Position Title: Assistant Plant Manager
Location: Warwick RI
Starting Pay for position: $125K
Join Our Team
At Herff Jones, we are committed to celebrating milestones and inspiring achievement for students across the country. As a trusted leader in graduation and educational products for over 100 years, we deliver meaningful experiences through operational excellence, innovation, and a people-first culture.
Your Opportunity
Reporting to the Plant Manager, the Assistant Plant Manager will serve as a key leader responsible for aligning demand, planning, and execution across the Warwick site. This role is heavily focused on owning and leading the planning function, ensuring that customer demand, production capacity, labor, and inventory strategies are fully aligned and executable.
You will play a pivotal role in preparing the operation for highly seasonal demand peaks, translating forecasts into actionable production plans, and driving disciplined execution across Manufacturing, Materials, and Distribution. Success in this role requires a leader who operates as a business owner first, with a deep understanding that strong planning drives world-class execution.
Key Responsibilities
Planning & S&OP Leadership (Primary Focus)
- Own and lead the end-to-end site planning function, including demand alignment, production scheduling, and capacity planning.
- Develop and manage a Master Production Schedule (MPS) that aligns customer demand with labor availability, equipment capacity, and material constraints. Proactively create capacity and flexibility strategies across all order fulfillment resources to meet demand plans balancing/optimizing cost, inventory, and lead times.
- Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Customer Service, and Supply Chain to translate forecasts into executable operational plans.
- Drive S&OP / SIOP discipline at the site level, ensuring alignment between demand, supply, and operational capabilities.
- Lead scenario planning and contingency planning, proactively identifying risks and mitigation strategies—especially in preparation for peak season.
- Establish, monitor, and continuously improve planning KPIs, including:
- Forecast accuracy
- Schedule attainment & adherence
- Capacity utilization
- Labor plan vs. actual
- Inventory performance
Seasonal & Peak Readiness Leadership
- Lead pre-season planning strategy, including workforce modeling, capacity analysis, and inventory positioning.
- Build and execute peak-readiness plans to ensure the site can scale efficiently and meet customer expectations during demand surges.
- Partner with HR and site leadership on seasonal hiring and staffing models aligned to forecasted demand.
- Conduct post-season reviews to identify opportunities for improvement in forecasting, planning accuracy, and execution.
Operational Execution & Performance
- Translate planning outputs into disciplined operational execution across Materials, Manufacturing, and Distribution.
- Own and drive on-time delivery (OTD) through strong planning, scheduling, and execution rigor.
- Lead daily operations with a focus on Safety, Quality, Delivery, Inventory, and Cost (SQDIC) performance.
- Conduct daily Gemba walks and operational reviews, identifying gaps between plan and execution and driving rapid problem-solving.
- Ensure alignment between production schedules and floor-level execution, adjusting plans as needed based on real-time conditions.
Financial & Resource Management
- Support development and execution of the annual operating budget, including labor, materials, and operational costs.
- Align staffing plans and labor strategies to demand forecasts and production plans.
- Participate in forecasting cycles and ensure financial implications of planning decisions are well understood and managed.
Leadership & Talent Development
- Lead and develop a team of functional leaders across Planning, Materials, Manufacturing, and Distribution.
- Build strong planning and operational capabilities within the organization through coaching, development plans, and succession planning.
- Foster a culture of accountability, transparency, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Lead through influence, trust, and clear communication across all levels of the organization.
Continuous Improvement & Transformation
- Identify and implement process improvements across planning and operational workflows to improve efficiency, responsiveness, and accuracy.
- Lead initiatives to improve planning maturity, including systems utilization (ERP/MRP), data accuracy, and decision-making processes.
- Serve as a key leader in technology implementations and process transformations impacting planning and operations.
What You Bring to the Table
- 5–7+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing, supply chain, production planning, or distribution.
- Demonstrated experience owning or leading production planning, scheduling, or S&OP/SIOP processes.
- Proven ability to translate demand forecasts into executable operational plans in complex or seasonal environments.
- Strong experience with capacity planning, labor modeling, and inventory management.
- Track record of improving forecast accuracy, schedule adherence, and operational performance metrics.
- Experience leading teams and influencing cross-functional partners.
- Strong financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost management.
- Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems and planning tools.
- Excellent communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills.
- Ability to perform effectively in high-pressure, fast-paced, and seasonal peak environments.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus.
Physical Requirements
- Ability to stand, walk, and move throughout a manufacturing environment for extended periods (10+ hours).
- Ability to lift/move up to 50 lbs regularly.
- Frequent bending, reaching, and handling of materials.
- Work in moderate to high noise environments.
Additional Expectations
- Flexibility to work extended hours, weekends, and peak-season schedules as required.
- Travel up to 10% to other facilities and offsite meetings.
Why This Role Matters
This role is critical to the success of the Warwick operation. By owning the planning function and ensuring disciplined execution, the Assistant Plant Manager will directly impact customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and the site’s ability to successfully deliver during peak seasonal demand.
Herff Jones, Inc. and its affiliates are equal opportunity employers and maintain affirmative action plans to recruit, retain, develop, and promote qualified individuals without unlawful consideration of race, gender, gender identity, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Herff Jones strives to maintain a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, where associates are treated with respect and dignity.
Any employment agency, person or entity that submits a résumé into this career site or to a hiring manager does so with the understanding that the applicant's résumé will become the property of Herff Jones. Herff Jones will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.
