Prime Opportunity for an Experienced GM or for a Production Leader Ready to Step Up to a GM Role & Manage a Smaller Eyewear Production Facility

If you combine GM or production management experience, ideally in a manufacturing environment, with strong leadership and customer-facing skills, the role of General Manager at our Visalia eyewear assembly facility offers you some compelling opportunities. You will:

• Make an impact by bringing fresh ideas for efficiencies and improvements to make the lab even better, and by hiring for the key production leadership role.
• Enjoy strong training to get you started, including working directly with the current GM before his departure in November.
• Enjoy a wide scope and influence. We promote entrepreneurship and encourage team members to leverage the full range of their talents and stretch beyond their job descriptions. Prove yourself in this role and in time you could advance to a larger or national facility, or step up to a regional leadership role.
• Earn competitive compensation, a bonus opportunity and comprehensive benefits.
• Join a growing global industry leader. Our 2018 merger with Luxottica made us the world's largest player in the eyewear industry.
• Join an organization driven by a threefold mission: Improving lives by improving sight, Innovating for better vision, and Reaching the 2.7 billion underserved. You can feel good knowing your efforts help produce essential products.

Improving Lives By Improving Sight. Essilor of America, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of eyeglass lenses in the United States, employs more than 10,000 people and operates the largest and most comprehensive optical laboratory network in the U.S. Essilor of America, Inc. is a subsidiary of Paris-based Essilor International. Essilor manufactures optical lenses under the Varilux®, Crizal®, Transitions®, and other brands, and our products are worn by one billion people daily. Essilor has been on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Innovative Companies every year since 2010, and we ranked #62 out of 700 corporations awarded the title "Diversity Leader 2020" by the Financial Times.

To meet the basic qualification for this opportunity, you must have legal authorization to work permanently in the United States for any employer without requiring a visa transfer or visa sponsorship. In addition, to be a good fit for the General Manager role, you will have:

• 2-5+ years of general management or production management experience  Quick question for you - click here
• A bachelor's degree. We will also consider candidates without a degree who have outstanding management experience (5-7+ years)
• 1+ years manufacturing experience is highly preferred
• Optical industry experience is preferred but not necessary
• Experience with the successful implementation of manufacturing methods and processes  Quick question for you - click here
• Experience working directly with customers and the ability to build strong relationships and open communication
• Strong computer skills including experience with Microsoft Office programs
• Some experience working with financial data, such as experience working with a P&L, managing a budget, and operating cost reduction  
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build working relationships among internal and external customers
• Experience working in a KPI-driven environment

You will generally work Monday to Friday during normal business hours but will need to be flexible to work longer hours or occasional weekends as needed, depending on volume.

Reporting to the Regional Operations Director, you will oversee all production operations for the Visalia, CA facility, including production process management, quality and continuous improvement, equipment and maintenance, customer focus/service, safety, and administration. The facility has 17 employees, including direct reports and those with a dotted line to you.

You will be responsible for ensuring that the facility meets corporate productivity and profitability goals; delivers excellent products and great customer service to customers -- optometrists and opticians and their end-users -- and that we have well-trained and engaged team members. 

This is a fast-paced production environment, with the facility producing hundreds of pairs of glasses each day. Much of your time will be spent on driving operations, from managing financials and budgets to working directly with customers and interacting with Sales, and engaging in employee development, completing productivity reports, and more. You will also add one salaried production management position to the team to serve as your right hand.

Though this is not a complete listing, some of your specific tasks will be to:

• Provide leadership and coordinate with Shared Services to maximize employee development, training and performance.
• Lead by example to build strong partnerships with customers, understand their needs, and deliver a top-quality product.
• Prioritize and invests in the development of the organization and its people.
• Identify and implement optimal structure and core processes for lab manufacturing function.
• Implement an optimal layout for the lab, and ensure the team leverages their knowledge of various equipment and employee capabilities to optimize workflow.
• Provide the team with challenging and clear performance objectives directly tied to lab performance expectations for quality, productivity and growth; create an environment that inspires the team to take personal ownership for achieving stretch goals and performance improvement.
• Implement cost-effective systems of control, balancing demands and competitive pressures when investing in the lab and controlling expenses.
• Deliver against operational budgets, forecasts and profit targets, and manage against key objectives.

Note: this description is intended to give you a general overview of the position and is not an exhaustive listing of duties and responsibilities.

Autonomy and support
You'll have the autonomy to take ownership of your role and excel. At the same time, you will have strong support and mentorship when you need it. For example, you’ll have the support of the other managers and supervisors within the group, who are always willing to share ideas and best practices, or to troubleshoot issues. Your supervisor is invested in helping you succeed, and the team will be there to answer questions and help set you up for success.

Entrepreneurial environment
Our culture is entrepreneurial and fresh, backed by 170 years of success. You will have the freedom to take ownership of your role, making it into whatever will best help the organization. In fact, we are always open to dialogue, expecting that anyone at any level will speak up with questions and ideas that will help shape our company into the best it can be.

Resilient industry
We make essential products -- medical devices (glasses) that people need and use every day. While we're helping people, we also enjoy a good deal of stability even as other industries are forced to downsize.

Truly living our values
At Essilor, we believe everyone deserves to see life and all its detail with the best vision possible. That's why, in addition to designing, manufacturing and distributing quality vision care solutions worldwide, we invest in raising awareness of the importance of good vision, support eyecare professionals, invent new technologies and products, and support philanthropic initiatives. We also are committed to robust standards for environmental sustainability. These are just a couple of reasons we were one of the 52 companies named to Fortune magazine's 2019 Change the World list.

Excellent compensation
In addition to a competitive salary and bonus opportunity, we offer an exceptional mix of first-rate benefits, including medical, dental and vision plans; a 401(k) plan with company match; tuition reimbursement; comprehensive training through Essilor University; lens and frame benefits for you and your family; an employee stock purchase plan with company match; and more.

Video: As part of the #DifferenceMakers campaign, Essilor chose four eyecare professionals and three Essilor employees to participate in a mission trip to Southeast Asia in March 2019.

This is a fast-paced, quick turnaround environment where we deliver a high volume of made-to-order products. To excel in this role, you will need to have your finger on the pulse of the operation to ensure work is proceeding quickly, safely, and error-free. It may also require that you step in to do hands-on work at a variety of stations, such as if we are shorthanded.

You will also need excellent communication skills, as you’ll be the connection between the sales executives, the customers, and the employees to ensure everyone is on the same page. As you will be the main driver of lab operations, you’ll need to be flexible enough to start early, stay later, or work occasional weekend days as needed to support the business and the team. Strong interpersonal, employee development and communication skills will be essential.  Quick question for you - click here