Director – Operations

• Develop and implement operational strategies, policies, and procedures for Europe that are in line with the long term growth strategy.
• Lead cross functional teams to deliver consistent high quality results for our customers, and identify opportunities to improve profitability through process optimization, productivity gains and supplier management.
• Collaborate with Business Management, department heads to optimize workflows and performance.
• Set, monitor and own operational P&L, margin improvement, cost control, key performance indicators (KPIs); and provide regular reports to senior management
• Drive operational excellence initiatives (e.g. digital enablement, automation). Proactively define and Identify areas for continuous improvement to drive operational efficiency gains and implement solutions. (Operational efficiency, Health & safety, 5S, housekeeping). Ensure accurate data, reporting and dashboards to support decision-making and performance management.
• Build, lead, coach and mentor operations teams and operational leaders to achieve organizational goals via continuous improvement.
• Build a high-performance, customer-centric operations culture focused on accountability and continuous improvement.
• Partner with HR to support workforce planning, succession, capability development and engagement.
• Ensure compliance with industry regulations, standards, internal controls, and company policies.
• Manage budgets, forecasts, operating plans and resource allocation to meet budget P&L and targets, driving revenue enablement, margin improvement, and cost control.
• Establish robust governance frameworks, risk management practices, and internal audits where required.
• Act as escalation point for operational risks, issues and crisis management
• Drive initiatives to enhance customer satisfaction and operational excellence, engage with key clients, partners and vendors on operational matters as required.
• Partner closely with commercial, product, technology and global operations team to align priorities and lead cross-functional projects and initiatives that support company growth.
• Direct management of the production for the site of Augsburg to achieve operational excellence and cost effectiveness.

Requirements

• Master/bachelor’s degree in engineering discipline, i.e. materials science, mechanical engineering, or related.
• 10-15 years’ experience in operations management, especially multiple production sites
• Direct management of production workers
• Familiar with traditional production methods and Tools (Kaizen, 5S, etc)
• Preferably experience from thin film coating industry.
• Strong P&L ownership and financial acumen
• Track record of operational excellence, and transformation initiatives
• Strategic and systems thinking
• Strong execution and change leadership capability
• Commercial and financial acumen
• Excellent people leadership and stakeholder management
• High resilience and ability to operate in complex, fast-changing environments
• Fluent in English and German
• Result-oriented and accountable
• Collaborative and inclusive leadership style
• Commercially minded with a strong customer focus
• Comfortable with ambiguity and complexity