Purpose of the jobReporting to the Plant Manager, the Operations Manager leads the safe, reliable, efficient, and profitable operation of the Paper Business Unit. This role requires deep paper manufacturing experience, including practical knowledge of how paper is made and how to improve paper machine performance, quality, reliability, and cost.
The Operations Manager is expected to set a clear direction for Paper Operations, strengthen the culture, develop leaders, and build an organization that can consistently perform without over-reliance on any single leader. Within the first 3 to 6 months, the role should establish a 5-year operations vision and translate that vision into a practical roadmap with priorities, milestones, talent needs, and measurable business outcomes.
As a key member of the mill leadership team, this role partners across Maintenance, Engineering, Technical, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Human Resources, and Commercial teams to improve safety, quality, productivity, employee engagement, customer outcomes, and overall business performance.
Main responsibility areasSafety, Quality & Compliance Leadership- Champion a safety-first culture and ensure compliance with all OSHA, environmental, food safety, quality, hygiene, regulatory, and company requirements.
- Lead risk reduction, incident investigation, corrective action, audit, and employee engagement processes that improve safe behaviors and operating discipline.
- Ensure products meet quality standards and customer specifications; partner with Technical, Quality, and Commercial teams to address issues and improve customer satisfaction.
Paper Manufacturing Operations Leadership- Direct paper manufacturing operations across paper machines and associated production areas, ensuring production schedules are executed safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively.
- Apply strong paper industry knowledge to improve machine performance, process stability, product quality, OEE, waste, throughput, and reliability.
- Optimize staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation to meet customer requirements and operational objectives.
Vision, Strategy & Change Leadership- Create a clear 5-year vision for Paper Operations within the first 6 to 9 months and convert it into a practical roadmap with near-term actions, strategic initiatives, talent plans, and measurable performance targets.
- Lead change management efforts that strengthen culture, raise accountability, improve engagement, and sustain new ways of working.
- See the big picture across safety, quality, cost, reliability, people, customer, and business outcomes; make decisions that balance immediate needs with long-term competitiveness.
Leadership, Talent Development & Culture- Lead, coach, and develop salaried operations leaders, frontline supervisors, and hourly team members in a unionized 24/7 manufacturing environment.
- Build bench strength through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, workforce planning, and clear development plans for key roles.
- Establish expectations, routines, and decision rights that enable the organization to perform consistently without depending on the Operations Manager for day-to-day decisions.
- Foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, curiosity, continuous learning, inclusion, engagement, and operational excellence.
Business & Operational Performance- Understand key operating and cost drivers, including productivity, overtime, downtime, waste, reliability, quality, and customer impact.
- Partner with Finance and mill leadership to manage resources responsibly and support business performance goals.
- Use data and operating metrics to prioritize work, solve problems, and help the team understand how daily decisions affect business results.
Continuous Improvement, Reliability & Cross-Functional Execution- Champion continuous improvement using Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, root cause analysis, reliability-centered improvement, standard work, and operational excellence tools.
- Partner closely with Maintenance and Engineering to improve asset reliability, uptime, shutdown execution, equipment care, and capital project execution.
- Build disciplined management systems that improve operating performance, workforce effectiveness, and sustainable execution.
CommunicationInternallyDirect reports, Plant Manager, mill leadership team, Human Resources, Finance, Maintenance, Engineering, Technical, Quality, Supply Chain, Commercial, and senior business leaders
ExternallyVendors, contractors, customers, and other external partners as required
Experience and education- Minimum of 8 to 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience, with significant experience in paper manufacturing operations required.
- Minimum of 3 to 5 years of leadership experience in paper manufacturing operations, preferably in a 24/7 unionized mill environment.
- Demonstrated ability to lead culture change, strengthen accountability, and improve performance through people, systems, and disciplined execution.
- Proven success developing supervisors and salaried leaders, building succession plans, and improving organizational capability.
- Business understanding with the ability to connect operational decisions to cost, productivity, customer, and mill performance outcomes.
- Experience creating multi-year operational roadmaps, leading continuous improvement, and improving safety, quality, reliability, productivity, and cost performance.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Paper Science, Manufacturing Management, Business, or a related field preferred. Equivalent paper manufacturing leadership experience may be considered. Master's degree desired.
Additional critical capabilities- Deep paper manufacturing knowledge and credibility with operations teams.
- Strong change management capability, including the ability to build commitment, reduce resistance, and sustain new ways of working.
- Curiosity, learning agility, and openness to better ways of operating.
- Strong communication and influence across functions, shifts, unionized employee groups, and senior leaders.
- Operational excellence, continuous improvement, root cause problem solving, reliability, and customer focus.
