Vice President, Operations

Company Statement

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.

Overview

The Vice President, Operationsis responsible forthe overall performance of manufacturing operations across the Business Unit. Reporting directly to the BU President and serving as a member of the BU leadership team, this leader willlead the Operations Directors and ensure they use a common, data-driven approach to leading their plants and managing plant performance.Therole willestablishan operating environmentwhere safety and quality are non-negotiable while driving improvements in productivity, cost, reliability, customer service, and overall operational performance.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiringbold leadership, confident decision-making, and relentless urgency.

Responsibilities

The leader mustsetdirection, build strong teams,establishconsistent operating standards, and stay close enough to the business toidentifyproblems and drive them to resolution.

Key Responsibilities

Safety & Quality

• Establish employee safety as the highest operating priority and hold leaders at every level accountable for creating andmaintaininga strong safety culture.

• Ensure consistent execution of environmental, health, safety, and quality standards across all facilities.

• Build quality into the manufacturing process through strong operating discipline, process capability, root cause analysis, and corrective action.

• Partner with EHS, Quality, and Engineering to improve performance, reduce defects and customer complaints, andeliminaterecurring issues

Productivity & Operational Excellence

• Drive sustainable improvements in productivity, labor efficiency, equipment reliability, scrap, waste, assetutilization, and conversion cost.

• Lead the execution of Graham's Operating System(GOS), lean manufacturing principles, standard work, and continuous improvement across the manufacturing network.

• Establish clear performance metrics and operating rhythms thatturn operational, customer, and financial data into insight,identifyemerging risks and opportunities, reinforce accountability, and accelerate corrective action.

• Scale provenpractices acrossplants todeliver measurable improvements in cost, margin, and operational performance.

Manufacturing Performance & Strategy

• Lead multi-site manufacturing performance with accountability for safety, quality, service, cost, productivity, and people.

• Identifyunderperforming operations,establishimprovement plans, and ensure actions deliver measurable and sustainable results.

• Develop and execute the BU manufacturing strategyby translatingbusiness priorities, customer commitments, and growth plansinto clear operational priorities and actions across the manufacturing network.

• Optimizecapacity, assetutilization, capital investment, automation, and technology to support current requirements and future growth.

Leadership & Talent

• Lead, develop, andretaina high-performingteam ofOperationsDirectors, using talent acceleration to strengthenleadershipcapability, succession, andaccountability for results.

• Develop plant leaders whooperatelikebusiness owners and understand the connection between operational decisions, customer performance, and financial results.

• Set clear expectations, provide direct feedback, coach leaders, anddemonstratethe credible presence toaddressdifficulttalent or performanceissues decisively.

• Build organizational capability and succession plans for critical Operations roles.

Customer & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Ensure manufacturing operations consistently meet customer expectations for quality, service, cost, and reliability.

• Build strong relationships with key customers and provide senior Operations leadership when manufacturing performance affects the customer relationship.

• Partner with Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, EHS, Commercial, Finance, and HR to deliver BU priorities and execute new products, volume changes, and operational improvements.

• Bring a strong Operations perspective to BU strategy, planning, and decision-making.

Priorities in the First 12 Months

• Assess safety, quality, plant performance, organizational capability, and leadership effectiveness across the manufacturing network.

• Deliver measurable improvements in productivity, labor efficiency, equipment reliability, scrap, cost, safety, and quality.

• Deliver key projects on timewhile ensuring all plants across the Business Unitachieve established safety, quality, and EBITDA targets.

• Strengthen standard work, performance management, problem solving, and accountability across all facilities.

• Develop a longer-term Operations strategy aligned with BU priorities, customer requirements, capital needs, and growth plans.

Qualifications

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, Business,Operations Management, ora relateddisciplinerequired; advanced degree preferred.

• Minimum of 15 years of progressive manufacturing and operations leadership experience, including responsibility for complex, multi-site operations.

• Demonstrated success improving safety, quality, productivity, cost, reliability, and overall manufacturing performance.

• Strong experience with lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, operational excellence, capital planning, and asset optimization.

• Proven ability to build, assess, and develop strong Operations leadership teams and create a culture of accountability.

• Strong business and financial acumen, with the ability to translate operational improvements into improved financial performance.

• Bold, hands-on leader who acts with relentless urgency, makes confident decisions, and communicates with credible presence across plants, customers, and senior leadership.

• Ability to travel up to 70%.

Compensation Statement

The standard compensation for this role is $214,000 - $320,950. 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 Statement

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.

EEO Disclaimer

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.

Software Powered by ICIMS (

ID 2026-15446

Category Manufacturing

Type Full-Time

Location : Physical Work Location Display Name Non Facility Specific