Manufacturing Manager & Continuous Improvement Leader

As part of a cultural and operational development program, the company intends to hire a senior Continuous Improvement professional capable of driving operational performance improvements while maintaining consistency and respect for the existing organizational structure. The role will gradually expand responsibilities and become a stable operational point of reference for the organization. The role combines Continuous Improvement responsibility with a strong operational focus, ensuring both daily performance monitoring and long-term improvement.

The resource, reporting directly to the COO of the Corporate Group, will have the following responsibilities.

• Lead a cross-departmental continuous improvement program in forging, heat treatment, tooling, machining, maintenance, quality, and internal logistics, with a strong focus on safety, operational stability, and performance improvement.
• Promote a strong safety culture on the shop floor, collaborating closely with the EHS function to ensure safe work practices, risk awareness, and a continuous reduction in accidents.
• Promote initiatives to improve OTD by analyzing production flow, schedule stability, bottlenecks, and coordination between forging, heat treatment, machining, and logistics.
• Lead initiatives to reduce production times by improving process flow between forging, heat treatment, machining, and internal logistics.
• Develop visibility of the value stream throughout the plant, identifying constraints and improvement opportunities along the entire production chain.
• Support the SIOP process, ensuring alignment between sales demand, production capacity, and operational constraints.
• Contribute to inventory optimization by collaborating with planning, purchasing, and production to reduce excess inventory, improve material flow, and maintain service levels.
• Collaborate with department managers and technicians to map processes, continuously identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and waste, and propose concrete corrective actions.
• Implement Lean, TPM, SMED, 5S, OEE, visual management, and problem-solving methodologies, actively involving shop floor personnel.
• Define and monitor process and department KPIs (in addition to those already in place), continuing to foster a data-driven culture of shared responsibility.
• Support maintenance planning and industrial digitalization projects and work synergistically with management control to analyze costs and variances.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement at all levels of the organization, training supervisors and department managers in structured problem-solving and performance management.
• Ensure that improvement actions are fully integrated into daily operations, supporting operational stability, productivity, inventory efficiency, lead time reduction, and delivery performance.

The position is expected to evolve from a Continuous Improvement focus towards broader operational responsibilities, combining improvement capabilities with direct operational leadership.

• Degree in Engineering (mechanical, management, or equivalent).
• Solid experience in structured industrial contexts within the metalworking sector (preferably forging, stamping, heavy mechanics, steel industry).
• Solid experience in Manufacturing Management (Production) and Continuous improvement and operational optimization projects, with a strong presence on the shop floor.
• Proven exposure to manufacturing or plant operations management, with the ability to translate improvement initiatives into operational results.
• Experience improving OTD, production planning stability, and inventory performance in complex manufacturing environments.
• Pragmatic attitude, listening skills, operational authority, and long-term vision.
• Ability to integrate into a consolidated structure while bringing innovation with respect for established operating methods.
• Familiarity with production, maintenance, quality, and safety systems.
• Good knowledge of English.

Location: province of Turin (Canavese area)