Flexographic & Film Conversion Operations Leader

Lead end‑to‑end production across Conversion, Flexographic Printing, Security, and Rewind

Imagine your day beginning with a safety walk-through on the press floor, a quick huddle with supervisors in Conversion and Rewind, and a check of live dashboards for throughput, OEE, changeover times, labor utilization, waste, and downtime. By mid-morning, you're aligning Production Planning, Maintenance, Quality, Engineering, Training, and HR on priorities, then coaching team leads to close performance gaps. In the afternoon, you facilitate root-cause analysis on scrap, validate corrective actions from a recent audit, and review departmental budgets to keep material usage variance on track. That’s a typical day for our Conversion Manager.

The Role

This position owns the performance of four manufacturing areas—Conversion, Flexographic Printing, Security, and Rewind—ensuring we meet customer commitments while upholding top standards in safety, food safety, quality, cost, and engagement. You’ll direct supervisors, leads, operators, and support staff and closely coordinate with cross-functional partners to achieve plant goals.

Key Responsibilities

• Safety leadership
  • Communicate and enforce safety policies and procedures; verify timely completion of Novolex safety training.
  • Lead and document incident investigations; communicate with the Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Human Resources Manager, Safety Manager, and other stakeholders.
• Food safety and consumer safety
  • Champion GMP adherence and a strong food safety culture; ensure team members are empowered to act and report potential risks.
• Audits and continuous improvement
  • Participate in audits, drive corrective actions, and lead structured improvement initiatives.
• Operational management
  • Oversee day-to-day operations in Conversion, Flexographic Printing, Rewind, and Security.
  • Deliver to schedule while meeting all quality and service targets.
  • Monitor and improve performance on: Throughput, Waste & Scrap, OEE, Changeover Times, Labor Efficiency, Downtime.
  • Allocate staffing and resources; run daily production meetings and communicate priorities.
• People leadership
  • Coach and develop supervisors and production teams; conduct performance reviews and development plans.
  • Support hiring, onboarding, training, and succession; build accountability, engagement, teamwork, and respect.
• Continuous improvement
  • Lead Lean initiatives; use root-cause analysis and structured problem-solving to improve productivity, quality, and cost.
  • Support capital projects and equipment upgrades.
• Financial stewardship
  • Manage labor and operating budgets; reduce costs through waste reduction and process optimization.
  • Track MUV and other financial KPIs; support budgeting and forecasting cycles.
• Other duties as assigned

What It Takes

• Bachelor’s degree in manufacturing, engineering, business, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years in manufacturing leadership and 3+ years managing production teams.
• Background in one or more: flexographic printing, film conversion, rewind operations, bag making, flexible packaging manufacturing.
• Experience with Lean/CI methodologies; deadline, scheduling, and prioritization strengths.
• Proven leadership, coaching, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Decision-making under operational and strategic contexts; conflict resolution and employee relations capabilities.
• Strong organization and planning; mechanical aptitude and troubleshooting skills.
• Data analysis and KPI management proficiency; ERP (SAP) and Microsoft Office experience.

Why This Matters

Company policies, procedures, and practices come to life through this role. Product quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction depend directly on your technical acumen, problem-solving, and sound decision-making.

Compensation & Benefits

Estimated current range: $100,000–$115,000 plus performance-based bonus and benefits. The posted range reflects minimum and maximum target pay for this role across all U.S. locations. Actual compensation depends on job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. At Novolex, it is uncommon to hire at the top of the range; pay decisions consider the specific facts and circumstances of each case.

Benefits include a 401(k) with company match; comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; flexible spending and health savings accounts; paid vacation and sick time; free onsite clinic; paid parental leave; paid holidays; and a wellness program.