About this role
About International Paper - NORPAC Mill
From its world-class manufacturing facility in Longview, WA., the NORPAC mill produces high-quality, packaging, copy paper, and printing paper for customers across the United States and around the world. Now part of International Paper, the NORPAC mill benefits from expanded resources and a strengthened commitment to safety, customer focus, a great workplace, and profitable growth.
IP NORPAC Mill is a team-based work environment where individuals integrate safety, teamwork, innovation, and citizenship as core values in pursuit of world-class performance while leading a principle-based, process-disciplined organization.
This is a safety-sensitive position.
Qualifications
Position Summary
The Paper Machine Process Manager is a key member of the Paper Mill leadership team and supports the Paper Machine Superintendent in delivering safe, reliable, high-quality, and cost-effective operations. The role provides visible field leadership, technical and operating direction, people development, and disciplined execution across assigned paper machine operations. The Process Manager leads through International Paper values and operating expectations, strengthens Safe Align and SIF-prevention behaviors, builds operator and Team Leader capability, and coordinates cross-functional resources to achieve mill objectives.
Primary Accountabilities
Safety, Health & Environmental Leadership: Demonstrate visible safety leadership where the work occurs; reinforce speak-up and stop-work expectations; verify critical controls for SIF exposures; ensure environmental requirements, permits, and operating boundaries are understood and followed; and support learning and corrective-action closure following incidents, near misses, and operating events.
Operational Execution: Support safe startups, shutdowns, grade changes, troubleshooting, and recovery from abnormal conditions. Establish priorities, clarify ownership, maintain effective shift handoffs, and ensure operating decisions balance safety, quality, production, reliability, and cost.
Process Performance & Quality: Own assigned process performance and operating discipline. Monitor key process and quality indicators, identify emerging risks, coordinate timely response, and lead structured problem solving to reduce variability, waste, breaks, defects, and repeat losses.
Reliability & Asset Stewardship: Partner with Maintenance, Reliability, Engineering, Process Control, and Operations to improve equipment performance. Reinforce Basic Care, reliable work processes, defect elimination, work identification, root-cause learning, and sustained corrective actions.
People Leadership & Capability: Coach Team Leaders, Crew Coordinators, operators, and emerging leaders. Support qualification progress, succession readiness, cross-training, feedback, accountability, and fair, consistent application of company expectations and policies.
Shutdown & Outage Leadership: Coordinate scope development, operational readiness, risk reviews, staffing, lockout and critical-control planning, startup readiness, and execution of paper machine shutdown plans. Support post-outage review and capture lessons learned.
Business Results & Continuous Improvement: Translate mill priorities into practical action plans. Use data, standard work, Reliable Methods, daily management, and structured problem solving to improve safety, quality, reliability, productivity, and cost performance.
Cross-Functional Coordination & Communication: Maintain strong working relationships across Paper Machines, Fiberline, Maintenance, P&C, Reliability, Engineering, Environmental, Safety, Quality, Logistics, and Human Resources. Escalate risk promptly and communicate decisions, priorities, and results clearly across shifts and departments.
Administrative & Policy Support: Assist the Superintendent and Team Leaders with staffing, scheduling, timecard review, vacation and floater coordination, training coverage, workforce planning, and consistent administration of company policies and people processes.
Leadership Expectations
Lead with humility, credibility, consistency, and respect; listen with intent and follow through on commitments.
Be present in the field, understand conditions at the point of work, and engage teammates in identifying and controlling risk.
Make timely, fact-based decisions under pressure while maintaining safe operating limits and involving the right resources.
Create clarity around standards, priorities, ownership, and due dates; recognize strong performance and address gaps promptly and fairly.
Promote learning, inclusion, knowledge sharing, and collaboration across crews, shifts, and departments.
Demonstrate ownership for results and model disciplined use of standard work, data, and structured problem solving.
Measures of Success
Operational Outcomes
Consistent SIF-prevention behaviors and effective critical-control verification
Stable quality, production, reliability, and cost performance within approved operating limits
Safe, well-planned shutdowns and startups with lessons learned captured
Reduced repeat losses through structured problem solving and sustained corrective actions
Leadership Outcomes
Visible field leadership, quality coaching, and timely follow-through
Improved operator qualification, Team Leader capability, and succession readiness
Clear priorities, disciplined handoffs, and effective cross-functional coordination
Fair, consistent accountability and stronger employee engagement
Required Qualifications & Capabilities
Demonstrated commitment to safety, environmental stewardship, integrity, respect, and accountable leadership.
Strong paper machine or comparable continuous-process manufacturing knowledge, including the ability to diagnose process and equipment interactions.
Proven leadership, coaching, communication, conflict-resolution, and team problem-solving capability.
Ability to interpret operating, quality, reliability, and cost data and convert findings into practical actions.
Ability to collaborate effectively at all organizational levels and across Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Reliability, P&C, Safety, Environmental, Quality, HR, and Logistics.
Working proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, Project, and PowerPoint, plus applicable mill systems and technical applications.
Ability to support non-routine operating events, outages, and business needs outside normal hours when required.
Preferred Qualifications
Five or more years of paper mill or comparable continuous-process manufacturing experience.
Prior supervisory, process leadership, or operations leadership experience.
Experience with paper machine startups, shutdowns, grade changes, troubleshooting, reliability improvement, and structured problem solving.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, pulp and paper science, operations, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.