Director of Operational Strategy

Overview

Do you want to join a team that's changing the world? Do you have a strong background as a Director of Operational Strategy? Then we're looking for you! Check out the job description and apply now! Put your skills to meaningful use, gain unique experience, and work with world-class team members with diverse backgrounds and expertise who share the same vision. Join the PECNA team today!

Responsibilities

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Meet the Recruiter: Denise Goetz
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Panasonic Video Our Mission: Create Technologies That Move Us

Summary:

Join us at Panasonic Energy as we expand to De Soto, Kansas, where we're building the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory. This is an exciting opportunity to grow your career while contributing to the future of electric vehicles. As part of our team, you'll help push the limits of battery technology, enhancing performance and efficiency in sustainable transportation.

Our state-of-the-art facility, just outside the Kansas City Metro, will be a hub for innovation in green energy solutions. If you're passionate about sustainability and eager to contribute to the electric vehicle revolution, we invite you to be part of our dynamic team. Join us and make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation.

Position Summary:

Director of Operational Strategy will lead cross-functional alignment and drive the execution of strategic initiatives at our 4,000-person greenfield lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility. This individual will serve as a key strategic partner to executive leadership, ensuring seamless coordination across Factory Operations, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Facilities, and Engineering to optimize operational performance, enhance compliance, and enable scalable growth. This role presents a rare opportunity to shape the strategic direction of a cutting-edge manufacturing facility, ensuring its sustained success and operational excellence.

Essential Duties:

• Strategic Execution: Translate corporate strategy into actionable initiatives and oversee their implementation across operations, engineering, EHS, and facilities to drive long-term business objectives.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Facilitate alignment between key departments, ensuring that all functions are working cohesively to achieve manufacturing and operational excellence.
• Executive Engagement: Partner with General Managers, Vice Presidents, and senior leadership to influence decision-making, prioritize key initiatives, and drive continuous improvement efforts.
• Operational Optimization: Identify opportunities to enhance production efficiency, resource utilization, and infrastructure development, ensuring a seamless scale-up of operations.
• CAPEX Coordination & Justification: Oversee and justify CAPEX investments across departments, ensuring adherence to CAPEX budgets, coordinated forecasting, and strategic alignment.
• Budgeting & Financial Control: Lead the Operations budgeting process, ensuring budget control and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Compliance & Risk Management: Work closely with EHS teams to enforce and advance safety standards, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation strategies across the facility.
• Facilities & Engineering Synergy: Oversee collaboration between Facilities and Engineering to ensure that infrastructure and technical projects align with evolving operational needs.
• HOSHIN Coordination: Manage and coordinate the HOSHIN planning process across departments, ensuring strategic priorities are executed effectively.
• Operational Performance Scorecard: Develop and manage the Operational Performance Scorecard, tracking key metrics to measure and enhance efficiency.
• Centralized Hiring Plan: Manage and coordinate a centralized hiring plan, tracking progress and ensuring alignment with workforce planning needs.
• Staff Meetings & Execution: Lead staff meetings, ensuring alignment and implementation of key initiatives across departments.
• Reporting & Analysis: Coordinate and compile department-wide weekly and monthly operations reports, ensuring transparency and informed decision-making.
• Problem-Solving & Change Management: Drive data-driven decision-making and proactive problem-solving across cross-functional teams, implementing best practices to enhance agility and resilience.
• Performance Monitoring: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of strategic initiatives, report findings to executive leadership, and continuously refine implementation strategies.
• Continuous Improvement: Foster a culture of innovation and operational excellence by deploying Lean, Six Sigma, and other best practices to improve processes, reduce costs, and enhance overall efficiency.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Requirements:

• To ensure the health and safety in the workplace and for the protection of our employees', wearing PPE is a possibility and includes equipment such as a full Tyvek suit, safety shoes, gloves, safety glasses, face mask, and a full hazmat suit that includes a respirator.

The foregoing description is not intended and should not be construed to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills and efforts or work conditions associated with the job. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the general nature and level of the job.

Qualifications

Requirements: - Required and/or Preferred

Education

• Required: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science or other relevant degree field.
• Preferred: Master's degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science or other relevant degree field.

Essential Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10 years of leadership experience in a manufacturing, industrial, or high-tech environment, with a proven track record of driving strategic execution in a complex operational setting.
• Extensive experience leading cross-functional teams and working directly with executive leadership to implement large-scale strategic initiatives.
• Deep understanding of factory operations, EHS compliance, engineering processes, and facilities management.
• Strong ability to navigate a fast-paced, high-growth environment and manage competing priorities effectively.
• Exceptional problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in change management, operational scaling, and business transformation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in battery manufacturing, automotive, or other advanced industrial sectors.
• Certification or deep expertise in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Strong background in project management and process optimization.

Physical Demands:

Physical Activities: Percentage of time (equaling 100%) during the normal workday the employee is required to:

• Sit: 40%
• Walk: 30%
• Stand: 20%
• Lift: 10%

Required Lifting and Carrying: Not required (0%), Occasional (1-33%), Frequent (34-66%, Continuous (67-100%)

For this position the required frequency is:

• Up to 10 lbs.: Occasional
• Up to 20 lbs.: Occasional
• Up to 35 lbs.: Occasional
• Team-lift only (over 35 lbs.): Not Required

Benefits & Perks - What's In It For You:

Panasonic Energy prioritizes total well-being and offers comprehensive benefits options to support physical, emotional, financial, social, and environmental health:

• Highly inclusive and class-leading healthcare options to include family planning, mental health, and pet insurance
• Employee assistance programs that support total well-being with complimentary session offered each and every month
• Company-matched and fully vested 401K retirement program that starts immediately from date of enrollment
• Annual bonus program, High5 employee recognition and awards platform, quarterly and annual employee recognition
• Simplified access to self-guided and representative-supported short and long-term financial wellness and retirement planning
• Educational Assistance & Reimbursement Program
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and associated employee resource groups that promote representation and belonging
• Leadership, career, and mentorship development programs opportunities at all levels across the organization
• Collaborative and motivating culture routed in continuous personal and professional growth and much more.

Where You'll Be:

For our onsite roles, Panasonic Energy is committed to fostering an ideal working environment that goes beyond the conventional. We understand the significance of moments that matter in your onsite experience, and we prioritize creating a workspace that not only promotes productivity but also ensures a fulfilling and positive work atmosphere. Join us at Panasonic Energy, where your onsite presence is valued, and we strive to make each moment count in your professional journey.

Who We Are:

Meet Panasonic Energy! At Panasonic Energy, you'll do work that matters as we are dedicated to transforming the world through the acceleration of sustainable energy. By producing safe, high-quality lithium-ion batteries, you become part of a team that plays a crucial role in creating technologies that move us.

This is an exciting time to join us as we expand our operations to De Soto, Kansas and build the world's largest lithium-ion battery factory. We will provide you with the opportunity to experience career growth in more ways than one.

As an innovative thinker, you'll thrive here, as we continually push the boundaries of lithium-ion battery technology and production capabilities to enhance efficiency and performance in EVs.

Being part of Panasonic Energy means positively contributing to society, aligning with our commitment to building a better world through sustainable energy solutions.

We care about what you care about, fostering an environment where your contributions make a meaningful impact on the future of energy and transportation. Join us and be part of a team that values your work, encourages innovation, and actively contributes to a positive societal impact.

In addition to an environment that is as innovative as our products, we offer competitive salaries and benefits.

We Take Opportunity Seriously:

At Panasonic Energy, we are committed to a workplace that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging. Fairness and Honesty have been part of our core values for more than 100 years and we are proud of our diverse culture as an equal opportunity employer.

We understand that your career search may look different than others and embrace the professional, personal, educational, and volunteer opportunities through which people gain experience. If you are actively looking or starting to explore new opportunities, submit your application!

Supplemental Information:

Pre-employment drug testing is required.

Panasonic Energy of North America is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to: race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, genetic information, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All qualified individuals are required to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

Due to the high volume of responses, we will only be able to respond to candidates of interest. All candidates must have valid authorization to work in the U.S. without restriction.

Thank you for your interest in Panasonic Energy of North America.

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