Manufacturing Operations Manager

Manufacturing Operations Manager

Location:

Harvey, IL, US, 60426

MOVING YOUR WORLD by focusing on your success:

FUCHS offers a challenging and rewarding working environment where employees are encouraged to develop and grow. We stand behind our core values: trust, creating value, respect, reliability, and integrity. Ours is a culture that fosters creativ- ity and empowerment, values work/life balance, and gives you the freedom to excel. At FUCHS we aim to nurture your ca- pabilities, ideas and career.

FUCHS offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience in a similar position. The salary range for this position is $125,000 - $140,000 per year, but actual salary will vary depending upon a new hire's experience and qualifications as well as internal equity.

Your Responsibilities:

• Perform as a transformational leader and agent of change that fosters a culture of continuous improvement.
• Strengthen leadership accountability by creating a culture of ownership, respectful performance management, disciplined execution, and consistent follow-through across all levels of the organization.
• Drive a culture where commitments are owned, issues are escalated appropriately, and actions are completed with urgency and discipline.
• Establish and sustain daily management systems including KPI reviews, action tracking, communication routines, and performance follow-up to improve operational discipline and execution.
• Develop supervisors and frontline leaders through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and performance development while fostering a positive, high-performing work environment built on FUCHS' core values.
• Establish sustainable management systems that improve operational discipline, KPI ownership, schedule execution, production performance, and standard work while reducing reactive firefighting.
• Partner with Planning, Scheduling, Warehouse, Procurement, Maintenance, Quality, Laboratory, and other functional teams to align priorities, improve communication, and ensure customer demand is met safely and efficiently.
• Lead root cause problem-solving and continuous improvement initiatives that optimize safety, quality, productivity, process flow, scrap reduction, and manufacturing efficiency while creating sustainable operational improvements.
• Champion a safety-first culture by leading employee engagement, change management, EHS initiatives, housekeeping standards, and continuous improvement while building trust, accountability, and organizational alignment.
• Collaborate with plant leadership to establish safety, quality, production, and financial objectives while supporting budget development and cost control initiatives.
• Analyze production performance, operational KPIs, and quality metrics to identify root causes, implement corrective actions, and prevent recurring issues.
• Lead manufacturing improvement projects focused on process optimization, quality improvement, equipment reliability, production efficiency, and waste reduction.
• Develop, document, implement, and maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and process documentation to support operational consistency and standardization.
• Partner with vendors to evaluate equipment, materials, and product specifications while supporting purchasing decisions and continuous process improvement.
• Serve as the technical liaison between Laboratory and Operations to ensure manufacturing processes, product specifications, and new methods are effectively implemented.
• Build strong relationships across all levels of the organization through effective communication, collaboration, coaching, and emotional intelligence.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable safety, environmental, regulatory, quality, and company standards.

WHAT WE EXPECT

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Supply Chain, Chemistry, Manufacturing, or another STEM-related discipline.
• Five (5)+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, preferably within a batch manufacturing environment.
• Experience leading supervisors and developing frontline leaders.
• Proven ability to drive accountability, operational execution, and organizational change.
• Strong communication, coaching, and influencing skills.
• Experience utilizing KPIs to improve operational performance.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Preferred Qualifications
• Chemical manufacturing experience.
• SAP experience.
• Lean Manufacturing or Continuous Improvement experience.
• Experience with process control systems.
• Experience working in a highly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of…