We’re partnering with a leading industrial equipment manufacturer to find a Director of Operations that will drive scalability, operational alignment, and leadership development across three manufacturing sites. This individual will guide a healthy, growing business through its next phase of expanding capacity, introducing new capabilities, and uniting three strong but independent sites under a shared vision
Key Responsibilities
Lead Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, and Safety functions across sites
Build structure, processes, and metrics that enable scalable growth
Mentor and develop plant managers and functional leaders
Support ERP implementation and promote data-driven decision making
Lead expansion into new product categories via organic growth or acquisition
Drive cost and efficiency initiatives
Foster collaboration and shared culture
Qualifications
10+ years of operations leadership in industrial/fabrication environments
Multi-site or large plant management experience is required
Proven record of scaling operations and leading transformation
Preferred Attributes
Hands-on, approachable leader who teaches and mentors
Confident with executives and credible with the plant floor
Comfortable driving change while maintaining collaborative culture
Excited to build systems and structure, not just maintain them
Our client is an employee-owned industrial equipment manufacturer on an ambitious growth trajectory, aiming to triple over the next decade. This is your opportunity to be the marketing leader who helps make that happen.
The Company
For over 35 years, this company has been delivering innovative equipment to its customer base. They operate factory-direct in an industry dominated by dealer networks, which means closer customer relationships and a unique go-to-market model. With a 90% employee retention rate, 70 NPS score, and 50% repeat customer business, they’ve built something incredibly special.
The Opportunity
This is a leadership role reporting directly to the CEO as part of the executive team. Your first major initiative is to partner with a global marketing agency to execute a complete brand refresh and website overhaul. From there, you’ll own the full marketing strategy – balancing brand building, demand generation, and customer experience to drive measurable growth.
You’ll lead a small team and work with top-tier agency partners while having access to a sales and marketing affinity group across the portfolio’s 10+ companies. Achieve startup-level impact with the resources of an established company.
What makes this role unique:
Join a company with aggressive growth plans and the backing to achieve them
Employee ownership (ESOP) means you’ll have real equity, not just salary
Direct access to the CEO and a seat at the strategic leadership table
Marketing solutions that create both economic opportunity and environmental sustainability
What You’ll Do
Build and execute a commercial-minded B2B marketing strategy that generates qualified leads for an independent sales force selling capital equipment with buying cycles of 3-9 months. You’ll own trade show strategy, digital marketing, content creation, CRM optimization, and the metrics that connect marketing to sales outcomes.
What You Need
7-10 years of progressive marketing experience with at least 3+ years in leadership roles
Strong B2B marketing background in industrial manufacturing, construction equipment, agricultural equipment, or similar capital-intensive markets
Proven success in developing marketing strategies that support complex, consultative sales processes
Hands-on experience across digital marketing, brand strategy, trade shows, CRM, and marketing automation
Strong analytical skills with the ability to connect marketing efforts to business growth
Ability to travel 15-25% for trade shows and customer visits
Must be willing to work on-site in the St. Cloud, MN area (relocation support available for the right candidate)
Why This Role
Beyond competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, you’ll join an employee-owned company where your ownership stake grows with the business. You’ll have access to resources typically reserved for much larger companies while working in an organization where your individual impact is immediate and visible. If you’re looking for meaningful work, a real leadership opportunity, and the chance to help build something significant, this could be your next chapter.
Develop and implement a strategic plan to grow the aftermarket parts and service business and work with the sales team to implement into existing customer dialogue
Lead a team of three direct reports (2 Parts Specialists and a Service Scheduler)
Oversee all service operations, including customer coordination and scheduling. Leverage existing third-party service providers and identify and secure new ones to expand the company’s service capabilities in key geographic areas.
Develop and promote new service offerings, such as service contracts, online ordering capabilities, parts sorting systems etc…
Explore innovative ways to make it easier for customers utilize aftermarket parts ordering and service requests
Requirements:
Proven leadership experience with a strong background in growing the revenue of an aftermarket or services team.
Degree in Engineering or related
7+ years of experience in an industrial manufacturing or distribution segment
Willingness to travel domestically about 50%. Candidates need to be located in Minnesota for easy trips to the HQ, but can work from home the majority of the time when not traveling
visit us
601 Carlson Parkway | Suite 900
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55305
