Factory Director

Our strategic partner is seeking a Factory Director to lead and oversee all production operations across four manufacturing sites, ensuring the achievement of strategic targets for output, quality, cost, and safety in accordance with plans approved by Chief Executive Officer. This role represents the company in technical engagements with international machinery suppliers and technology partners, while building internationally aligned operational capabilities through SAP HANA, Power BI, and automation. The position also contributes to maintaining the company’s leadership in its core product segment, expanding strategic product lines, and developing the next generation of operations leaders during the organization’s transition period.

Job Responsibilities

Operations Leadership & Performance Management:

• Lead production operations across four manufacturing sites, with overall accountability for production output, quality, cost, safety, and operational performance.
• Establish and cascade operations KPIs to plant and functional leaders; review OEE, first-pass yield, production plan attainment, cost per tonne, budget variance, on-time delivery, safety performance, and other approved measures on weekly, monthly, and quarterly cycles.
• Chair operations performance reviews, identify material deviations, and direct timely corrective and preventive actions to restore approved targets.
• Develop and maintain the three-to-five-year operations strategy in alignment with corporate priorities, including capacity planning, manufacturing footprint, productivity, and technology roadmaps.
• Prepare annual capital expenditure plans and business cases for equipment, factory expansion, and modernization; recommend major investments to the Chief Executive Officer and Board and support operational due diligence for potential acquisitions.

Digital Manufacturing & Automation:

• Sponsor the implementation of SAP HANA production capabilities, Power BI factory dashboards, manufacturing execution systems, sensors, industrial IoT, and automation initiatives across manufacturing sites.
• Evaluate, prioritize, and approve automation and new-technology projects within delegated authority; coordinate with Information Technology and Finance on implementation roadmaps, governance, and return on investment.
• Represent the company in technical and commercial relationships with strategic equipment suppliers and technology partners in Europe and Asia.
• Lead negotiations for machinery and technology contracts, including commercial terms, warranty, technical service, retrofit, and long-term support; monitor global manufacturing technology trends and participate in relevant international trade fairs and technical forums.

Quality, Safety & Compliance:

• Maintain ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certifications; sponsor recertification, customer audits, corrective actions, and continuous compliance across all manufacturing sites.
• Lead investigations and executive escalation for serious safety incidents, critical customer complaints, significant quality events, prolonged line stoppages, or regulatory non-compliance.

Leadership & Cross-functional Management:

• Lead, mentor, and evaluate plant and functional leaders; establish succession plans, annual technical training plans, performance reviews, promotion recommendations, and leadership development priorities.
• Build a high-accountability, collaborative, and data-driven operations culture grounded in integrity, safety, customer focus, continuous learning, and the company’s core values.
• Exercise delegated decision rights for budget reallocation, manager-level hiring and promotion, workforce actions, overtime, cross-factory resource allocation, line stoppages, and emergency material substitution, with required functional co-signatures and escalation for major matters.
• Coordinate closely with Commercial, Sales, Quality, Finance, People & Organization, Information Technology, Customer Service, and Logistics teams on forecasting, S&OP, delivery commitments, compliance, workforce planning, budgets, capital projects, and digital transformation.
• Maintain effective relationships with certification bodies, government authorities, key customers, equipment and technology partners, and relevant industry organizations.

Job Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Textile Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline.
• A master’s degree or Executive MBA is preferred.

Experience & Industry Background:

• Minimum 15 years of manufacturing experience, including at least 5 years at Director or Vice President of Operations level and at least 3 years leading multi-site manufacturing operations.
• Relevant industry experience in polymer-based products, synthetic materials, extrusion, textiles, ropes or cables, or other continuous manufacturing environments; FMCG manufacturing experience is an advantage.
• Proven experience leading large, multi-site operations and developing plant directors, functional heads, managers, and successor leaders.

Manufacturing Excellence:

• Expert knowledge of world-class manufacturing, Lean, TPM, OEE improvement, first-pass yield, productivity, cost optimization, and multi-site operating systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading manufacturing digital transformation involving SAP or another ERP, SAP HANA Production, Power BI, manufacturing execution systems, industrial IoT, and automation.

Supplier, Quality & Compliance Expertise:

• Experience managing strategic equipment suppliers in Europe and Asia and negotiating machinery contracts, warranties, service arrangements, and technical roadmaps.
• Strong knowledge of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001, including certification, audit management, safety governance, and regulatory compliance.

Professional Certifications:

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or ISO Lead Auditor certification is required; PMP, Industry 4.0, Power BI, SAP, MES, or additional ISO Lead Auditor certifications are preferred.
• Proficiency in Office 365, SAP or Oracle ERP, Power BI, MES, and relevant automation platforms.

Leadership Competencies & Personal Attributes:

• Exceptional strategic thinking, data-driven decision-making, customer focus, integrity, collaboration, resilience, coaching capability, ownership, crisis management, and executive-level communication.
• Strong personal integrity, operational decisiveness, consistency, and long-term commitment to developing the organization and its next generation of leaders.
• Fluent English and an additional European or Asian language are advantages.

If you possess the required skills and experience and are ready to contribute to a dynamic organization, we warmly welcome your application at application@peoplewise.vn.

About PeopleWise Vietnam:

PeopleWise Vietnam is founded on the belief that people are at the core of organizational success. We provide comprehensive human resources consulting services to partners worldwide, including Executive Search and Talent Acquisition Solutions, Staffing Management Solutions, and People & Organizational Consulting Services.

We are proud to be a trusted partner of multinational corporations and a strategic partner to leading local and foreign-invested enterprises. We are committed to delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions that create strong competitive advantages in the marketplace and generate sustainable value for our long-term partners.

Visit us at our website: https://peoplewise.vn/