VP of Production

Career Category: Production

Reports To: CEO

Hours: 8:30am – 5:00pm Monday – Friday.

Compensation: $130,000-$150,000 + Leadership Bonus Pool eligibility

The Vice President of Production leads The Mailworks’ Production department and is accountable for both its day-to-day performance and its long-term evolution. This leader builds a department that meets daily deadlines through capable leaders and sound systems rather than direct intervention, while continuously raising the quality of the team, the output, and the systems that drive it. As a member of the Leadership Team, the VP partners with the CEO to translate company vision into production strategy and builds a culture of sound, data-informed decision-making across the department. The role owns the Production Process, enforces the standards that keep the floor consistent and accountable, and positions the department to be ready for growth, product evolution, and whatever the business needs next.

The Mailworks is a woman-owned, family-run business specializing in results-driven direct mail campaigns for a nationwide client base. With 40+ years of experience and over 90 professionals across strategy, design, production, and technology, we combine deep industry knowledge with modern tools to help businesses grow. We produce and deliver 100M+ pieces annually from our in-house facility and are transforming the direct mail space through innovation, service, and our proprietary software platforms.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises 6 department leaders: Prepress Workflow Manager, 1st Shift Supervisor, 2nd Shift Supervisor, Production Support Supervisor, Plant Engineer, and Production Systems Manager. Department size: approximately 50 indirect reports across two shifts.

Duties:

LMA – Lead, Manage, hold people Accountable

• Build a high-performance culture rooted in The Mailworks’ core values, ownership, continuous improvement, and recognition.
• Coach and develop direct reports through regular 1:1s, team meetings, mentoring, and clear feedback.
• Manage performance through quarterly reviews, documentation, and accurate Employee Performance Log updates.
• Make or support personnel decisions, including promotions, development plans, corrective action, and terminations.
• Own departmental Rocks, To-Dos, KPIs, and Scorecards, and drive follow-through in weekly L10 meetings.
• Set priorities, delegate effectively, remove blockers, and coordinate across teams to meet deadlines.
• Enforce SOPs, FBA standards, company policies, and applicable compliance requirements while maintaining accurate records.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, training, and offboarding in line with company SOPs and HR standards.
• Drive departmental initiatives tied to company Rocks, growth, performance, and profitability goals.
• Align departmental priorities with company initiatives, strategic goals, and CEO vision in partnership with the Executive Leadership Team.
• Attend Quarterly and Annual EOS Planning and own Rocks across reporting departments.
• Ensure Directors and department leads effectively lead, coach, document, and manage team performance.

STRATEGIC DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP & GROWTH PLANNING:

• Partner with the CEO to translate company vision and strategic priorities into clear Production goals, plans, and execution.
• Collaborate with the Executive Leadership Team to align production capacity and direction with overall company strategy and growth.
• Partner with HR on long-term workforce evolution, including role design, skills development, and building the team Production needs as the company grows.
• Operationalize new product and service offerings coming out of Rev Ops, ensuring Production is ready to deliver them at quality and scale.
• Partner with Rev Ops and cross-functional VPs across Marketing, Sales, and Client Services to support a seamless client lifecycle from marketing through delivery.
• Forecast future production needs and lead planning for facility, equipment, and team scalability to support company growth.

OPERATIONAL OVERSIGHT & ISSUE RESOLUTION:

• Monitor KPIs, shift reports, and performance data to identify trends, inefficiencies, and gaps.
• Resolve high-level issues impacting throughput, team performance, or equipment uptime.
• Partner with HR and department leaders to resolve day-to-day staffing, performance, and team dynamics issues as they arise.
• Oversee maintenance planning and ensure plant engineering efforts support uptime and safety.
• Coordinate installation of new equipment and vendor-supported improvements across shifts.
• Serve as the senior point of contact for all production-related vendors (equipment, materials, and parts).
• Monitor vendor performance and ensure alignment with cost-efficiency, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Drive consistency across shifts by standardizing processes, training, and productivity benchmarks.
• Ensure all operational issues are properly documented, addressed, and resolved through the Issues List process.
• Identify and resolve unsubmitted or recurring issues by partnering with the appropriate teams.

SCHEDULE EXECUTION & QUALITY CONTROL:

• Oversee the production scheduling function, monitoring the decisions made by the Director of Production and their team rather than owning the schedule directly.
• Ensure scheduling decisions balance immediate operational demands against the long-term health of the team and departmental profitability.
• Set the strategy and guardrails the scheduling team works within, stepping in on high-stakes tradeoffs and escalations.
• Review recovery plans when schedules are off track, ensuring the team is using data to drive sound decisions.
• Monitor QC checks, Scorecard data, and shift accountability reports to confirm standards are holding across shifts.
• Govern overtime strategy, ensuring staffing and reallocation decisions protect both output and employee wellbeing, and approve plans that require executive review.
• Ensure the team is resolving material, postal, and trucking constraints with Prepress, Procurement, and the Plant Engineer before they threaten deadlines.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT & PROFITABILITY:

• Monitor departmental profitability and resource utilization as part of Leadership Bonus Pool eligibility.
• Identify and implement process improvements that reduce waste and increase throughput.
• Lead equipment testing, onboarding, and integration efforts in partnership with the Plant Engineer.
• Analyze production data and apply trends to inform strategy and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate with Development, Client Services, and Procurement to improve systems and cross-functional processes.

Required Skills/Abilities:

• Exhibits company core values – FLASH’D (Forward Thinking, Loyal, Accountable, Solutions Focused, Helpful, Dynamic)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a direct approach, effective across all organizational levels 
• Experience with mentoring and managing people
• Teamwork mentality 
• Extremely organized and detail oriented
• A commitment to continued process improvement
• A strict adherence to process and standard operating procedures 
• Ability to consistently adhere to company policy to set a positive example
• Reliability and commitment to hours and follow through of assigned tasks 
• Comfortable holding others accountable in a positive, consistent way 
• Okay with working extra hours (daily or on Saturdays) during high demand periods 
• Flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, schedules, and priorities while maintaining composure and focus.
• The capability to address conflicts and resolve issues within the team constructively and professionally.
• The ability to remain calm and effective in high-pressure situations, such as when the production schedule falls behind.
• Strong decision-making skills are essential for resolving operational challenges and implementing necessary changes.
• Proven leadership of multi-team operations in a fast-paced production environment
• Deep understanding of SOP development, enforcement, and EOS accountability tools
• Data-driven decision maker with ability to balance quality, efficiency, and team morale
• High emotional intelligence with a willingness to coach and hold people accountable
• Adept in Google Workspace, Asana, and company production and operations platforms (e.g., Joii, Smartsheet)

Success Indicators

• Daily production deadlines are consistently met without executive intervention, signaling the department runs itself through sound systems and capable leaders.
• Processes are documented, followed, and self-enforcing, so adherence does not depend on the CEO stepping in.
• Decisions across the department are driven by data, logic, and facts rather than emotion or habit.
• The department evolves while it executes, steadily improving output quality, systems, and ways of working rather than only keeping pace.
• Production systems are modernized over time to drive measurable efficiency gains and prepare the company for growth and new product offerings.
• Workforce quality rises year over year, supported by a clear, quantified definition of what a strong contributor delivers.
• Stronger talent is attracted and retained because contribution can be measured, recognized, and rewarded, creating better opportunities for the team.
• The department is consistently positioned ahead of company needs, ready for growth, product evolution, and whatever the business requires next.
• Quality, efficiency, and profitability improve quarter over quarter without sacrificing the long-term health of the team.

Physical Requirements: 

• Prolonged periods of standing
• Ability to communicate and exchange information with employees, department heads and management
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds at times.

Cultural Index Survey Link: https://go.cultureindex.com/p/DwNXQZJ4srCO

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