Unit Manager

Job Description

The Unit Manager is responsible for providing leadership, direction, and accountability for assigned departments, product lines, or profit centers and their teams to achieve safety, production, quality, people, customer, and financial objectives. The Unit Manager provides strategic and operational leadership while maintaining focus on critical day-to-day details. This position is responsible for developing a high-performing team, driving continuous improvement, managing resources effectively, and ensuring operational excellence. The Unit Manager supports and/or serves as the Plant Manager in their absence or as otherwise assigned.

Essential Functions & Key Responsibilities:

Safety

• Leads with a safety-first mindset, ensuring safety is integrated into all operational decisions, activities, and priorities.
• Maintains a safe work environment by ensuring compliance with company safety policies, procedures, standards, and applicable regulations.
• Identifies, communicates, and promptly addresses unsafe conditions, behaviors, and practices.
• Develops and reinforces a strong safety culture through employee engagement, coaching, accountability, and visible leadership on the production floor.
• Leads or participates in safety investigations, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and follow-up to prevent recurrence.
• Ensures employees are appropriately trained and held accountable for safe work practices.
• Partners with the Plant Manager, EHS, and other functions to establish and achieve safety objectives and continuously improve plant safety performance.

Production

• Provides leadership and direction for assigned departments, product lines, or profit centers within a 24/7 manufacturing operation.
• Supervises and provides direction to up to 150+ salaried and hourly employees through effective planning, delegation, communication, and accountability.
• Schedules, plans, and monitors production activities to achieve established safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and efficiency goals.
• Ensures production resources, staffing, equipment, materials, and processes are effectively utilized to meet customer and business requirements.
• Monitors key production metrics, including efficiency, downtime, throughput, labor utilization, scrap, and schedule attainment, and takes timely action when performance is below expectations.
• Demonstrates strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills by analyzing complex operational issues, identifying root causes, and implementing effective solutions.
• Maintains a strong focus on execution and results while balancing immediate operational needs with long-term business objectives.
• Provides timely and effective communication up and down the organization regarding production priorities, performance, challenges, and expectations.
• Serves as a cross-trained backup to the Plant Manager and assumes additional plant leadership responsibilities as needed.

People Leadership & Team Development

• Builds and maintains a high-performing workforce through effective hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, development, recognition, and performance management.
• Establishes clear expectations and holds leaders and employees accountable for performance, behaviors, attendance, safety, quality, and adherence to company policies.
• Develops strong coaching and mentoring relationships with employees and leaders to support individual growth, succession planning, and talent development.
• Identifies and develops top talent and delegates meaningful responsibilities and initiatives to accelerate leadership capability and organizational growth.
• Creates an inclusive, respectful, and collaborative work environment that values diverse talents, perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
• Demonstrates strong leadership presence and credibility while motivating and engaging employees at all levels of the organization.
• Addresses performance and behavioral concerns promptly, fairly, and consistently in partnership with Human Resources.
• Promotes open, transparent communication and maintains effective interpersonal relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrates integrity, professionalism, maturity, sound judgment, and ethical behavior in all interactions and decisions.
• Demonstrates learning agility and a growth mindset by actively seeking feedback, remaining open to new ideas, and continuously developing personal and professional capabilities.
• Partners effectively with Human Resources and other plant functions to support employee engagement, retention, organizational effectiveness, and workforce planning.

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Ensures products and processes consistently meet customer specifications, quality standards, and established plant requirements.
• Establishes accountability for quality performance and ensures quality issues are promptly identified, contained, investigated, and corrected.
• Utilizes data, root cause analysis, and structured problem-solving methodologies to address recurring quality, production, and process issues.
• Champions a culture of continuous improvement, actively identifying and implementing opportunities to improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and employee performance.
• Applies Lean Manufacturing principles and continuous improvement methodologies to eliminate waste, improve process capability, increase efficiency, and strengthen overall plant performance.
• Leads and/or participates in continuous improvement initiatives and ensures improvements are sustained through appropriate standards, training, follow-up, and accountability.
• Challenges conventional thinking when appropriate and encourages employees to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Engages employees at all levels in problem-solving and improvement activities, recognizing that sustainable improvement requires employee involvement and ownership.
• Ensures corrective and preventive actions are effectively implemented and monitored for sustained results.

Operational & Financial Performance

• Leads operational excellence through effective planning, resource management, performance management, and sound business decision-making.
• Maintains accountability for the operational and financial performance of assigned areas and works with Plant leadership to achieve established business objectives.
• Monitors and manages key financial and operational metrics, including labor, scrap, productivity, efficiency, downtime, overtime, material usage, and other controllable costs.
• Identifies opportunities to improve cost effectiveness and profitability through increased productivity, waste elimination, process improvements, labor optimization, and effective resource utilization.
• Demonstrates strong financial and business acumen when making operational decisions and balances intelligent risk-taking with the need to protect the overall health and performance of the plant.
• Completes and maintains timely, accurate, and meaningful reports related to critical operational and financial outcomes.
• Uses data and business insights to identify trends, anticipate challenges, prioritize resources, and make informed decisions.
• Maintains focus on plant growth, financial performance, customer requirements, and achievement of established business targets.
• Partners with the Plant Manager and leadership team to develop and execute strategies that support the plant's vision, operational objectives, and long-term success.
• Translates strategic objectives into clear, actionable plans and ensures execution through effective communication, accountability, and follow-through.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Plant Manager.

Candidate Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree preferred in Industrial Management, Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of manufacturing experience, including at least two (2) years of supervisory or leadership experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and application of statistical methods, data analysis, root cause analysis, and process improvement methodologies.
• Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite and the ability to learn and effectively utilize company-specific systems and technology.
• Demonstrated experience building, developing, and leading high-performing teams.
• Strong written, verbal, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with employees and leaders at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to make sound business decisions, manage competing priorities, and effectively lead in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrates strong analytical and critical-thinking skills with a creative, solutions-oriented approach to complex problems and challenges.