Position: Senior (Sr) Manager, Production Control (Operations) Vocera Communications

Scope of Position
The people at Vocera, about 300 people strong in multiple countries, are pushing the frontiers of critical healthcare communications. Please take this opportunity to learn about Vocera, where we believe that our employees are our most important asset, and we are dedicated to remaining a great place to work.
The Senior Manager, Production Control will be a key part of the Operations Management Organization responsible for leading a team while managing Vocera's outsourced manufacturing effort.
The successful candidate will have a track record of applying deep technical and leadership capabilities to build highly effective and sustainable production operations. As the Senior Manager, you will lead a team and work closely with Contract Manufacturers and internal business units including engineering, new product introduction (NPI), logistics, quality and other departments to ensure the coordination of materials, production, test, engineering change orders and cost reduction efforts are established and maintained. This role is critical in driving the evolution of tools, systems, and processes that enable greater operational efficiency, accuracy, and utilization of assets.
In addition, the ideal candidate will have a solid technical background and understanding of outsourced manufacturing, statistical data analysis, complex electronic assemblies, logistics, and, ideally, wireless mobile electronics. Key responsibilities include the following areas:
Vendor Management:

• Act as primary contact for all operations and business collaborations ensuring that the overall relationship between Vocera and the Contract Manufacturers (CMs) is healthy
• Work with existing CMs and other vendors to ensure supply levels and high quality standards are met
• Manage domestic and International CMs and ODMs in delivering quality products while maintaining target timeline and budget
• Collaborate with Legal, Logistics, and New Product Introduction to negotiate a Master Service Agreement (MSA) and Statement of Work with the CMs. Manage supply agreement milestones and deliverables
• Report on CM performance and operations
• Proactively identify risks and create strategies to avoid or minimize their impact
• Manage all badge and accessories day-to-day manufacturing operations, including scheduling, production planning, and management of Contract Manufacturers

Systems & Processes:

• Incorporate ERP system capabilities to effectively handle capacity and production planning activities and appropriate reporting
• Develop and utilize robust processes for the identification, evaluation, and management of third party contract manufacturers
• Orchestrate implementation details of change orders
• Direct the implementation and execution of manufacturing policies and practices throughout the organization consistent with internal Quality Policy, ISO and other quality systems
• Lead Operations initiatives for lean process improvement
• Ensures vendor's compliance with state and federal regulations is met
• Collaborate on forecasting, production planning and procurement business process activities and perform required business process operations
• Collaborate and author department policies and procedures
• Drive continuous improvement of the business relationship including improvement of contracts

Planning & Budgeting:

• Responsible for the planning and execution of product cost reduction efforts
• Review, in conjunction with planning, the material, equipment and manpower resources requirements necessary to execute the master production schedule
• Make recommendations on capital expenditures and labor
• Manage schedule, capacity, supply chain flexibility, quality issues and new product updates. Communicate status and risks to management
• Oversee operations budget to ensure compliance with organizational expenditure requirements
• Apply analytical and statistical methods to improve efficiency and cost reduction
• Collaborate on forecasting, production planning and procurement business process activities and perform required business process operations

People Management & Communication:

• Recruit, retain and lead a small growing team within Operations to coordinate our supply, logistics, testing and quality control with CMs and internal organizations
• Develop and motivate personnel as required
• Assess skill levels and provide coaching, guidance and training as needed
• Set individual and team goals, performance goals, and provide input to departmental objectives
• Provide updates to direct reports on company or business related information
• Notify Management of potential business issues that may affect project timelines
• Effectively communicate with cross functional departments on goals and project objectives as needed

Required Education, Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in operations management, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering, Master's or MBA is a plus
• 7+ years management experience in a related role managing complex wireless communication equipment manufacturing. Prior management experience, recruiting, managing and developing an Operations team is a must
• Demonstrated team leadership skills and ability to work effectively with cross-functional & multi location teams. Experience managing teams and suppliers in Mexico and Asia a plus
• International experience in export control law and foreign transactions
• Very proficient with Excel, MS projects and PLM tools such as Arena
• Experience with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, ERP systems, and document control concepts a must
• Ability to apply extensive theoretical, technical and cross-functional expertise to address complex operations problems is a must
• Demonstrated contract negotiation / contract administration skills for contracts exceeding $10M
• Must have a minimum of 5 years successful experience managing offshore EMS CMs and ODM partners
• Six sigma black belt
• Effective communicator at all levels; excellent written, oral and interpersonal communications and presentation skills
• Hands on experiences with electronic component procurement
• Travel Expectations: 20 â€" 25%

Belief in Diversity
Vocera Communications is an Affirmative Action employer and is committed to workforce diversity. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.

Location:	San Jose, CA United States