Head of Manufacturing

About the Role

Alcott Global is partnering with a leading international industrial firm to recruit a Head of Manufacturing based in Europe. This senior leadership position demands strategic oversight and guidance for a worldwide network of manufacturing facilities. The role involves shaping and executing the global manufacturing strategy, enhancing operational excellence, optimizing footprint and capacity, and managing make-or-buy decisions. It also requires the development of uniform standards, KPIs, and continuous improvement practices across manufacturing sites. This is a global corporate leadership role necessitating strong operational expertise and influence over plant and regional management teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and apply the global manufacturing strategy aligned with business growth, customer service, quality, cost efficiency, and risk management.
• Lead strategic decisions on manufacturing footprint, capacity planning, localization, and make-or-buy analyses throughout the global network.
• Create adaptable short- and medium-term plans that respond to evolving market trends, technological advancements, and cost constraints.
• Set global standards in operational excellence, establish KPIs, governance frameworks, and performance benchmarks across all manufacturing units.
• Drive continuous and measurable enhancements in productivity, quality, delivery timelines, cost control, safety, asset utilization, and working capital management.
• Champion Lean methodologies, continuous improvement initiatives, digital transformation, automation, and data-driven decision-making practices across manufacturing operations.
• Provide strategic oversight and leadership to manufacturing and plant leaders across multiple global regions.
• Collaborate closely with teams in supply chain, procurement, quality assurance, engineering, industrialization, research and development, finance, commercial operations, and product management.
• Influence senior stakeholders, manage competing priorities, and ensure harmonized adoption of global manufacturing standards.
• Lead and cultivate a high-performing global manufacturing excellence team.
• Enhance organizational manufacturing capabilities, leadership development, succession planning, and technical competency throughout the network.
• Foster a corporate culture emphasizing accountability, teamwork, innovation, continuous improvement, and disciplined execution.

Candidate Profile

• Experienced senior manufacturing or operations leader with approximately 15 years in complex, multinational industrial organizations.
• Proven success managing multiple factories, regions, or comprehensive global manufacturing networks, backed by solid hands-on plant leadership experience.
• Expertise in operational excellence, Lean manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, industrialization processes, productivity enhancement, and performance metrics.
• Demonstrated capability in steering manufacturing footprint optimization, capacity management, make-or-buy decisions, automation adoption, and digital transformation initiatives.
• Excellent leadership skills with proven ability to influence and navigate complex cross-functional stakeholder environments.
• Strong intercultural awareness combined with proficient communication and conflict resolution competencies.
• Educational background in engineering or a related technical discipline.