Value Stream Manager

Job Title: Value Stream Manager
Location: Cleveland, OH
Business Unit: Team Wendy

About Avon Technologies:
We are a world leader in protective equipment, with a reputation for innovative design, high-performance quality and specialist materials expertise. Our two brands, Avon Protection and Team Wendy, supply our respiratory and head protection portfolio to customers across the globe from our manufacturing sites in the UK and North America. With over 900 talented people our shared purpose and core beliefs are to be #FIERCE about Protecting Lives. It's why we come to work - and it's what motivates us, every day, to do the best work we can.

Purpose of Position
The Value Stream Manager (VSM) is responsible for leading the end-to-end performance of a defined value stream converting materials and ensuring safe, predictable delivery, strong quality outcomes and improving cost and cash performance.


Acting as a mini-CEO for their stream, the VSM owns "SQDIP" (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory and Productivity) performance and leads cross-functional problem solving across Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain and Customer Service to remove constraints, reduce variation and improve flow.


This role sets the tone for operational discipline and continuous improvement through daily management, leader standard work and regular gemba, while building a high-performing team of supervisors and frontline leaders that can execute reliably without constant escalation.


Role Purpose

The Value Stream Manager is accountable for:

• Owning end-to-end SQDIP performance for the value stream, carrying out root cause analysis and taking corrective action where targets are at risk
• Leading and developing supervisors and frontline leaders to build stable, capable execution and a strong safety and quality culture
• Setting and running disciplined daily management (Tier 2/Tier 3), ensuring issues are surfaced, owned, escalated and closed with clear countermeasures
• Driving continuous improvement and waste elimination and ensuring sustainment of gains
• Managing value stream resources (people, materials, equipment) to meet demand, improve flow and control cost, inventory and working capital
• Owning financial and operational performance for the value stream, partnering with Finance on budget and delivery of commitments

Decision & Escalation Scope

The Value Stream Manager is expected to:

• Decide: required staffing levels for the value stream; line changeovers; and line stoppages where safety, quality, delivery or equipment integrity is at risk
• Decide: hiring of Supervisors; approval of Process Change Requests (PCRs); and spend within delegation of authority (including in-budget and out-of-budget thresholds)
• Consult: Director of Operations on reactive people needs, line and project prioritization, performance issues, and CI opportunity prioritization; Director of Operations/HR on shift pattern changes, adding shifts or adding lines
• Consult: Master Production Scheduling on the production plan; Buyer/Planner on inventory needs and production planning; SIOP on lead-time requests and demand/supply actions; Engineering on work instruction changes; CI on standard work and SWIP changes; Quality on interpretation of quality standards; Finance/Operations leadership on budget and major trade-offs
• Inform / Escalate: Escalate barriers to Mission Control / Tier 3; inform Finance on missed goals; inform Mission Control and support functions of planned overtime; inform Director of Operations of people, maintenance, planning/material shortages, safety and quality issues; inform VP Operations of near misses and reportable incidents
• Boundaries: Does not hire or fire direct labor (delegated to Supervisor), does not direct other value streams, does not set/waive quality standards, and does not change product/process requirements without following the formal approval/change process

Key Accountabilities


End-to-End Delivery & Flow

• Own and deliver the production plan for the value stream, maintaining predictable output and strong schedule adherence across shifts
• Use visual daily management to review SQDIP, highlight gaps, and drive countermeasures with clear owners and due dates
• Grasp the current state of the value stream; this is the foundation to working out where the next improvement steps.
• Identify constraints across materials, labor, equipment and information flow; remove bottlenecks and stabilize processes to reduce variation
• Ensure safe processes and quality controls are designed into the value stream and consistently followed (no compromised standards)
• Partner with Maintenance to prevent unplanned downtime through TPR priorities, escalation and follow-through
• Lead readiness for new products and changes ensuring documentation, training, capacity and material plans are in place to launch without disruption

Tiered Management, Reporting & Escalation

• Create and maintain a clear escalation process/matrix for the value stream; ensure issues are escalated at the right time and level
• Build and present performance reporting for Tier 3, including trends, root causes, countermeasures and support required
• Ensure disciplined problem solving at Tier 2 and Tier 3, removing blockers and holding owners accountable to closure
• Interface with Mission Control and support functions to protect priorities, manage planned overtime, and align on constraints, shortages and customer risks

People, Leadership & Culture

• Establish a high-performing value stream team through regular feedback, coaching, clear expectations and effective accountability
• Set required staffing levels and capability plans; coach supervisors to manage attendance, training, skills coverage and shift resilience
• Lead from the floor through regular gemba, coaching to standard work and reinforcing safe, respectful and effective leadership routines
• Build strong relationships across functions (HR, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance) to improve decision speed and execution
• Support hiring of supervisors (in partnership with HR) and ensure role clarity and effective standard work for frontline leadership roles
• Create an environment where problems are surfaced early, conflict is handled constructively, and improvements are sustained over time

Continuous Improvement, Quality, Cost & Inventory

• Set and execute CI initiatives aligned to company OKRs; lead Kaizens and ensure closeout and sustainment of actions
• Drive quality improvement through disciplined problem solving, leading CAR/PCA as required, and active participation in MRB to prevent recurrence
• Actively manage inventory levels and supply: drive SIOP actions, maintain PFEP discipline, and manage SWIP to appropriate levels
• Partner with Finance on budget creation and delivery; manage spend within delegation of authority and pursue margin improvement opportunities

Required Minimum Qualifications

• High school diploma/GED required; degree or relevant certification preferred.
• Demonstrated experience and success in a Value Stream leadership role, with proven ability to deliver SQDIP improvements.
• 5+ years' experience in manufacturing leadership roles with Lean expertise.
• Demonstrated leadership ability with prior supervisory experience, including multi-shift operations.
• Proficient computer skills (MS Excel, MS Word, ERP systems).
• Exceptional communication skills: Ability to present effectively at a high level to senior executives, communicate clearly and motivate production team members, and adapt communication style to all organizational levels.
• Strong verbal communication skills and flexibility to adapt in a fast-paced environment.

Capabilities & Skills

• Strong operational leadership with the ability to align cross-functional teams to end-to-end flow and customer outcomes
• Commercial and financial acumen: can translate performance into cost, cash and margin impact, and make clear resource trade-offs
• Ability to lead structured problem solving at scale (Tier 2/3), using data to priorities, drive root cause and sustain countermeasures
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management, able to present clearly at Tier 3/senior level and drive alignment across functions
• Systems thinking and operational discipline builds standard work, visual management and stable routines that reduce firefighting

What Success Looks Like

• Within 6-18 months, success in the role will be evidenced by:
• SQDIP is consistently on track with clear leading indicators, disciplined Tier routines, and fewer repeated issues
• Material reductions in scrap, rework and unplanned downtime through sustained CI and strong process control
• Predictable delivery performance with improved flow (shorter lead times, stabilized constraints, better plan adherence)
• Inventory is actively managed to agreed levels with visible SWIP control and improved working capital performance
• Supervisors and frontline leaders operate with high ownership and capability, reducing reliance on firefighting and constant escalation

Leadership Behaviours - FIERCE

The Value Stream Manager is expected to be FIERCE about:


Safety & Quality - Holds teams accountable for sustained safety and quality improvement


Teamwork -

• Builds trust and relationships across the organisation
• Resolves conflict constructively and promotes inclusive dialogue
• Creates a psychologically safe environment
• Builds cross functional collaboration
• Removes barriers to teamwork

Develops others

• Coaches others in personal growth and mentors future leaders
• Sets clear expectations and challenges poor behaviour constructively

Delivery

• Owns daily performance and follows through on commitments
• Develops a tier structure that empowers people to resolve issues, solves Tier 1 issues at the Value Stream level and ensures issues are quickly escalated to higher tiers where necessary

Drive for Results

• Holds self and others accountable for meeting commitments
• Faces up to people problems quickly and directly
• Communication - Ensures clear, timely and accurate information reaches the right people

Improvement

• Leads process improvement.
• Prioritises improvement initiatives.
• Shapes long term strategy for the value stream based on emerging trends.

Resilience & Reliability

• Retains composure and recovers quickly from set backs
• Sets the standard for attendance and discipline

Performance Metrics

• On-time Delivery: >98%
• Scrap Reduction: 40% YoY
• Productivity Improvement: 10% YoY
• Inventory Turns: >10

What We Offer:

• Flexible Schedule
• Competitive Compensation Package
• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
• 401k Matching
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Learning and Development Initiatives

Internal Relationships:

Maintenance Team; Operations/Production Department; Facilities Management; Safety and Compliance Department; Engineering and Technical Support; Human Resources (HR); Procurement and Supply Chain; Finance and Budgeting; Senior Management.

External Relationships:

Vendors and Suppliers; Contractors; Regulatory Agencies; Industry Associations; Emergency Services; Consultants; Customers or Clients; Local Community.

This job description is not intended, and should not be construed, to be an all-inclusive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with this job. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the job requirements, management reserved the right to modify, add or remove duties from particular jobs and to assign other duties as necessary.

Responsibilities of this position may include direct and/or indirect physical or logical access to information, systems, technologies subjected to the regulations/compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.


U.S. Export Control laws and U.S. Government Department of Defense contracts and sub-contracts impose certain restrictions on companies and their ability to share export-controlled and other technology and services with certain "non-U.S. persons" (persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., refugees, "Temporary Residents" (granted Amnesty or Special Agricultural Worker provisions), or persons granted asylum (but excluding persons in nonimmigrant status such as H-1B, L-1, F-1, etc.) or non-U.S. citizens.


To comply with these laws, and in conjunction with the review of candidates for those positions within Avon that may present access to export controlled technical data, Avon must assess employees' U.S. person status, as well as citizenship(s).


The questions asked in this application are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only. Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this particular position. The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at Avon's sole election.

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without a sponsorship for employment visa status (e.e. H1B status).

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in Cleveland, OH is $110,000 to $165,000 annually. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and years of experience within the job, type and years of experience within the industry, education, etc.

EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability