Director of Manufacturing

The Director of Manufacturing at Buckman in Memphis, TN, leads all production operations, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. This role drives performance across safety, quality, cost, delivery, and employee engagement, maintaining compliance and audit readiness. Key responsibilities include managing cycle times, collaborating with maintenance, tracking performance, managing budgets, ensuring quality standards, strategic planning, and leading process improvement projects, all while fostering a proactive safety culture.

Must Have

• Ensure accurate cycle time master data in SAP.
• Maximize equipment and process availability.
• Lead Obeya wall tracking and reporting.
• Manage department expense budget.
• Drive attainment of financial objectives.
• Execute effective inventory control.
• Ensure compliance with ISO9001 quality standards.
• Train associates in CSOPs, TOPs, and BQS procedures.
• Lead root cause analyses for quality issues.
• Collaborate on 5-year strategic plan.
• Identify and implement high-ROI projects.
• Champion a proactive safety culture.
• Ensure compliance with OSHA, EPA, and safety regulations.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and incident investigations.
• Track safety KPIs and integrate metrics.
• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Manufacturing, or related field.
• 10+ years director experience in manufacturing.

Good to Have

• Manages Ambiguity
• Attracts Top Talent
• Business Insight
• Collaborates
• Cultivates Innovation

Description

Director of Manufacturing

Buckman – Memphis, TN

Location: Memphis, TN

Language: English

Travel up to 25%

Buckman is a privately held, global specialty chemical company with headquarters in Memphis, TN, USA, committed to safeguarding the environment, maintaining safety in the workplace, and promoting sustainable development. Buckman delivers exceptional service and innovative solutions to our customers globally in the pulp and paper, leather, and water treatment sectors to help boost productivity, reduce risk, improve product quality, and provide a measurable return on investment.

Position Summary

The Director of Manufacturing at Cadet or Memphis leads all aspects of production operations, ensuring alignment with strategic goals, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. This role is responsible for driving performance across safety, quality, cost, delivery, and employee engagement while maintaining compliance and readiness for audits and certifications.

Key Outcomes/Responsibilities

Outcome: Operational Excellence & Process Management

Actions:

• Ensure cycle time master data is accurate and up-to-date in SAP.
• Collaborate with the Maintenance Manager to maximize equipment and process availability.
• Lead Obeya wall tracking and reporting for schedule attainment and cycle time performance, including analysis and improvement opportunities.
• Maintain current capacity utilization estimates for each production asset.
• Participate in SIOP (Sales, Inventory & Operations Planning) activities and assess demand forecast impacts on capacity.
• Develop and maintain daily production scorecards covering safety, quality, perfect order rate, schedule attainment, and batch cycle time.
• Monitor batch financial variance daily and resolve discrepancies.

Implement and sustain 5S principles to ensure excellent housekeeping and operational discipline.

Outcome: Financial Management

Actions:

• Contribute to the development of the annual capital plan with justifications.
• Compile and manage the department expense budget in collaboration with the Plant Manager.
• Monitor budget performance and communicate significant deviations promptly.
• Drive attainment of financial objectives including leverage and days in inventory.
• Execute effective inventory control procedures without compromising customer satisfaction.
• Minimize slow-moving and obsolete inventory through FIFO execution and collaboration with inventory planning.
• Periodically review and adjust MTS/MTO parameters.

Outcome: Quality & Compliance

Actions:

• Ensure compliance with quality standards including batch RFT, scrapped batch %, concession batch %, and ISO9001 audit readiness.
• Ensure associates are trained and disciplined in CSOPs, TOPs, and BQS procedures.
• Lead and participate in root cause analyses for non-right-first-time batches.

Monitor and resolve CCAR reports and customer complaints effectively.

Outcome: Strategic Planning and Communication

Actions:

• Collaborate with the VP of Operations to develop a 5-year strategic plan for the department and facility.
• Develop and communicate annual plans with KPM objectives.
• Monitor performance against plans and provide clear communication channels for associates.

Ensure consistent application and communication of company policies and procedures.

Outcome: Project & Process Improvement

Actions:

• Identify, engineer, and implement high-ROI projects to improve safety, quality, cost, and yield.
• Ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Apply sound problem-solving techniques and collaborate with technical staff to optimize processes.

Outcome: Ensure a zero-incident workplace by fostering a proactive safety culture, maintaining compliance with all regulatory standards, and continuously improving safety performance across all manufacturing operations.

Actions:

• Champion a safety-first mindset across all levels of the manufacturing team.
• Lead regular safety briefings and promote active participation in safety programs.
• Ensure full compliance with OSHA, EPA, and company-specific safety regulations.
• Maintain audit readiness and documentation for all safety-related procedures.
• Ensure all department associates receive up-to-date safety training relevant to their roles.
• Monitor training completion and effectiveness, and hold team members accountable for adherence.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and implement corrective actions.
• Investigate all safety incidents and near-misses, ensuring root cause analysis and preventive measures are in place
• Track safety KPIs (e.g., TRIR, near-miss frequency, corrective action closure rate).
• Integrate safety metrics into daily scorecards and Obeya wall reporting.

Collaborate with maintenance and technical teams to ensure equipment safety and reliability.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineer, Manufacturing, or related field
• 10+ years of experience as a director in manufacturing
• Strong knowledge of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and ERP systems
• Excellent leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Strategic thinking and execution
• Operational excellence
• Team leadership and development
• Data-drive decision-making
• Change management

Competencies

• Manages Ambiguity - Operating effectively, even when things are not certain or the way forward is not clear
• Attracts Top Talent - Attracting and selecting the best talent to meet current and future business needs
• Business Insight - Applying knowledge of business and the marketplace to advance the organization's goals
• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives
• Cultivates Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful