Senior Vice President of Operations in Phoenix, Arizona at Precision Science Inc

Precision Science is seeking a Senior Vice President of Operations (SVP) to become the day-to-day operating leader and build the structure required to manage growth. This executive will run the existing business while another senior operations leader concentrates on bringing the new facility online. The SVP will create the dashboards, reporting practices and operating cadence that do not exist today, establish clear accountability across the organization and give the CEO dependable visibility into performance, risks and priorities.

The role requires a high level of urgency and personal involvement. The SVP must be comfortable working on the production floor, challenging assumptions, addressing problems quickly and holding leaders accountable without losing the collaborative culture that has helped Precision Science grow. The position is expected to develop into the Chief Operating Officer role as the company scales.

What you will lead
 Run daily operations across manufacturing and the functions that support production, including planning, supply chain, purchasing, inventory, warehousing, engineering, maintenance and facilities.
 Create a practical operating dashboard covering safety, quality, delivery, cost and people, including production performance, capacity, labor, scheduling, equipment effectiveness, yield, downtime, waste, inventory and on-time delivery.
 Establish daily, weekly and monthly operating reviews that identify problems early, assign ownership and track corrective actions through completion.
 Develop and execute operating plans that support customer commitments, financial goals, quality requirements and the company’s growth objectives.
 Maintain the performance of the existing operation while the new facility is being completed, then help integrate the added capacity into one coordinated operating model.
 Build capacity plans and recommend equipment, automation, staffing, facility and capital investments based on demand, return and operational risk.
 Improve production planning, scheduling, material availability, inventory accuracy and coordination across Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Human Resources and Product Development.
 Lead, coach and develop managers, supervisors and operational leaders; set clear expectations and create succession plans for critical roles.
 Manage operating budgets, labor, departmental expenses, capital expenditures and productivity initiatives.
 Report operating results, forecasts, risks and recommendations directly to the CEO and senior leadership team.

Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
 Build a Lean operating system centered on safety, quality, delivery, cost and people.
 Use value stream mapping, Kaizen, 5S and 6S, standard work, visual management, daily tier meetings, Gemba walks and structured problem solving to improve performance.
 Improve overall equipment effectiveness, changeover time, throughput, labor efficiency, first-pass yield, scrap, rework and schedule attainment.
 Use root-cause methods such as 5 Whys, fishbone analysis, A3, DMAIC and corrective and preventive action processes.
 Partner with Maintenance and Engineering on equipment reliability, preventive maintenance, Total Productive Maintenance and downtime reduction.
 Develop Lean capability within managers and front-line leaders so improvements continue through daily management and coaching, rather than one-time projects.
Quality compliance and safety
 Ensure manufacturing activities comply with applicable cGMP, FDA, OSHA, environmental, animal health and feed manufacturing, customer and company requirements.
 Partner with Quality Assurance to strengthen documentation, data integrity, investigation discipline, corrective actions and audit readiness.
 Support regulatory, customer and third-party audits and ensure operational findings are resolved on time.
 Work with EHS leadership to improve hazard identification, incident prevention, safety performance and employee engagement.
 Make operational improvements without compromising product quality, employee safety, regulatory compliance or data integrity.

What success looks like
 First 90 days: Earn the trust of the team, understand the operation, establish baseline metrics, launch a reliable operating dashboard and identify the constraints most likely to affect customers and growth.
 First 12 months: Create a consistent management cadence, improve planning and accountability, strengthen the operating leadership team and demonstrate measurable gains in safety, quality, delivery, productivity and cost.
 Within 24 months: Integrate the additional capacity into a scalable operating model and demonstrate that the company can support materially higher volume without sacrificing quality, compliance, service or margin.

Ideal background
 At least 10 years of progressive manufacturing and operations experience, including significant responsibility for managers and multiple operational functions.
 Experience running daily operations in animal health, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, food or feed, specialty chemicals or another regulated manufacturing environment.
 Demonstrated command of manufacturing, production planning, supply chain, budgeting, cost control, capacity planning, workforce management and operating metrics.
 Experience building dashboards and management routines in a business that previously lacked consistent operational visibility and accountability.
 Experience leading capital projects, equipment improvements, facility expansions, automation initiatives or manufacturing scale-up.
 A hands-on Lean leader who can show measurable improvements in throughput, cost, quality, delivery, working capital and employee engagement.
 Experience working directly with a CEO, owners or investors in a growing, entrepreneurial company.
 Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, manufacturing, supply chain, business or a related discipline required; an advanced degree is preferred.
 Formal Lean manufacturing training required. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt is strongly preferred; Black Belt or equivalent experience is valuable for candidates who have led enterprise-wide transformation.

Leadership approach
The successful candidate will bring urgency, discipline and direct communication to the organization. This person should be visible in the operation, comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and willing to address missed commitments quickly. The SVP must also be able to develop people, work across functions and
introduce greater structure without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.