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About the Company
Our client designs and manufactures custom electronics for OEM and aftermarket applications in several large industrial sectors. The firm is a standalone division of a larger international corporation which manufactures complementary products for adjacent markets. The Canadian division is profitable and poised for significant growth.
Scope of Position
Reporting to the CEO, the General Manager will be responsible for the overall P&L, balance sheet and cash flow for the organization. The successful incumbent will direct and coordinate all activities associated with the successful implementation of the annual business plan and the long term strategic plan. Working as a member of the senior corporate executive team this will encompass overall responsibility for of all sales, marketing, strategy, manufacturing, finance, HR and administrative activities. The mandate is to significantly grow the business.
Functional Tasks
- Work with the CEO in refining the roadmap for the business. This will include an assessment of the company’s existing market opportunities, competitive positioning and growth opportunities going forward.
- Participate in formulating and administering company policies, directing and coordinating all divisional department activities to develop and implement long range goals and objectives to meet business and profitability growth objectives.
- Develop annual business plan defining financial and developmental objectives for the business unit for the coming year.
- Develop and set key performance indicators (KPIs) and manage to them.
- Drive team to achieve both immediate tactical goals and long term strategic goals and objectives.
- Ensure that all operational activities are performed in compliance with all safety and environmental regulations. Measure and report metrics.
- Reviews analyses of activities, costs, operations and forecast data to determine department or division progress toward stated goals and objectives.
- Confers with corporate to review achievements and discuss required changes or objectives resulting from current status and conditions.
- Travel to confer with customers, suppliers, industry associations and corporate personnel in the support of short and long-term objectives.
- Develops, reviews, updates and implements business strategic planning including sales, financial performance and new product development.
- Oversee manufacturing and materials departments to review production and operating reports and resolve operational, manufacturing, and facility problems to ensure minimum costs and prevent operational delays and to meet future growth.
- Oversee key projects, processes, and performance reports, data and analysis.
- Review and support engineering and sales to oversee design concepts with fundamental or new technology used for new or existing products or improvement to provide cost reduction, safety, customer requirements and market growth.
- Reviews operations and plans to meet requirements for sales planning and to ascertain manufacturing or outsourcing requirements to develop new markets.
- Reviews and approves preparation of accounting analysis: for budgetary planning and implementation, production efficiency, financial reporting, budgetary planning and submittal for capital expenditures.
- Manage all sales, marketing and customer service for existing and new business. Manage team.
- Leading by example, drive and support the business development organization related to value-added services in attaining revenue and margin goals by market and geography.
- Develop the marketing strategy and plan as well as product and services mix offerings in each market.
- Provide leadership to the lead generation and marketing organizations to ensure that their efforts are effective and aligned to the sales organization’s needs.
- Participate as an active member of the management team, fostering an environment of high performance and co-operation.
- Play a lead role in developing high level relationships with key accounts and partners including developing the account development plans themselves.
- Work directly with lead customers in emerging markets providing feedback to CEO on the viability of said markets and make recommendations on investments required to effectively pursue.
- Provide feedback to the CEO on the status of all pipeline, sales and business development activities. Improve overall demand planning processes.
- Provide feedback to engineering on market requirements and trends to ensure that technology roadmap aligns with market requirements.
- Spearhead and nurture existing and new senior level relationships with channel partners. Recommend means by which to enhance the channel’s overall effectiveness.
Key Performance Deliverables
In light of the identified responsibilities, the following are specific deliverables that the position is designed to achieve.
- Specific measures of performance will be discussed with and agreed upon with the successful candidate.
Competency Profile
The following competencies listed below define the role of General Manager – Custom Electronics at our client:
Results Orientation
Focuses strongly on achieving agreed upon outcomes and ensures that key objectives are met. Conveys a sense of urgency and drives issues to closure. Aims to improve upon past performance. Establishes aggressive personal targets and strives to achieve them. Stays ahead of the noise and sets the tone and agenda daily to drive the management team and employees towards the company’s goals.
Planning & Objective Setting
Systematic in approach to work. Produces action plans in which objectives are defined and steps for achieving them are clearly specified. Plans by breaking down large task into subtasks. Develops plans that anticipate obstacles. Is realistic about time-scales and builds in appropriate checkpoints, milestones and controls in order to ensure that desired results are realized.
People Management
Establishes and communicates clear priorities and sense of direction. Clarifies roles and responsibilities. Adapts management style to achieve optimum results.
Customer/Client Orientation
Strives to provide customers/clients with personalized and efficient service. Anticipates customers’/clients’ needs. Quickly follows up on customer/client contacts and complaints. Monitors and acts on measures of customer/client satisfaction.
Strategic Approach
Develops a strategic plan to realize the vision. Revises strategy in light of changing circumstances. Takes a long-term view of organizational success. Works to clarify long term organizational goals. Able to stand back from immediate problems in order to focus on more far reaching ideas.
Information Seeking
Consults widely for business or technical advice, probes for facts and obtains information from a wide variety of sources. Differentiates the critical from the irrelevant or trivial.
Industry & Market Awareness
Seeks to anticipate and respond to industry and market changes/challenges by understanding key characteristics, issues and the factors driving them. Aware of competitor’s products, services and position.
Commercial Acumen
Applies appropriate commercial and financial principles; Understands situations in terms of costs, profits, added-value and return on investment; Imagines future possibilities. Thinks broadly and investigates a wide-range of alternatives in developing a vision for the future. Selects the most promising vision from a range of alternatives and communicates this vision to others.
Preferred Experience / Education
The following indicates specific industry, academic and functional experience/qualifications that are important to the successful achievement of the identified responsibilities and performance deliverables.
- Sales and marketing experience is an asset
- Strong leader with experience in culture change
- Minimum of 15 years of experience in manufacturing processes; proven track record in lean manufacturing is a must
- Ability to develop and implement both short and long-range strategies in coordination with parent company strategies; the ability to organize and manage multiple priorities
- Experience in complex ERP/manufacturing/business systems and their development
- Experience with employee training and development
- Experience driving a culture of zero defects by practicing Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma and other manufacturing improvement techniques
- Measurement of performance to company goals and standards and establishment of targets for improvements in safety, quality, cost, delivery and employee relations.
- Technical skills in engineering, inventory management and operations
- Experience gained within a tech/electronics manufacturing environment advantageous
- Well versed in ISO; exposure to TS 16949 helpful
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; demonstrate ability to lead people and get results
- Proven experience working with and developing high performance teams
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business or finance, or combination of work history and education; MBA or Master’s degree preferred
Remuneration & Benefits
- Competitive base pay, variable and long-term incentive plan