Role Summary
The Vice President of Operations is a key member of CIVCO's executive leadership team, responsible for setting the vision and continually advancing the company's manufacturing and operations platform. This role owns multi-site manufacturing, supply chain, production planning, safety, facilities, continuous improvement, and information technology across the global enterprise.
Within the scope of manufacturing and operations, this leader shapes strategy, defines the operating model, and drives disciplined execution across a regulated, multi-site manufacturing footprint serving global markets. The role also translates enterprise strategy into feasible operating plans, challenges infeasible commitments with data and clear trade-offs, and ensures predictable, scalable execution in support of CIVCO's long-term growth.
Reporting relationship: This role reports to the President.
Scope of Responsibility
- Manufacturing operations - Iowa and Juarez, Mexico
- Continuous improvement and operational excellence systems
- Supply chain and production planning
- Safety, facilities, and infrastructure
- Information technology across the global enterprise
Executive Team Role
- Set direction and shape strategy within manufacturing, operations, and information technology
- Translate company strategy into operational reality across people, processes, systems, and capital
- Lead and institutionalize continuous improvement across the enterprise, including assessing operational maturity and deploying structured improvement roadmaps across sites and functions
- Establish and rigorously enforce a disciplined operating cadence, including operational KPIs, structured performance reviews, and clear accountability for measurable results
- Act as a credible challenger, pushing back on infeasible plans and commitments using facts, data, and clearly articulated trade-offs
- Balance functional optimization with enterprise-level outcomes
- Represent operations in senior leadership forums, including periodic engagement with parent-company leadership
What Success Looks Like
- Manufacturing operations and operational IT platforms are continually strengthened and scaled to improve reliability and performance
- Disciplined, predictable execution is established across Iowa and Juarez
- A clear operating system grounded in LEAN, continuous improvement, and operational excellence is evolved and rigorously enforced
- IT and digital enablement are leveraged as force multipliers for operations rather than back-office support
- A consistent, data-driven operating cadence using leading and lagging operational KPIs drives predictable performance and continuous improvement
- The operations organization is built to support growth and change with minimal disruption
How This Leader Operates
- Operates at executive altitude while remaining deeply credible with plant and functional leaders
- Sets and maintains exceptionally high performance standards, using data to drive decisions while constructively and consistently challenging the organization
- Evolves systems and standards, then enforces them with rigor
- Holds teams accountable to commitments and measurable results
- Pushes for modernization without introducing unnecessary operational risk
- Communicates clearly, directly, and respectfully across all levels of the organization
- Builds a high-performance operations culture grounded in accountability, discipline, and continuous improvement while developing strong leaders and successors
- Is comfortable operating in a regulated manufacturing environment where quality and compliance are non-negotiable
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred
- Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in manufacturing operations
- Demonstrated success leading LEAN, continuous improvement, or operational excellence systems at scale
- Demonstrated track record of executing large-scale operational improvements with measurable financial and performance impact
- Senior leadership experience overseeing multi-site manufacturing organizations
- Ability to shape strategy within functional scope and translate it into executable operational plans
- Experience operating in regulated manufacturing environments
- Strong financial acumen with a demonstrated ability to drive financial discipline across operations to optimize EBITDA growth and return on invested capital
- Proven ability to lead, develop, and retain high-performing leadership teams
Preferred Experience
- Medical device or adjacent regulated industries
- Manufacturing operations in Mexico
- Oversight of enterprise systems within an operations context
- Automation, digital manufacturing, or systems modernization initiatives
- Balancing global operational standardization with country-specific regulatory and commercial requirements
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision.
Work Environment
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.