Operational Excellence Manager

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $3B in revenue, and employ approximately 12,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

 What We Offer:

• Flexible time off policy
• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)
• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs
• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options
• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

We are seeking an Operational Excellence Manager to support our cable manufacturing operations facilities in Duncan, SC. 

The Operational Excellence Manager will be a member of the Cable Operations leadership team responsible for overseeing all activity of the Operational Excellence department to drive quality improvement and waste reduction throughout our products, processes, and business systems across multiple Cable plants. The incumbent will utilize leadership, experience, and expertise, along with a strong communication ability, to optimize process workflow and eliminate non-value-added effort and material. This strategic leader continues to be an advocate for future operational improvements by emphasizing system thinking and new ideas and establishes the means to efficiently acquire timely job information and analyze critical performance data to drive improvement.

Responsibilities

• Establish vision and direction for Operational Excellence within the Cable business by developing, leading, and mentoring a dynamic team of direct and indirect reports who constantly search for creative ways to elevate the capabilities of resources and systems to meet business needs and customer demands. This position leads cross-functional continuous improvement initiatives/teams to assess the current value stream, identify non-value-added activities, eliminate quality defects, improve process capability and reduce process waste utilizing best practices in data analysis, practical problem solving and lean concepts to streamline and implement efficient, effective and controlled solutions that increase the bottom line.
• Responsible for developing and driving implementation of the improvement plans, which includes: identifying opportunities; defining and financially justifying projects; negotiating resources; leading and facilitating cross-functional project teams; using good project management to manage team activities; training and coaching of Lean/Six Sigma resources assigned to the team; leading teams to execute projects with problem solving methodology; tracking project status and regularly reporting on results; anticipating and removing project barriers; developing team members, and ultimately delivering an annual planned amount of tangible savings and improvements.
• Contributes knowledge and ideas to improve upon current processes resulting in reduced cycle times, improved quality, increased cost savings and uptime. All efforts will aid in higher operating income, profitability, and competitiveness.
• Ensure projects are integrated and aligned with other business activities, improvement projects and business strategies. Coordinate with the appropriate project/process owners and organizations, including Information Technology, to accomplish the project goals.
• Identify implications of project implementation (synergies and breakdowns).
• Ensure two-way open communication throughout the organization. This includes keeping the stakeholders informed of program status and ensuring coordination of activities.
• Communicate best practices and key learning's across the organization that promote a Zero-Defect Culture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations Management, or Business
• 5+ years of manufacturing operations or continuous improvement experience, preferably in a fiber optic, cable, electronics, or high‑precision manufacturing environment
• 3+ years or supervisory leadership experience
• Previous experience in operations analysis using data to drive business results
• Proven track record leading Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, and CI initiatives that drive measurable cost, quality, safety, and delivery improvement
• Strong understanding of statistical process control (SPC), KPIs, OEE, yield improvement, and scrap reduction in a manufacturing setting
• Experience with quality and regulatory standards (ISO 9001, safety and environmental compliance)
• Hands-on experience supporting shop-floor operations and partnering with Production, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, and Supply Chain teams
• Six-Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt (preferred)

Personal Qualities

• Results oriented – must have the ability to deliver results and further improvement of the business
• Creative thinker – ability to think outside the box and strive for continuous innovation
• Leadership – Able to coach and mentor team members to reach team and personal goals.
• Attitude – Maintains a positive demeanor while working under tight deadlines.
• Collaboration – Develops relationships across multiple business units.