Assistant Operations Manager

Job Description

GENERAL POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES 
The Assistant Operations Manager is a key operations leadership position responsible for supporting the safe, efficient, and timely execution of plant operations across multiple manufacturing and material-flow departments. 

This position is hands-on and provides direct leadership and oversight across Fabrication, Welding, Machining, Remanufacturing, Sub-Electrical, Sub-Mechanical, and Materials as needed. The Assistant Operations Manager will work closely with department supervisors and employees to maintain daily production, address problems quickly, improve operating performance, and ensure the plant meets its safety, quality, delivery, and cost commitments. 

The Assistant Operations Manager is expected to spend significant time on the shop floor, understand what is happening in the operation, and step in when additional leadership, problem-solving, or coordination is needed. 

The position will also provide coverage for supervisors during absences, support cross-functional issues, and help drive plant-wide improvement initiatives. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES 

Will include and are not limited to the following: 

• Lead by example and maintain a strong safety culture across all areas of the plant. 

• Ensure employees follow established safety procedures, work instructions, PPE requirements, and other applicable standards. 

• Conduct regular shop-floor observations and address unsafe conditions or behaviors immediately. 

• Participate in incident investigations and ensure corrective actions are completed. 

• Support safety audits, regulatory requirements, and company safety initiatives. 

• Stop work when an unsafe condition presents an immediate risk to employees. 

• Step into areas where additional supervision or leadership is needed due to workload, staffing, absenteeism, production problems, or other issues. 

• Monitor production progress throughout the shift and react quickly to problems affecting safety, quality, delivery, or productivity. 

• Ensure employees understand daily priorities and have the resources needed to complete their work. 

• Escalate significant issues to the Operations and Plant Manager with facts, impact, and recommended actions. 

• Coordinate with Planning, Materials, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, and other support functions to resolve issues. 

• Track recovery plans when production falls behind schedule. 

• Help establish realistic priorities when multiple customer or production requirements compete for capacity. 

• Support effective labor utilization and overtime decisions. 

• Reinforce quality-at-the-source expectations throughout the operation. 

• Ensure employees follow documented processes, work instructions, drawings, and quality requirements. 

• Work with Quality and department supervisors on root-cause analysis and corrective actions. 

• Monitor repeat quality problems and drive permanent solutions rather than repeated containment. 

• Support department supervisors in managing employee performance, attendance, training, and development. 

• Coach supervisors and employees when performance or behavior does not meet expectations. 

• Hold employees and supervisors accountable for following established processes and meeting performance expectations. 

• Promote teamwork and accountability across departments. 

• Work closely with Materials leadership to ensure material is available where and when it is needed. 

• Help resolve material shortages, inventory discrepancies, staging issues, and material-flow problems that impact production. 

• Ensure material movement and handling processes support production requirements. 

• Identify recurring material-flow problems and work with the appropriate teams to correct the underlying cause. 

• Lead or participate in Lean, 6S, standard work, visual management, and other continuous improvement activities. 

• Help develop and implement standard work and improved operating processes. 

• Encourage employees to identify problems and participate in solutions. 

• Coordinate with Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Planning, Materials, and other functions when issues cross department boundaries. 

• Safety: No compromise on safe work practices. 

• Quality: Build it right the first time and address recurring problems at the root cause. 

• Delivery: Meet production schedules and customer commitments. 

• Productivity: Make effective use of people, equipment, and available capacity. 

• Cost: Control overtime, scrap, rework, and other avoidable operating costs. 

• Accountability: Problems are identified, owned, and followed through to resolution. 

• People: Develop supervisors and employees while maintaining clear performance expectations. 

Qualifications

I. BASIC QUALIFICATIONS (REQUIRED) 

• High school diploma or equivalent required; associate or bachelor's degree in manufacturing, operations, engineering, business, or a related field preferred. 

• 5+ years of manufacturing or industrial operations experience, with increasing levels of responsibility. 

• Previous supervisory or leadership experience in a manufacturing environment. 

II. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Experience supervising multiple manufacturing processes or departments. 

• Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, 5S/6S, or other continuous improvement experience. 

• Experience with ERP/MRP systems. 

• Experience managing production schedules and capacity constraints. 

• Experience leading cross-functional improvement projects. 

• Strong knowledge of fabrication, welding, machining, assembly, remanufacturing, or material-handling operations. 

III. KNOWLEDGE & SKILS 

• Lead from the floor — spends time where the work is being done and understands actual conditions. 

• Act quickly/sense of urgency — doesn't allow problems to sit waiting for someone else to solve them. 

• Set clear expectations — employees know what is expected and who owns the work. 

• Hold people accountable — addresses performance issues timely, directly and fairly. 

• Thinking across departments — understands that optimizing one department at the expense of another isn't improvement. 

• Use facts and data — makes decisions based on actual performance and operating conditions. 

• Develop people — builds stronger supervisors and employees rather than simply doing the work for them. 

• Follow through — actions have owners, dates, and closure. 

• Stay calm under pressure — can make sound decisions when production, staffing, or customer issues arise. 

• Strong understanding of production processes, material flow, quality, safety, and shop-floor operations. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead across multiple departments or functions. 

• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills. 

• Ability to read and understand production schedules, work instructions, drawings, and operational data. 

• Proficient with Microsoft Office and manufacturing/ERP systems. 

• Ability to work effectively with employees at all levels of the organization. 

V. WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS 

• Work is performed in a manufacturing and/or warehouse environment with exposure to noise, moving equipment, and varying temperatures. 

• Requires standing, walking, bending, and reaching for extended periods. 

• Must be able to lift up to 45 lbs.  

• Use of required personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandatory. 

VI. SCHEDULE/SHIFT 

• Work schedule and shift assignment may vary based on operational needs.  

• Overtime, weekend, and holiday work may be required as business demands dictate. 

Disclaimer:  This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not intended to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this position. 

Additional Information

Responsibilities listed represent the overall scope of the position. Complexity, autonomy, and leadership expectations increase as employees progress. 

We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or genetics. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

If you have difficulty applying for any job posted on Harsco Rail’s website because a disability prevents you from using the online system, Harsco Rail offers the following alternate application procedure: Contact Matthew Fink, Director NOAM, at 1.803.822.7589, and Harsco Rail will arrange for an alternate method of applying and will consider your application together with all other applications received for the job.  Please call only for disability applications. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.