02 Sep Vice President Operations

Location: Montreal, Quebec | Regular travel across North American operations

About the Opportunity

Our client is a leading North American manufacturing organization in the commercial vehicle industry, providing innovative products and solutions designed to improve the safety, productivity and efficiency of commercial fleets and work vehicles.

The business brings together three established and complementary brands serving the commercial vehicle and work truck markets across North America, with operations spanning Canada and the United States.

Following a recent acquisition, the organization is entering an important phase of integration, operational alignment and growth. The focus is now on leveraging the strengths of the different businesses, creating operational synergies, establishing best practices across locations and building a scalable, high-performing operating platform capable of supporting continued growth.

To support this next phase, we are seeking an exceptional Vice President, Operations to assume leadership of operations across the group’s North American footprint.

The Role

Reporting directly to the President and serving as a key member of the executive leadership team, the Vice President, Operations will oversee a multidisciplinary organization spanning:

Manufacturing | Supply Chain | Procurement | Planning | Logistics | Warehousing | Quality | Continuous Improvement | Operational Strategy

This is far more than a traditional operations leadership role.

The successful executive will play a pivotal role in driving operational performance, supporting strategic growth initiatives and helping build a world-class manufacturing organization.

The mandate will also include integrating best practices following the acquisition while preserving the entrepreneurial culture and customer-first philosophy of the businesses.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership

• Serve as a strategic member of the executive leadership team.
• Translate corporate strategy into operational execution.
• Partner closely with the President and executive leadership team to support long-term business objectives.
• Build alignment across operational functions and locations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency and continuous improvement.

Manufacturing Leadership

Provide leadership across multiple manufacturing facilities, including:

• Production
• Planning & Scheduling
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Process Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Maintenance
• Continuous Improvement
• Health & Safety
• Quality

Lead initiatives designed to improve productivity, capacity, throughput, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), labour efficiency, on-time delivery, first-pass quality and cost competitiveness.

Supply Chain & Procurement

Provide executive leadership for:

• Strategic sourcing
• Procurement
• Supplier development
• Vendor negotiations
• Inventory management
• Distribution
• Warehousing
• Transportation
• Logistics

Develop long-term sourcing strategies focused on reducing costs, mitigating risk and strengthening supplier partnerships across North America and globally.

Operational Excellence

Champion a strong Lean and continuous improvement culture throughout the organization, leveraging methodologies such as:

• Lean Manufacturing
• Six Sigma
• Kaizen
• Value Stream Mapping
• Theory of Constraints
• Standard Work
• Continuous Improvement

Build a performance-driven organization focused on measurable and sustainable results.

Financial Leadership

Assume operational accountability for:

• Operating budgets
• Manufacturing costs
• Capital expenditures
• Productivity
• Gross margin
• Inventory turns
• Cost-reduction initiatives
• Working capital optimization

Partner closely with Finance to improve profitability while supporting the organization’s future growth.

Engineering & New Product Introduction

Work collaboratively with Engineering to ensure a seamless transition of new products from development into production, supporting:

• Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
• Capacity planning
• Automation
• Capital investment
• Product launches

Leadership & Talent Development

• Develop high-performing leaders across operational functions.
• Build succession plans.
• Coach and mentor department leaders.
• Create an environment where accountability, collaboration and employee engagement drive performance.

Customer Experience

Ensure operational excellence translates into an exceptional customer experience by driving improvements in:

• On-time delivery
• Product quality
• Responsiveness
• Service levels

Act as a true operational partner to the Sales and Customer Experience teams.

First-Year Priorities

During the first 12 months, the Vice President, Operations will be expected to:

• Build strong relationships across the organization.
• Evaluate current manufacturing operations.
• Identify operational improvement opportunities.
• Strengthen KPI reporting.
• Improve inventory performance.
• Optimize production flow.
• Support post-acquisition integration initiatives.
• Develop a three-year Operations Roadmap.
• Build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Establish credibility as a trusted business leader.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a business leader first and an operations executive second.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong operational execution and is equally comfortable in the boardroom and on the manufacturing floor.

This individual inspires people, develops leaders, builds trust and has the ability to simplify complexity while driving meaningful organizational change.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management or a related discipline.
• MBA considered a strong asset.
• 15+ years of progressive operations leadership experience.
• Executive leadership experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong multi-site manufacturing experience.
• Significant P&L responsibility.
• Experience leading Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Procurement.
• Demonstrated success leading organizational transformation.
• Strong Lean Manufacturing expertise.
• ERP implementation or optimization experience.
• Global sourcing experience.
• Capital project leadership.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Fluent English required; French is considered an asset.

Leadership Profile

The successful executive will demonstrate strong:

• Strategic vision
• Executive presence
• Business and financial acumen
• Operational excellence
• Customer focus
• Change leadership
• Organizational and talent development
• Collaboration and decision-making
• Accountability
• Innovation
• Continuous improvement

Why Join?

This is a unique opportunity to join a respected North American manufacturer during an important period of transformation and growth.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to influence executive decisions, shape the future operating model, lead operational transformation, develop exceptional teams and build scalable manufacturing operations capable of supporting the organization’s long-term growth strategy.

Location: Montreal, Quebec
Travel: Regular travel across North American operations