Director of Operations

Director of Operations

Department : Administration

Role Profile & Pay Grade : Exempt

Location : Van Wert, Ohio

Mission : We make life better, one relationship and one vehicle at a time.

Vision : To be the partner of choice, dedicated to safety and innovation, delivering an exceptional customer experience through empowered employees.

Summary Of Responsibilities : The Director of Operations is a senior leadership role responsible for overseeing daily operations, driving operational excellence, and ensuring alignment with the organization’s strategic objectives. This role leads cross-functional teams to improve efficiency, quality, cost performance, and customer satisfaction while supporting long‑term growth and scalability.

Participates in strategic planning for the greater organization. Shared responsibility for strategic execution within the multi‑site locations. Shared responsibility for sales/engineering team dynamics and relationship, operations/sales/dealer team dynamics and relationship, as well as coordination of operational efforts with all other site locations (U.S. and Canada). Member of U.S. leadership team; member of Van Wert senior leadership team. Direct responsibility for all Braun I/III operations, including P&L, culture, cost, safety and delivery.

• Member of the U.S leadership team, member of Van Wert senior leadership team – developing and executing on strategic and operational plans.
• Leadership of the Braun operations teams, planning and production.
• Establish a plan to eliminate legacy build, design and order errors to improve truck output per week.
• Manage the manufacturing operations concurrent with business growth, introduction of new products, cost objectives and various product mix.
• Development and executive of strategic planning to improve technology, quality, safety and production output.
• Participate in the implementation of advanced manufacturing technology to improve production cots and promote on‑time delivery.
• Evaluate front line leadership/lead and develop succession planning to achieve current and future performance targets.
• Set and achieve operational objectives through planning, implementing, evaluating, and forecasting.
• Maintain operations within budget.
• Create and effective production team through written and verbal communication.

• Ensure safe work practices and Decrease workplace injuries.
• Develop practices to improve work flow efficiencies in the office and in operations
• Establish a visual plant of metrics through written and verbal communication.

• Manage the operations concurrent with business growth, introduction of new products, cost objectives and various product mix.
• Evaluate and implement capital expenditure projects
• Develop and provide appropriate training of leaders.
• Participate in the implementation of advanced manufacturing technology to improve production costs and promote on‑time delivery.

Technical Skills/Competencies (Technical Knowledge, Education And Experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or related field (MBA preferred)
• 10+ years of progressive operations leadership experience
• Strong background in manufacturing, supply chain, or industrial operations
• Proven success in driving cost reduction, process improvement, and growth initiatives
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, and operational excellence methodologies

Personality Traits / Core Skills

• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Superior analytical and problem‑solving skills, and the ability to creatively solve problems
• Professionalism in dealing with both internal colleagues and external contacts
• Excellent conflict resolution ability

Essential Functions/Physical Requirements

• Partner with engineering, sales, finance, and HR to align priorities
• Serve as a key liaison between executive leadership and operations teams
• Lead automation initiatives across fabrication, assembly, or other operations
• Evaluate and implement new technologies to improve efficiency
• Leverage ERP, MES, and operational data systems to drive insights
• Lead capacity planning, facility expansion, and capital investment initiatives (CERs)
• Support new product introductions and operational scalability