Senior Production Manager

Overview

Reports To:

Vice President of Operations

About MWI Direct

MWI Direct is a national direct mail production company based in Lincoln, Nebraska. We specialize in high-quality, high-volume digital print and direct mail marketing solutions for clients across multiple industries. Our production environment utilizes Canon Pro Stream continuous-feed inkjet presses, Canon sheetfed digital presses, and multiple MBO finishing lines to deliver personalized direct mail campaigns efficiently and accurately. MWI Direct offers the stability of an established organization while maintaining the agility and collaboration of a mid-sized company.

Our team works closely together to deliver reliable production, exceptional quality, and strong customer outcomes.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Production Manager to lead finishing and production operations within our digital print and direct mail facility. This role oversees supervisors and production staff while ensuring work flows efficiently from press through finishing and mail preparation. The Senior Production Manager plays a critical leadership role in maintaining operational efficiency, meeting client mail dates, and developing a high-performing production team.

The position collaborates closely with our Scheduling department, which leads daily production meetings and sets production priorities across the operation.

Production Operations

• Lead daily operations of finishing and production departments supporting digital print workflows.
• Execute production schedules established by the Scheduling team.
• Attend daily production meetings led by Scheduling to review workload priorities and coordinate cross-department workflow.
• Ensure efficient production flow from Canon Pro Stream and sheetfed presses through finishing and mail preparation.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement improvements to increase throughput and reduce downtime.

Finishing Department Leadership

• Oversee finishing operations including cutting, folding, inserting, and mail preparation.
• Manage production across multiple MBO folding lines and finishing equipment.
• Ensure proper job setup, changeovers, and workflow coordination between print and finishing departments.
• Supervise supervisors, production leads, and finishing staff.
• Recruit, train, and develop production personnel.
• Conduct performance evaluations and enforce company policies.
• Foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, and continuous improvement.

Quality & Process Control

• Ensure all jobs meet quality standards and client specifications.
• Work closely with quality control and workflow teams to maintain production accuracy.
• Review completed work to confirm proper finishing and mailing preparation.

Equipment & Maintenance Oversight

• Ensure finishing equipment is maintained and operating to manufacturer specifications.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance and equipment repairs when necessary.
• Monitor machine utilization and production efficiency.

Operational Performance

• Monitor key production metrics including:
• throughput
• on-time job completion
• waste and rework
• Collaborate with leadership to improve operational performance and support company growth.

Required Qualifications

Experience

• 7+ years of production leadership experience in digital print, direct mail, or commercial print manufacturing
• Experience managing finishing operations including cutting, folding, and mail preparation
• Experience supervising production teams

Preferred Experience

• Canon Pro Stream or high-speed inkjet production environments
• Canon sheetfed digital press workflows
• MBO finishing equipment
• Direct mail production and postal preparation

Skills

• Strong leadership and communication
• Production workflow management
• Mechanical troubleshooting aptitude
• Scheduling coordination and operational planning

Successful candidates will demonstrate the ability to:

• Maintain high levels of on-time job completion
• Lead teams that produce consistent, high-quality output
• Improve production efficiency and machine utilization
• Develop strong supervisors and accountable production teams

• Leadership role in a growing digital print direct mail operation
• Opportunity to influence workflow and operational improvements
• Collaborative leadership team
• Stable company with strong client relationships