Operations Manager - Wadena, Minnesota

MissionHires is seeking an experienced Operations Manager on behalf of a manufacturing company. This salaried, exempt leadership role will oversee manufacturing, materials management, procurement, inventory, and production scheduling across Homecrest Outdoor Living and Innovative Surfaces. The successful candidate will provide hands-on shop-floor leadership while building operational discipline, developing supervisors, improving quality and throughput, and advancing long-term operational strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead manufacturing operations with accountability for safety, quality, throughput, cost, and on-time performance.
• Maintain a visible, hands-on presence on the shop floor to set performance expectations, remove barriers, and support supervisors.
• Partner with production supervisors to improve workflow within and between departments while strengthening shift-level accountability.
• Lead a structured continuous improvement program using lean manufacturing principles and data-driven problem solving.
• Own plant-level quality outcomes, including in-process inspection, defect tracking, corrective actions, and reductions in rework and scrap.
• Partner with the maintenance team leader to ensure equipment reliability supports production commitments.
• Ensure adherence to safety policies, participate on the Safety Committee, and maintain environmental compliance.
• Oversee the end-to-end flow of materials from suppliers through receiving, staging, inventory, and production.
• Partner with the Materials Manager on sourcing, vendor selection, purchase order management, supplier relationships, and contract negotiations.
• Evaluate supplier performance based on quality, cost, and delivery reliability, and proactively mitigate supply-chain risks.
• Develop and maintain inventory policies that balance service-level needs with working-capital efficiency.
• Establish and manage a cycle count program, improve inventory accuracy, and address excess, obsolete, and slow-moving inventory.
• Ensure inventory data integrity in Microsoft Business Central to support dependable planning and reporting.
• Own the master production schedule and align customer demand, production capacity, and material availability.
• Improve schedule attainment and on-time shipment performance by identifying and resolving recurring constraints and bottlenecks.
• Define, monitor, analyze, and report core operational KPIs across manufacturing, procurement, inventory, and scheduling.
• Establish daily and weekly operating reviews using accurate, current performance data and clear action plans.
• Lead, coach, develop, and hold accountable a cross-functional operations team including production supervision, purchasing, and scheduling.
• Recruit, onboard, and develop supervisory and managerial talent as needed, including conducting annual performance reviews and development planning.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Operations Management, or a closely related field strongly preferred; an equivalent combination of education and progressively responsible operations experience will be considered.
• At least 10 years of operations experience with increasing scope and responsibility.
• At least 5 years of management experience with cross-functional accountability across manufacturing and at least one of procurement, inventory, or production scheduling.
• Experience in a high-mix, low-volume, custom, or semi-custom manufacturing environment strongly preferred.
• Hands-on working knowledge of lean manufacturing tools and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience building or maturing a continuous improvement initiative.
• Strong foundation in supply chain and materials management, including procurement strategy, inventory optimization, and supplier performance management.
• Direct working experience with Microsoft Business Central ERP.
• Experience building and presenting KPI dashboards, operational scorecards, and planning tools.
• Proven ability to lead and develop cross-functional operations teams.
• Clear, direct communication skills across all organizational levels, from the shop floor to executive leadership.
• Ability to partner effectively with customer service, sales, product development, and finance while maintaining operational focus.
• Self-directed, accountable, and able to operate effectively at both tactical and strategic levels.