Assistant Plant Manager

At Herff Jones, we are committed to celebrating milestones and inspiring achievement for students across the country. As a trusted leader in graduation and educational products for over 100 years, we deliver meaningful experiences through operational excellence, innovation, and a people-first culture.

Reporting to the Plant Manager, the Assistant Plant Manager will serve as a key leader responsible for aligning demand, planning, and execution across the Warwick site. This role is heavily focused on owning and leading the planning function, ensuring that customer demand, production capacity, labor, and inventory strategies are fully aligned and executable.

You will play a pivotal role in preparing the operation for highly seasonal demand peaks, translating forecasts into actionable production plans, and driving disciplined execution across Manufacturing, Materials, and Distribution. Success in this role requires a leader who operates as a business owner first, with a deep understanding that strong planning drives world‑class execution.

• Own and lead the end‑to‑end site planning function, including demand alignment, production scheduling, and capacity planning.
• Develop and manage a Master Production Schedule (MPS) that aligns customer demand with labor availability, equipment capacity, and material constraints. Proactively create capacity and flexibility strategies across all order fulfillment resources to meet demand plans balancing/optimizing cost, inventory, and lead times.
• Partner cross‑functionally with Sales, Customer Service, and Supply Chain to translate forecasts into executable operational plans.
• Drive S&OP / SIOP discipline at the site level, ensuring alignment between demand, supply, and operational capabilities.
• Lead scenario planning and contingency planning, proactively identifying risks and mitigation strategies—especially in preparation for peak season.
• Establish, monitor, and continuously improve planning KPIs, including:
• Forecast accuracy
• Schedule attainment & adherence
• Capacity utilization
• Labor plan vs. actual
• Inventory performance

• Lead pre‑season planning strategy, including workforce modeling, capacity analysis, and inventory positioning.
• Build and execute peak‑readiness plans to ensure the site can scale efficiently and meet customer expectations during demand surges.
• Partner with HR and site leadership on seasonal hiring and staffing models aligned to forecasted demand.
• Conduct post‑season reviews to identify opportunities for improvement in forecasting, planning accuracy, and execution.

• Translate planning outputs into disciplined operational execution across Materials, Manufacturing, and Distribution.
• Own and drive on‑time delivery (OTD) through strong planning, scheduling, and execution rigor.
• Lead daily operations with a focus on Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory, and Cost (SQDIC) performance.
• Conduct daily Gemba walks and operational reviews, identifying gaps between plan and execution and driving rapid problem‑solving.
• Ensure alignment between production schedules and floor‑level execution, adjusting plans as needed based on real‑time conditions.
• Support development and execution of the annual operating budget, including labor, materials, and operational costs.
• Align staffing plans and labor strategies to demand forecasts and production plans.
• Participate in forecasting cycles and ensure financial implications of planning decisions are well understood and managed.

• Lead and develop a team of functional leaders across Planning, Materials, Manufacturing, and Distribution.
• Build strong planning and operational capabilities within the organization through coaching, development plans, and succession planning.
• Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and cross‑functional collaboration.
• Lead through influence, trust, and clear communication across all levels of the organization.
• Identify and implement process improvements across planning and operational workflows to improve efficiency, responsiveness, and accuracy.
• Lead…