Director of Manufacturing and Procurement

About KAYALI

KAYALI was established in 2018 by Mona Kattan, a beauty entrepreneur and fragrance enthusiast. The brand’s name means “my imagination” in Arabic, and its fragrance approach is inspired by Mona’s Middle Eastern heritage, the tradition of layering scents, and the idea that fragrance can express mood, generosity, and self-care. KAYALI creates memorable, long-lasting, cruelty-free fragrances by working with leading perfumers and using high-quality ingredients. Each scent and bottle is designed to reflect craftsmanship and tell a distinct story.

Our Mission

KAYALI aims to help every person feel exceptional and to bring together a global fragrance community through innovative luxury scents, fragrance education, and the sharing of Middle Eastern scent rituals.

Role Overview

The Director of Manufacturing & Procurement will own KAYALI’s external manufacturing, procurement, and quality operations from supplier sourcing through industrialization at contract manufacturers and the delivery of finished, compliant products. Reporting to the Global VP of Operations, this leader will head the Purchasing and Quality teams while also building the external manufacturing and industrialization capabilities needed for expansion into new markets.

This is a key build-phase leadership role for 2026–2028. It will drive the transition from toll manufacturing to contract manufacturing, support the launch of a new external manufacturing partner, and establish business continuity planning across the supplier base. Product Development retains formula and packaging design authority; this role is responsible for making the product at scale, at the right cost, and to the required standard.

Key Responsibilities

• Set the direction for external manufacturing, procurement, and quality in line with the brand’s international growth plans.
• Move the operating model from reactive execution to proactive planning, with stronger forecasting and risk management.
• Lead the transition from toll manufacturing to contract manufacturing and support the creation of a multi-region external manufacturing network.
• Create and maintain risk mitigation and business continuity plans to protect supply across suppliers and geographies.
• Build strong relationships with contract manufacturers and suppliers to improve cost, quality, and scalability.
• Lead strategic sourcing across direct materials, indirect goods and services, and contract-manufactured finished goods.
• Manage the move from component-based toll buying to finished-goods cost control, including should-cost analysis, open-book negotiation, and margin visibility with Finance.
• Own supplier negotiations, commercial agreements, and performance management while balancing cost, quality, and continuity.
• Drive value engineering and supplier-led innovation to improve competitiveness.
• Lead the global quality strategy for externally manufactured products.
• Build supplier quality and audit capability to qualify and oversee new contract manufacturers in different regions.
• Ensure compliance with global and regional requirements, including GMP, ISO, IFRA, REACH, and US obligations such as MoCRA, as well as TTB and denatured-alcohol controls.
• Manage product integrity and illicit-trade prevention, including controlled and denatured-alcohol inputs, restricted aroma chemicals, anti-counterfeit measures, grey-market mitigation, and secure destruction of non-conforming and obsolete stock.
• Define and monitor quality KPIs with both internal teams and external partners.
• Build and manage KAYALI’s external manufacturing network, including support for site selection, qualification, validation, audits, and ramp-up for the new US partner and the Asia pipeline.
• Own industrialization and technology transfer from Product Development handoff through scaled production, including pilot batches, first-article runs, and launch-readiness checkpoints.
• Lead the transfer of toll-manufacturing technology and bills of materials across the contract manufacturing network.
• Improve manufacturability, lead times, and production cost while staying within Product Development’s design framework.
• Introduce data-led tracking for production performance and network performance.
• Serve as Product Development’s industrialization partner and help shape the design-to-production process while respecting PD’s ownership of formula and packaging design.
• Partner with Finance on standard costing, COGS, margin, business cases, and capital choices related to the manufacturing network.
• Act as the link between Product Development, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial teams to support smooth launches.
• Lead manufacturing, procurement, and quality programs end to end, including charters, stage gates, RACI, schedules, budgets, and risk logs.
• Run the toll-to-contract conversion, US factory launch, and business continuity planning rollout as governed programs with clear milestones and reporting.
• Manage multiple workstreams and dependencies, escalating risks early and presenting practical options.
• Build, coach, and motivate a strong team across procurement, quality, and industrialization.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence across the function.
• Support succession planning and leadership development to build future talent within KAYALI.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related discipline; an MBA is a plus.
• At least 10 years of experience in manufacturing operations, procurement, or supply chain, including 5 or more years in senior leadership within beauty, fragrance, or a similar sector.
• Strong background in outsourced or contract manufacturing, preferably in fragrance, cosmetics, or consumer goods.
• Direct exposure to toll-to-contract or similar manufacturing-model transitions is highly preferred.
• Solid project and program management experience; PMP or an equivalent certification is an advantage.
• Proven cross-functional leadership, especially with Product Development and Finance.
• Strong commercial and financial understanding, including should-costing, COGS, margin analysis, and business-case development.
• Experience handling product-integrity and illicit-trade risks, including controlled and denatured-alcohol inputs, restricted aroma chemicals, anti-counterfeit controls, grey-market protection, and secure disposal of non-conforming stock.
• Working knowledge of multi-country compliance frameworks such as GMP, ISO, IFRA, and REACH; familiarity with US MoCRA is beneficial.
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methods.

Benefits

• Premium medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Find Your Magic Days.
• Volunteer day.
• Professional development days.
• Birthday leave.
• Egg freezing benefits.
• Employee discounts on KAYALI products.
• Quarterly product gifting.

Equal Opportunity

KAYALI is committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams and maintaining a workplace free from discrimination. Hiring decisions are made without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, medical condition, disability, or veteran status. Reasonable accommodations can be provided during the application or interview process if needed.