Production Shift Lead - 1st Shift

At West Paw, our goal is to be “Dog’s Best Friend”. We do this by making things dogs love and by caring about how we make the things dogs love - from our own factory in beautiful Bozeman, Montana.

We innovate to unleash joy between people and pets, in pursuit of a healthier world. We’re eco-friendly in our materials and manufacturing choices and people-friendly in our business choices.

The talented, dog-loving, sustainability driven team at West Paw designs, manufactures, markets and ships high quality, planet and people conscious dog products to over 40 countries and 6000 retailers. From our eco-friendly facility in Bozeman, we pride ourselves on products that are safe, healthy, durable and made responsibly.

We’re West Paw, a proud Certified B Corp and Dog’s Best Friend®.

To be the best fit we actively seek purpose-driven candidates that embrace the love of dogs, a curiosity to understand and passion for our vision of a better society and environment. Our best days at work often involve sharing a great dog experience that brought connection and joy.

The Production Shift Lead - 1st Shift is a full time, hourly, overtime-eligible position responsible for effectively directing & supporting the flow of work to efficiently build the right quality product, and upholding standards with current process and technology. The role is responsible for managing and developing team members and regularly disseminating management communications to team members and other shift supervisors for shift pass down continuity.

This role has between 5-7 direct reports. It is part of the Manufacturing Operations Team and reports to the VP of Manufacturing Operations.

Required

Schedule:

Monday-Thursday, 6:00 a.m.

-3:30 p.m. and Fridays 6:00 a.m.

-10:00 a.m. (40 hours, but a 4 1/2 day work week...get a jump start on your weekend!). You MUST be able to work this schedule on a consistent basis, as this is when the rest of the 1st shift Production team is working.

Work Location:

Our office and production facility are located at 32050 Frontage Road in Bozeman, Montana, east of downtown. This position is required to work on-site, in-person, 40 hours per week. Candidates desiring to work remotely will not be considered.

• Function as a member of Operations Management by proactively leading and managing First Shift Production Team Members, while occasionally providing direct production support as the work demands (covering breaks or team members who are out, higher volume workload times, etc.)
• Coordinate with your direct reports (Production Team Members), the Production Manager, the VP of Manufacturing Operations, and the other Shift Leads to adapt to changing demand.
• Support mold changes, color changes, jig changes, and machine startups on injection molding equipment.
• Maintain accurate inventory counts via timely and accurate scans.
• Record and communicate Safety, Quality, Delivery, Engagement & Cost metrics in Shift Pass Down & Tier Meetings.
• Ensure standard processes are documented, communicated, accessible, and followed.
• Encourage team to submit and actively guide review, approval, and implementation of continuous improvement ideas, rooted in Lean Manufacturing principles.
• Support, coach, and hold teams accountable for achieving success in safety, quality, delivery, engagement and cost goals.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee questions and concerns and collaborate with appropriate members of West Paw support teams to address as needed. Effectively manage employee performance and attendance issues in a timely manner.
• Develop a strong team and culture through training, daily communication, feedback, celebrations, and reviews.
• Ensure a safe work environment and safe work practices are followed, address issues, and ensure compliance with safety policies, standards and best practices.
• Monitor own work to ensure high standards of quality and efficiency and seek support when needed.
• Ensure 5S integrity of workplace organization (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain)
• When people leadership and task management responsibilities allow, or as demand dictates, serve as a working team member…