Sr Operations Project Leader

Sr Operations Project Leader

Come be DISRUPTIVE with us! At Milwaukee Tool, our most valued resource is our dedicated team of employees - employees who work with a passion to be the best and an unparalleled pride in their work and in the Milwaukee brand. We know that the only way to sustain growth and success is to value the growth and success of each person within the organization, that's why we invest in an individual's growth and development from day one.

All our teams touch on every step of the process, that is why our Operations teams are some of the key contributors to our continuous innovations. The fast-paced, agile environment continuously delivers disruptive technologies by providing every team with the resources needed to excel and working directly with End Users to understand how to deliver heavy duty products with high performance. We create Best in Class products by leveraging advanced analysis tools, extensive testing regimes, state-of-the-art manufacturing processes and cross-functional agility. To learn more about the Milwaukee story and our company click HERE.

As a Sr Operations Project Leader within the Strategic Operations team, your primary focus would be to the support of Milwaukee's Hand Tools Storage, PPE, Core and Layout products. You will be utilizing your technical skills and project management ability to support new product development (NPD) launches, manufacturing project initiatives, risk mitigation efforts and strategic transfer execution. Project types include execution of operations milestones, in house product releases as well as some capacity and process improvement projects. In addition, you will work directly with manufacturing cells to improve processes and reduce costs through machine improvements, capacity projects, and DFMEA design changes.

In this role you will lead a team of project leaders for our manufacturing plant in Mukwonago. You will be responsible for the projects that fall on the strategic operations team for this site. In this leadership role, you will also be involved in identifying and quoting new opportunities for the site. You will facilitate the strategic initiatives that occur over an annual calendar year as the strategic representative for the Mukwonago manufacturing facility. Some of these strategic initiatives include annual strategy sessions, new opportunity assessment, long term capacity evaluation, space planning and core competency mapping for the site.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead moderate to highly complex operations projects for NPD, process improvement & manufacturing support with minimal direction. Consistently visualizes entire scope of a project with very little guidance. Ensure deliverables meet operational, regulatory, and customer requirements.
• Lead a team of project leaders through low to moderate complexity projects.
• Lead strategic initiatives for the site such as new opportunity assessment, facilitation of annual strategy sessions and core competency mapping.
• Partner closely with marketing, engineering, sourcing, manufacturing sites, finance, and supply planning teams to make high-level decisions, along with keeping the team aligned to status of active projects.
• Schedule, develop agendas for, and facilitate project meetings. Document discussion with action items to effectively capture meeting topics and drive actions to closure.

• Track project schedule to ensure adherence to timelines; keep team and management informed of project issues. Provide options to risk mitigation and escalate key project roadblocks.

• Manage project budgets, track expenditures, and ensure financial compliance.
• Communicate technical details, ideas, and concepts to engineers and non-engineers in multiple locations both verbally and written. Lead formal project reviews and participate in management reviews for assigned projects. Regularly create presentations of project status.

• Evaluate product design relative to material selection, cost, reliability and manufacturability and offer improvement ideas. Provide multiple "what-if" scenarios to identify the best path to the desired future state and understand their financial and operational impacts.

• Lead manufacturing process related feasibility studies. Analyzes, evaluates and selects from manufacturing alternatives to best meet objectives for capital, cost, capacity and timing.
• Creates manufacturing cost models for new projects to analyze the best approach for operations business planning. Assist engineering to quote new product opportunities that are requested of the site.
• Investigate and kick-off innovative technology to stay disruptive in the market.
• Interpret data and make corresponding recommendations including but not limited to:
  • Impact to financials (GM and EBIT, total CapEx)
  • Intermediate supply chain design analysis
  • Risk trade off for short and long term strategy
• Regularly visit production sites and suppliers to maintain open lines of communication. While applicant's primary location will be Mukwonago WI, they can expect to travel across greater Milwaukee sites bi-weekly and international sites 1-2 times per year

Job Requirements

• Relevant degree in industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, supply chain or operations. Graduate studies preferred in the business areas such as Project Management, Finance, Marketing, or Organizational studies. Formal project management training preferred.
• Minimum 7 years engineering or operations experience in related field.
• Experience successfully managing multiple high complexity projects at one time.
• Proficient understanding of various cost drivers associated with materials, labor & overhead is required.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office software including Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Project.
• Ability to travel internationally & domestically several times of year is required (10% travel) as part of supplier visits or benchmarking other Milwaukee sites.

Desired Qualifications

• Must possess a high level of Manufacturing/Industrial engineering aptitude including a broad knowledge of manufacturing processes & experience implementing equipment.
• Experience with ERP systems and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) desired - Oracle Cloud and High Jump is preferred.
• Capability to establish credibility with different business functions, collaborate with and influence project teams.
• Effective written and oral communication skills, ability to establish rapport and credibility.