared towards profitability, satisfying customer requirements, and a sense of urgency to address customer concerns.

Competencies and Skills Required:

1. Minimum of 5 years of production management/leadership responsibility in a heavy industrial environment; combined with a technical degree in mechanical, industrial, process engineering


2. Demonstrated experience managing P&L with strong financial acumen


3. Minimum of 3 years’ maintenance management experience (CMMS) with a strong technical background in equipment efficiency


4. Hands on, practical leadership appraoch with strong motivational capabilities and a drive to succeed.  Constantly challenge the status quo with the mindset to improve every day


5. Critical thinker and analytical decision maker using daily KPI’s and other metrics to drive decisions to improve performance


6. Very good listener and clear communicator with strong oral, written and presentation skills. Capable of communicating at all levels in the organization


7. Strong operational efficiency mindset – actively spends time on the plant floor assessing performance, listening to feedback and able to take quick decisions to ensure reliable production output


8. Ability to work well with individuals from different backgrounds and skills at various levels in the organization.


9. Effective time management, Job task planning and organizing.


10. Creative, solution-oriented individual who can think out of the box and thrives in an innovative environment.


11. Self-motivated with a desire to drive consistency in processes and performance.