Senior VP of Operation

Description

 What sets us apart?

• Competitive compensation plan, base salary, and annual incentive
• Health Benefits: medical, dental, vision, short term and long- term disability and wellness programs
• 401-k plan with company match
• Comprehensive Paid Time Off and Holidays
• Collaborative and Innovative work environment

COMPANY OVERVIEW 

Vantage Apparel is a leading global supplier of custom logo apparel, offering a wide range of high-quality garments and accessories for corporate, promotional, and teamwear needs. As the exclusive provider of Greg Norman®, POLO® Ralph Lauren®, Xtreme Visibility™, Redwood Classics™, and Lane Seven Apparel, Vantage has been the industry’s top-awarded decorator for 30 consecutive years. Since joining forces with Lynka in 2021 to expand our European presence, we have continued to grow our global reach while earning recognition as an ASI Top 40 Supplier and a PPAI Gold Pyramid Top 100 Supplier (#12 in 2025). With more than four decades of experience and multiple “Best Places to Work” honors, Vantage has been the leading B2B innovator in the promotional apparel industry since 1977, delivering exceptional service and innovative solutions to customers worldwide.

ROLE HIGHLIGHTS

The Senior Vice President of Operations plays a key role in leading Vantage Apparel’s U.S. decoration facilities from our Avenel, New Jersey headquarters. Building on the company’s commitment to operational excellence, this role oversees manufacturing performance, customer SLA execution, and enterprise-wide capacity planning to drive scalable, efficient, and profitable growth. The SVP of Operations leverages strategic insight and operational discipline, combining deep expertise in technology and automation to enhance efficiency, visibility, and service excellence. This position involves guiding and developing cross-functional teams, implementing best practices, and ensuring consistent quality, precision, and innovation across all operations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Lead all U.S. decoration facilities, including embroidery, screen printing, digital, DTF, and other related production methods.
• Standardize operating procedures across facilities to ensure consistency, quality, and operational excellence.
• Drive Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and optimize production flow.
• Establish and manage KPIs tied to productivity, quality, cost performance, and operational outcomes.
• Own on-time delivery and SLA performance across all customer segments, implementing proactive monitoring systems for service levels and turnaround times.
• Partner with Customer Experience, Sales, and Digital teams to align production with customer commitments.
• Manage operating budgets across all facilities to ensure financial discipline and resource optimization.
• Drive cost-per-unit improvements, labor productivity, and margin enhancements through operational discipline.
• Oversee workforce planning, labor allocation, and efficiency to meet current and future organizational demand.
• Build, mentor, and develop strong plant leadership teams to ensure accountability, transparency, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and safety compliance across all facilities.
• Develop short- and long-term capacity models, forecast labor, equipment, and space needs across facilities.
• Balance production loads to maximize efficiency and create peak-season readiness and contingency plans.
• Lead capital planning decisions tied to growth, expansion, and operational scalability.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of ERP, production management systems, and workflow tools to support accurate scheduling, visibility, and reporting.
• Identify and implement automation opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce manual touchpoints.
• Partner with IT and Digital teams to align operational processes with eCommerce and API-driven order flows.

Requirements

Ideal Candidate Profile 

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. 

• Demonstrate forward-thinking leadership with strong organizational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and a respectful coaching approach.
• Manage operating budgets, drive cost efficiency, labor productivity, and margin growth.
• Oversee workforce planning, labor allocation, and organizational efficiency to meet current and future demand.
• Build and develop plant leadership teams, fostering accountability, transparency, and collaboration.
• Proven ability to scale operations effectively in high-volume, fast-paced environments.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and safety across all facilities.
• Experience in apparel, decoration, print-on-demand, or customized manufacturing operations.
• Financially disciplined, driving cost efficiency, labor productivity, and margin growth.
• Maintain a solid understanding of ERP systems and operational technology platforms.
• Serve as an operational strategist with strong execution capability.
• Make data-driven decisions to optimize productivity, resource allocation, and operational outcomes.
• Experience supporting eCommerce or integrated order workflows.
• Strong expertise in capacity planning, forecasting, labor modeling, and demand management.
• Technologically literate and automation-aware, streamlining processes and reducing manual touchpoints.
• Collaborative and accountable leader, fostering cross-functional alignment and building high-performing teams.
• Manage multi-site production environments, ensuring consistent performance and service excellence.
• Demonstrate success improving service levels and SLA performance across customer segments.
• Effectively prioritize and manage multiple projects, solving both simple and complex operational challenges.
• Exhibit outstanding written and verbal communication skills to ensure clear and effective interaction with clients and team members.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE COMPUTER SKILLS

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Textile Engineering, or a related field. 
• Minimum of 7-10 years of management experience in apparel manufacturing production management, or a related field.
• Background in Lean or Six Sigma methodologies.
• Demonstrated high proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. 

At Vantage Apparel we are committed to equal employment opportunities regardless of race, sex, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, age, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or other legally protected status.