Sr. Operations Manager

BorgWarner · Ithaca · $146,800–$201,850 (stated in the posting)

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Position Summary

The Senior Operations Manager is responsible for leading all manufacturing operations within a large, unionized production facility, ensuring the safe, efficient, and cost-effective delivery of products that meet customer requirements for quality, delivery, and performance. This role provides strategic and operational leadership across production, manufacturing engineering, continuous improvement, quality, maintenance, and production support functions.

The Senior Operations Manager partners closely with labor leadership, plant staff, and cross-functional teams to drive operational excellence, workforce engagement, productivity improvements, and business results. This position serves as a key member of the plant leadership team and is accountable for executing site strategies while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, continuous improvement, and positive labor relations.

Key Responsibilities

Operations Leadership

• Direct and oversee all manufacturing operations within a large-scale unionized manufacturing facility.
• Develop and execute operational strategies aligned with plant, business unit, and corporate objectives.
• Ensure achievement of production targets related to safety, quality, delivery, cost, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
• Drive operational excellence through effective resource planning, labor utilization, capacity management, and operational execution.
• Lead plant readiness efforts for new product launches, demand fluctuations, facility consolidations, and other strategic initiatives.
• Monitor, analyze, and improve key performance indicators (KPIs) including productivity, efficiency, scrap, downtime, throughput, and overall operational performance.

Labor Relations & Workforce Leadership

• Foster positive and productive labor-management relationships in partnership with Human Resources and union leadership.
• Ensure compliance with collective bargaining agreements, company policies, work rules, and applicable employment regulations.
• Support grievance administration, contract interpretation, investigations, and labor relations initiatives.
• Lead, coach, and develop supervisors, managers, and operational leaders within a unionized manufacturing environment.
• Promote employee engagement, accountability, teamwork, and a culture of mutual respect and inclusion.

Continuous Improvement

• Champion Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, BorgWarner Production System, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Identify and implement cost reduction, productivity enhancement, and process optimization opportunities.
• Lead cross-functional teams in root cause analysis, problem solving, and corrective action activities.
• Drive waste elimination, inventory optimization, cycle time reduction, and operational standardization initiatives.
• Establish a culture of continuous improvement focused on operational excellence and customer satisfaction.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Establish and maintain a culture where safety is the highest priority.
• Ensure compliance with all company safety standards, OSHA requirements, environmental regulations, and applicable legal requirements.
• Support quality management systems and customer-focused quality initiatives.
• Drive accountability for corrective actions related to audits, safety incidents, customer concerns, and operational risks.
• Ensure adherence to regulatory, environmental, and quality standards across the facility.

Financial & Strategic Management

• Manage departmental budgets, labor costs, manufacturing expenses, and capital expenditures.
• Support annual operating plans, forecasting activities, and strategic business initiatives.
• Evaluate operational risks and implement mitigation strategies to support business continuity.
• Ensure effective utilization of labor, equipment, facilities, and capital resources.
• Deliver operational results while supporting long-term business growth and profitability objectives.

Leadership Development

• Build organizational capability through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and talent development.
• Create and sustain a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, safety, and results.
• Assess workforce capabilities and develop plans to address skill gaps and future business needs.
• Utilize Talent Management System (TMS) and leadership development programs to strengthen organizational capability.
• Develop future leaders and maintain a robust succession pipeline for critical operational positions.

Education & Experience

Required

• MBA or Master's Degree in a related discipline.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive manufacturing leadership experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years leading supervisors, managers, and salaried leaders in a union manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success managing large-scale manufacturing operations with responsibility for safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people.
• Experience with labor relations, workforce planning, collective bargaining agreement administration, and employee engagement.

Preferred

• Experience within the automotive or highly regulated manufacturing industry.
• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Continuous Improvement certification.
• Multi-site or campus leadership experience.

Salary Range:

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