Operational Excellence (OpsEx) Sr. Program Manager

Job DescriptionJob Description

Please note: This is an on-site position that requires the selected candidate to work from our Grand Rapids, MI, or Saint Petersburg, FL, office. This is not a remote role.

Job Summary:

The Acron Global Operations Team's vision is to relentlessly reimagine and reshape the value chains by which we deliver results to our customers, suppliers, and internal and external stakeholder communities in pursuit of creating safer skies. The Operational Excellence (OpsEx) Sr. Program Manager is responsible for collaborating across Acron Business Unit (BU) and Product Line (PL) teams to develop strategies and actionable project plans in relentless pursuit of lean and continuous improvement objectives. This role is crucial in building upon and positively fostering a culture of Lean and Continuous Improvement.

Global Operations Teams will earn the respect, trust, and collaboration of the Acron organization through inspirational leadership qualities that are essential to realizing our vision. Our leadership, centered on motivating teams and individuals to deliver levels of performance that are perceived as unattainable, will shape our culture, instill our values, drive innovation, and continuously improve upon existing business methods to create value. We exemplify passion, courage, teamwork, ingenuity, ownership, efficiency, and candor in all that we do to delight our customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.

This position is part of the Acron HQ Global Operations Team and will be located in Grand Rapids, MI, or St. Petersburg, FL. The position will be on-site in either of these locations and will require up to 25% travel to multiple Acron business unit locations, both domestically and internationally.

The Operational Excellence Sr. Program Manager will be engaged in (but not be limited to):

• Collaboratively partnering with Acron BU and PL leadership teams to quantitatively assess Operational and Continuous Improvement capabilities and maturity levels. Operations capabilities include, but are not limited to, S&OP Forecasting, Demand Planning, Order Administration, Manufacturing, Quality, Product and Test sustainment, and all Logistics functions. Analyze data to identify opportunities for improvement using root cause and corrective action methodologies.
• Develop Acron's broad transformative strategy to achieve optimal operational efficiency/effectiveness through Continuous Improvement and Lean objectives spanning multiple sites. The established strategy will need to consider the scalability of M&A objectives as they arise. The plan shall include how to build and further evolve the culture around Lean and Continuous Improvement principles.
• Create tactical project plans and measures utilizing sound project management disciplines to enable the development of winning business cases for investment and project plans for monitoring, measuring, controlling, delivering, and learning. This role will require active participation at both the strategy development and project execution levels.
• Create business cases for investment and return on value creation opportunities in Operations. Adeptly communicate, sell, negotiate, influence, and persuade all levels of the organization to embrace critical opportunities and deliver on expected value.
• Lead and facilitate change throughout the organization. Partner with leaders in the application of Lean and Continuous improvement tools through shaping job expectations, developing goals and objectives, providing mentoring, and defining training programs.
• Partner with BU and Production Line leadership teams to build and manage the pipeline of operational excellence, continuous improvement, and lean projects across Acron. Further evolve Acron’s pipeline governance tools, metrics, and
• Collaborate with the Global Operations Supply Chain organization to drive Lean and Continuous Improvement objectives to Acron’s critical suppliers. Create supply chain resiliency and cost out opportunities.
• Provide support to M&A teams in the evaluation and due diligence of identified opportunities.
• Innovatively and systematically build a problem-solving environment by demonstrating and modeling thought leadership, influence, communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution.

Minimum Requirements / Qualifications:

• BS/BA level degree in engineering, supply chain/operations, or business level equivalent. Preference for MBA-level candidates.
• Proficiency in combining theory and application of Lean and Continuous Improvement tools. Certifications are a preference.
• 10+ years in the aerospace industry. A demonstrated depth and breadth in business acumen across the major functional disciplines, including Program Management, Engineering, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Finance, Contracts, Subcontracts, IT, and Aftermarket Support.
• 5+ years of experience in progressive Project and Program Management roles. Program management practitioner experienced in leading through expert planning, baseline control, metrics, and analytics. Demonstrated ability to create management operating systems.
• Excellent critical thinking, analytical, and cross-functional problem-solving skills.
• Strong financial acumen. Demonstrated ability to link strategy and tactics to P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash flow effects.
• Demonstrated leadership capability and the ability to affect organizational change in challenging environments. Must be adept at achieving results through multiple organizations and functions, sometimes with competing priorities. Skilled in interpersonal influence, persuasion, and negotiation.
• Demonstrated communication skills, both written and verbal, at all levels of the organization. Skilled in building customer and subcontractor relationships while balancing strategic objectives. Adept listener and public .
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Power Suite (Power BI, Power Automate, etc), and project management tools.
• Ability to travel (domestic or international) up to 25%.