Great Minds

Director, Print Supply Operations

Great Minds

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Remote

Location: District of Columbia • United States

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Salary

💰 $177,000 - $197,000 per year

Job Level

Lead

About the role

  • Define and own the multi-year print manufacturing strategy aligned to Great Minds’ growth plan, state adoption pipeline, and margin targets.
  • Own the full print lifecycle, including RFQ development, vendor quoting, cost analysis, purchase order execution, production oversight, and final delivery.
  • Ensure accurate translation of demand forecasts into print orders, reprint schedules, and production timelines.
  • Establish and continuously improve operational processes, controls, and documentation governing print execution.
  • Serve as the escalation point for production issues, schedule risk, quality defects, or delivery failures.
  • Provide leadership representation at company and vendor meetings for print capacity planning for all major state adoptions, with authority to commit suppliers and capital ahead of demand.
  • Define and manage the print supplier portfolio, including primary and secondary printers.
  • Establish and maintain working relationships with paper mills to support pricing strategy, supply continuity, and risk mitigation.
  • Lead competitive RFPs and strategic sourcing initiatives, including contract negotiation and supplier selection.
  • Recommend and execute near-shore/off-shore and capacity-reservation strategies to protect revenue during peak cycles.
  • Develop contingency strategies for paper availability, capacity constraints, and market disruption.
  • Ensure all printed products meet or exceed Book Manufacturing Institute (BMI) standards and Great Minds’ internal quality requirements.
  • Maintain deep technical expertise in K–12 instructional print specifications, including trim sizes, binding methods, paper types, durability requirements, and accessibility considerations.
  • Travel periodically to domestic and international manufacturing sites to audit quality, review processes, and strengthen supplier relationships.
  • Own senior-level relationships with print suppliers and paper partners, holding vendors accountable to cost, quality, and service expectations.
  • Lead structured QBRs focused on performance metrics, forward capacity, cost trends, and improvement initiatives.
  • Resolve chronic or systemic vendor issues while maintaining long-term, collaborative partnerships.
  • Partner with Demand Planning, Sales, Finance, Product Management, and Warehouse Operations to align print execution with revenue forecasts, margin targets, and fulfillment plans.
  • Provide clear visibility into print costs, risks, and capacity constraints to support executive decision-making.
  • Establish and monitor KPIs related to cost, service, quality, supplier reliability, and inventory outcomes.
  • Own print-related gross margin performance, with direct accountability for cost structure, yield loss, obsolescence risk, reprint economics, and supplier pricing outcomes.
  • Create and own a portfolio of margin-improvement initiatives as part of continuous improvement efforts, including spec optimization, vendor consolidation, and paper strategy.
  • Partner with Finance to forecast and explain print cost variance at the executive and leadership levels.
  • Serve as executive incident lead during print-related business continuity events.

Requirements

  • 7+ years of hands-on experience in print operations within K–12 educational publishing.
  • Experience leading teams and managers within a complex manufacturing or supply chain environment.
  • 3+ years managing an annual budget of $50M – $100M annually.
  • Demonstrated end-to-end ownership of the print production process, from RFQs and POs through delivery.
  • Deep working knowledge of BMI standards and instructional print manufacturing best practices.
  • Proven experience managing printer, binder, and paper mill relationships.
  • Willingness and ability to travel to manufacturing sites as needed.
  • Strong leadership, negotiation, and executive communication skills.
  • Ability to operate effectively at both strategic and execution levels in a fast-paced environment.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
print manufacturing strategyRFQ developmentcost analysisproduction oversightprint lifecycle managementcontract negotiationK–12 instructional print specificationsvendor managementbudget managementcontinuous improvement
Soft Skills
leadershipnegotiationexecutive communicationcollaborationproblem-solvingstrategic thinkingrelationship managementdecision-makingadaptabilityperformance management
Certifications
Book Manufacturing Institute (BMI) standards