VP of Operations Recruiters
Manufacturing Headhunters recruits manufacturing professionals nationwide.
This is what we do all day: recruit manufacturing professionals.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
Operations VPs for manufacturers that need an executive who has scaled. No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
The hiring decision
What makes this hire work on your plant floor?
Operations VPs for manufacturers that need an executive who has scaled.
VP of operations searches are rarely about finding a strong operator alone. The company usually wants someone who has built systems, hired plant leaders and can speak credibly to a board.
Fit means scale and context. We look at the size of the business they have run, whether they have taken a company through growth, a turnaround, or integration, and whether they were in the room for capital and strategy decisions.
Before an introduction
What do we check before you interview?
Our recruiter conversations establish what the candidate says they personally handled, how they made decisions and why they would consider this opening. The brief identifies candidate-reported information, available supporting evidence and unresolved questions. Your team still assesses technical performance, site-specific safety requirements and the authority the person will need.
Qualification in practice
We verify the P&L or cost base they were accountable for, their leadership track record at plant level, and their working relationship with CEOs and sponsors. We look for honest descriptions of what failed.
Authority and reporting scope
Ask what the VP owns beyond plants: supply chain, quality, EHS, engineering, procurement. Ask who the VP's peers are, and whether the VP has a seat in annual planning and capital allocation. A sponsor-backed company often wants a VP to execute a value creation plan; the candidate needs to know the plan, the timeline and whether the board is aligned with the CEO.
Evidence to ask for
Ask for before-and-after numbers for the whole operation: delivery, inventory turns, gross margin, injury rate, headcount. Ask what they inherited, which plant leaders they replaced, and how long the change took. Ask about a decision they would reverse. Candidates who can name a mistake have usually learned from it.
Transferability and boundaries
A VP who scaled a high-volume consumer business will need time in a low-volume engineered-to-order business, where lead time and engineering interface matter more than line speed. Be honest about the learning curve and the supporting team required.
Hiring mistakes
Hiring a VP to fix a problem that is actually a plant manager problem is costly. So is hiring for presentation skill over operating credibility.
Sponsor and board expectations
In a sponsor-backed company, the VP of operations is usually part of a value creation plan with specific targets and timing. Candidates should see the plan, or at least its outline, before accepting. We ask candidates how they have worked with operating partners and what they did when the plan and the plant disagreed.
The first year
Strong VPs spend the first quarter visiting every plant, the second fixing the one or two that matter most, and the rest building the leadership bench. Ask candidates what they would look at first and what they would not touch. Candidates who start with reorganization charts rather than plant visits have often not run a floor recently.
Compensation and structure
VP packages usually combine base, annual bonus and long-term equity or phantom units. Candidates ask about definitions of EBITDA, vesting on a sale and treatment of a leaver. We raise these in screening and leave drafting of terms to you and your counsel, so that nothing surprises either side at offer.
Peer relationships
Ask how the candidate worked with the CFO and the head of sales, and how they resolved a conflict over inventory, service levels or capital. A VP who cannot partner with finance and sales will find plants adopting their own agendas.
S&OP ownership
Ask who chairs the monthly S&OP cycle, which demand and supply inputs arrive late, and how conflicts between sales and plants get settled. A vice president who truly owns the process can describe a specific meeting where the plan changed and what was traded away to make it work. Ask which forecast they distrusted most and how they handled the gap on the floor that week.
Capex and ERP history
Probe the capital approvals they sponsored and the ERP rollout they lived through. Which modules went live, what broke on cutover, how inventory accuracy recovered, and who absorbed the extra planning workload. Candidates who only attended steering meetings usually cannot describe the rough weeks. Request the cutover plan they would reuse and the one thing they would never repeat, in plain operational terms.
Sites and headcount in context
Site count alone says little. Clarify how many sites were run through plant managers versus directly, how many were union, and how much travel the role demanded. Then compare that footprint with the client's plants so the candidate is not stretched across a very different process mix. Ask whether the plant managers beneath them would describe the role as supportive, directive or distant.
Need a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Direct search
Where are qualified people working now?
VPs of operations sit in PE-backed platforms, family businesses expanding beyond owner-led operations and mid-cap manufacturers. Many have been poached before and will push hard on mandate, reporting line and compensation structure.
Which hiring mistakes should you avoid?
- Why fit is difficult. The pool is small, relationships matter, and candidates are cautious about moving without clarity on mandate and authority.
- Transferability and boundaries. Executive operating skill transfers more easily than plant-level process knowledge, but not without limits.
- Hiring mistakes. Plant leaders can tell within a month whether the VP has run a floor, and they will quietly stop escalating real issues to someone who has not.
Executive-search discipline, on every assignment
What do you get from the Six-Step Search?
Plant leaders, engineers and skilled technicians receive the same care in defining the work, researching relevant backgrounds and understanding the individual. Pulling a list and sending messages is not the hard part. The value is doing the research and qualification well enough to support a sound hiring decision.
Calibrate the work and the decision
We start with the operating problem, what the hire must improve and the decisions they will own. We agree what experience matters, who supports the role and what you can realistically offer. A maintenance leader inheriting reactive breakdowns needs a different brief from one building a reliability program.
Research relevant plants and people
We research manufacturing environments where people have handled comparable work. Process, equipment and decision authority matter more than a matching title. We look for relevant professionals, including people who are not applying, rather than treating an exported list as a completed search.
Make respectful, targeted contact
We explain why the work may be relevant and invite a conversation without pressure. We agree what information may be shared on a confidential search. Contact is the start of qualification, not evidence that someone wants the job or fits it.
Discuss the work they personally performed
Our conversations separate an individual's decisions and responsibilities from the team's results. We explore judgment under pressure, reasons for considering a move and practical expectations. For technicians, that includes equipment background, shift, commute and the support available. Candidate accounts are identified as such; a conversation is not a technical certification.
Write down fit, gaps and open questions
You receive a written candidate brief connecting the person's background to your operating problem. It explains motivation and practical fit, the gaps we have identified and what remains to assess. We distinguish candidate-reported information from supporting evidence rather than presenting every statement as independently verified.
Stay involved through interviews and offers
We use your interview feedback to clarify gaps and keep both sides informed about the work and expectations. We help address offer questions, counteroffers and practical concerns without promising an acceptance. Your team makes the hiring decision and assesses technical capability and site-specific requirements. A shortlist is an output of this work, not the whole service.
Need a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Which manufacturing settings need this role?
- Food Manufacturing
- Beverage
- Meat, Poultry & Protein
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
- Packaging
- Plastics & Rubber
- Metals & Fabrication
- Automotive (OEM, Tier 1, Tier 2)
- EV & Battery Manufacturing
- Aerospace & Defense
- Medical Devices
- Pharmaceutical & Biotech Manufacturing
- Chemicals & Specialty Materials
- Electronics & Electrical Manufacturing
- Semiconductors
- Building Products & Construction Materials
- Industrial Machinery & Equipment
- Energy & Power Equipment
- Paper, Pulp & Forest Products
- Textiles & Nonwovens
Questions about VP of Operations searches
Need a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Start your VP of Operations search
Need a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
Pay snapshot
$105,770 annual national median for SOC 11-1021 General and Operations Managers.
BLS measures this broader occupation across industries. It does not publish a separate wage for this manufacturing title.
May 2025 OEWS, released 2026-05-15. BLS release · Official occupation data
Open the full salary guideNeed a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What else affects this VP of Operations hire?
How do you find executives who are not looking?
By direct outreach and referrals from our network, not job boards. VPs of operations sit in PE-backed platforms, family businesses expanding beyond owner-led operations and mid-cap manufacturers.
What does a VP of operations usually own?
Plant operations, supply chain, and often quality, EHS and sometimes engineering. In a sponsor-backed company, the VP of operations is usually part of a value creation plan with specific targets and timing.
How long does an executive search take?
It varies with the market and your timeline. We talk through it at intake.
Can you search confidentially?
We agree what details may be shared before approaching anyone. VP of operations searches are rarely about finding a strong operator alone.
How is the search fee agreed?
The fee is a percentage of first-year base salary, agreed in writing before we start. There is no upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need a VP of Operations? Tell us the plant and the seat.
What should we discuss first?
Do you handle VP of operations searches on contingency?
Yes: Our model is contingency with no upfront fee. VP of operations searches are rarely about finding a strong operator alone.
Questions before starting a search
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.