Director of Operations - Food & Nutrition

Graham Packaging is a people, planet and values-based company and a leader in sustainable packaging manufacturing. From the kitchen to the laundry room, Graham Packaging is part of your everyday life.

For employees at Graham, our Blue Culture is part of their everyday lives, too. In other words, Blue is how we do things here.

At Graham, we are united by a clear vision. We know our part and help those around us know theirs, encouraging one another to continuously improve. We create a safe, challenging environment to innovate by supporting creative ideas and new ways of thinking. We take the initiative to cultivate our individual growth and help others do the same, while keeping ourselves and one another accountable. And we actively promote cooperation, collaboration, integrity and respect across regions and teams to foster an engaged, diverse and connected workforce.

We value our employees, and a Blue Culture allows for the most rewarding employee experience as part of the Graham family. Blue is how we feel about what we do—together—to create a better tomorrow. Working at Graham means you lead constructively with clear goals, use diverse thinking to drive excellence, accountability, innovation, as well as demonstrating collaboration, embracing learning, and taking action for continuous improvement and growth.

The Director of Operations will work very closely with the General Manager and the other Business Unit Directors to lead their organization through various initiatives such as the implementation of manufacturing systems and processes, standardization of processes and metrics, asset rationalization and utilization, operational excellence, and distribution realignment, among others. This executive will build the BU team that will drive bottom-line performance and improve service while creating world-class highly efficient operations.  This is a remote position.  Ideal candidates should reside in the Northeast or Midwest.

Qualified candidates MUST have strong plastic bottle manufacturing experience.

Key Responsibilities:

• Building on current platforms and Graham manufacturing philosophy to drive world-class manufacturing capability.
• Developing/implementing best-in-class processes that support meeting all customer commitments, lowering cost, reducing changeover times, eliminating waste, creating a flexible asset base and driving a continuous improvement culture.
• Driving excellence and optimization by re-engineering operations for profitability through the continued implementation of Lean practices, specifically in manufacturing, technology, and engineering.
• Assessing talent and building a strong team while developing new capabilities in the operations organization, especially in the fields of technical leadership, manufacturing flexibility and quality.
• Partnering with Supply Chain team to establish and drive working capital improvement programs, optimizing scheduling to minimize cost and inventory while ensuring flawless customer service.
• Improving quality/uniformity and equipment reliability in an environment of highly complex, high speed manufacturing operations.
• Establishing and driving achievement of Performance Metric goals/objectives.
• Analyzing the needs and optimal use of capital resources as well as efficient deployment of such resources.
• Continual review of manufacturing footprint for optimization of product delivery to the customer.
• Ensuring strong delivery to Market of growth projects.
• Communication of complex opportunities, delivered as manageable and executable pieces.
• Handling of multiple issues simultaneously, determining priorities and resources – we have a wide-reaching geography with multiple centralized support functions and the right leader must have the ability to discern key actions and drive them to closure.
• 75% travel is required.

Director of Operations are required to interact with other managers, employees, vendors, and customers. Therefore, the following skills and proficiency are also essential requirements of the position:

• A Bachelor’s Degree and/or related experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
• A minimum of 12 years operational leadership experience in manufacturing preferred.
• Multi-site management is required
• 5+ years’ experience in leading all parts of operations including manufacturing, engineering, quality, conversion, and distribution. Deep knowledge of contemporary tools, manufacturing processes, warehouse and shipping best practices, and supply chain information systems is a must.
• Exceptionally strong communications and influencing skills, drive, sense of urgency, energy level, and problem-solving abilities with the ability to teach/transfer the skills to their team will be critical for their success.
• Ability to drive change through education, respect and collaboration will be critical.

The standard compensation for this role is $199,700 - $236,000. Salary offers will be determined based on final candidate qualifications, experience, skillset, and other relevant factors.

The expected salary range for the position described in this posting is made in accordance with the legal mandates of certain jurisdictions within the United States. The final agreed-upon compensation is based on individual qualifications and experience.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance. Employees are able to enroll in the company’s 401K Employee Saving Plan and may participate in its Employee Wellness Program. Employees will also receive paid time off in accordance with company policy and state law requirements.

Graham Packaging is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, religion, creed, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, gender identity and/or expression, marital status, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.