Novanta - Bedford, MA
posted 5 months ago
As Vice President of Operations at Novanta, you will lead a critical function that supports the manufacturing of engineered-based lasers and laser components. This role encompasses leadership across multiple manufacturing centers, including Bedford, MA, and Taunton, UK. Your primary focus will be on developing people and processes to deliver exceptional outcomes through dynamic leadership in various areas such as quality, continuous improvement, materials, production, information technology, and logistics. You will be responsible for driving excellence and engagement throughout the organization while ensuring safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and profitability. This position requires effective collaboration with other functions in the value chain to achieve operational success. In your role, you will manage and mentor direct reports and team members, helping them reach their career goals while enhancing their understanding of customer expectations and operating environments. You will build a highly engaged, high-performing organization by ensuring that the team focuses on critical tasks and applies the Novanta Growth System (NGS) toolkit to streamline processes. Communication of the business vision and strategies will be essential, linking them to specific functional responsibilities through daily production meetings and regular staff communications. You will also work closely with EHS leaders and functional leaders to foster a safety-first culture, reduce operational risks, and minimize the environmental footprint of company operations. Developing best-in-class operations processes and procedures based on industry expertise will be a key responsibility, as will cultivating a problem-solving mindset across the organization. You will oversee budgets, plans, and performance requirements linked to safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets, ensuring a cohesive approach across all operational aspects. Additionally, you will partner cross-functionally to leverage NGS consistently, driving daily management as a team-based, visual process. You will work with Production Engineering managers to maximize production uptime and efficiency, maintain a kaizen event funnel, and champion cross-functional kaizen work. In terms of supply chain and procurement, you will build upon existing processes to reduce supply-chain risks and ensure high levels of productivity and customer service. Your strategic insight will be crucial in defining operations' role in supporting breakthrough product innovation and delivering high reliability and accuracy to customers.