Manufacturing Department Manager

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $1B in revenue, and employ more than 7,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train everyone, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

Responsibilities:

• Manage daily production operations to include, ensuring a safe working environment, work-schedule management, staffing to meet demand; ensuring adherence to the production schedule; investigating and resolving quality issues; and the initiation of corrective and preventative actions as appropriate.
• Sustain and improve plant housekeeping, safety, productivity, and material flow by applying lean manufacturing principles and conducting continuous improvement activities such as kaizen events to eliminate waste.
• Ensure compliance with all safety rules and EHS permits at all times.
• Monitor and routinely report performance on key operating metrics which may include items such as % material yield (scrap), labor efficiency and capacity utilization; identify trends and launch improvement activities to capture opportunities.
• Provide leadership and direction to assigned production associates through routine individual assessments and team performance reviews.
• Cultivate positive working relationships with internal support groups including Engineering, HR, EHS, Maintenance/Mechatronics, Scheduling, Shipping, and Supply Chain.
• Promote a safe and productive work environment built upon teamwork, accountability, integrity, and mutual respect where associates proactively engage in continuous improvement.
• Develop associates to expand their contribution and allow them to grow into positions of increasing responsibility through the execution of cross-training and development plans.
• Support AFL's Mission, Vision, and Core Values.
• Responsible for upholding a zero-defect culture in support continuous improvement of quality, performance and morale leveraging our AFL Manufacturing Excellence (AME) initiative.
• Complete routine administrative tasks as assigned including the review and approval of associate time records; the monitoring of attendance; and the application of attendance and other policies.
• Support the building and execution of the annual business plan including the capacity, investment, materials, budget, and staffing plans to meet forecast demand; and the setting and achievement of objectives to improve operational performance.
• Control operating expenses to meet approved budget including materials, consumables, labor, overtime, and other operating expenses.
• Actively participate in the monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process to align resources (capacity, staffing, expenses, materials, etc.) with customer orders and financial results.
• Lead, participate, and support cross-functional project teams to achieve objectives.
• Adhere to inventory management and control procedures to ensure accuracy and minimize variances. Function as the approver for the routine cycle counting process.

Personal Qualities:

• Strong leadership skills
• Hands-on team player with well-developed interpersonal skills that is comfortable leading in a cross- functional, multi-cultural environment. Demonstrated ability to collaborate across organizational boundaries and build strong business partnerships.
• Well-honed and balanced people skills with experience in a performance driven operation.
• Results-oriented
• Self- motivated

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree required. Engineering Degree preferred.
• Three plus years of experience as a leader/supervisor/manager in a lean/JIT/process-driven industrial or automotive manufacturing environment.
• Results-oriented professional with experience solving manufacturing problems using methodologies such as Kaizen, six sigma and/or DMAIC. Green-belt, CQE or equivalent certification is a plus.
• Experience building and executing an annual operational business plan to include capacity, investment, materials, budget and staffing plans.
• Solid understanding of EHS and quality management systems including current ISO 9001 & 14001 standard.
• Hands-on experience applying workplace 6/5S and lean manufacturing principles is required.
• Able to support off-shift and/or weekend operations with limited prior notice.
• User of manufacturing related modules in Oracle R12 or another ERP system.
• Intermediate or higher user of MS Office.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)