PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Job Description : PRODUCTION DIRECTOR VIETNAM A leading manufacturing group is seeking a Head of Production to oversee and elevate the performance of four state-of-the-art factories in Ho Chi Minh City. This pivotal role offers you the opportunity to shape the future of three strategic product lines—baler twine, synthetic twines, and rope/braiding—while driving operational excellence, quality, cost efficiency, and safety across all sites. As a senior leader, you will directly mentor and develop a team of Production Managers, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and ensure seamless cross-functional collaboration with key departments such as Quality, Engineering & Maintenance, Planning, Packaging, and HSE. The organisation is committed to nurturing talent for succession planning and offers a dynamic environment where your expertise in lean manufacturing and data-driven management will be highly valued. With flexible working arrangements, significant travel opportunities (both domestic and international), and a strong focus on professional growth, this is an exceptional platform for you to make a lasting impact. Take charge of four advanced manufacturing plants producing market-leading products for global export markets, ensuring world-class standards in output, quality, cost control, and safety. Mentor and empower a high-performing team of Production Managers while collaborating closely with cross-functional leaders to drive continuous improvement initiatives and digital transformation projects. Enjoy flexible working hours, hands-on shop floor engagement, extensive travel opportunities (including international exposure), and clear pathways for career progression towards Factory Director or broader operational leadership roles. As Head of Production, you will play a central role in orchestrating seamless operations across multiple factories while upholding the highest standards in output quality, efficiency, cost control, and workplace safety. Your day-to-day activities will involve close engagement with your direct reports—four experienced Production Managers—and fostering their professional growth through mentoring and coaching. You will collaborate intensively with cross-functional peers in Quality Assurance, Engineering & Maintenance, Planning, Process Engineering, Packaging, Health & Safety Environment (HSE), HR/People & Organisation (P&O), Finance/Accounting, Training Supervision as well as external stakeholders such as customers undergoing audits or international certification bodies. Your ability to interpret real-time data from advanced ERP systems like SAP HANA will enable you to make informed decisions that drive operational excellence. By championing lean manufacturing principles and digital transformation projects—including Power BI dashboards—you will help embed a culture of continuous improvement throughout the production network. Your commitment to safety compliance will be critical in maintaining an incident-free environment while supporting business expansion plans into new product lines or additional factory sites. Oversee daily operations across four manufacturing sites to ensure optimal production efficiency, quality standards, cost management, and adherence to safety protocols for all product lines. Cascade key performance indicators from the Factory Director down to Production Managers, monitor OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), FPY (First Pass Yield), plan attainment, and cost per tonne on a regular basis. Lead weekly and monthly production reviews; implement corrective actions promptly when KPIs deviate from targets by more than 5%, balancing output across all factories and product categories. Coach and develop four Production Managers through regular one-to-one sessions; set objectives, conduct quarterly and annual performance evaluations, support internal promotions, and manage succession planning. Collaborate with the Head of Quality to uphold product standards; approve holding/release decisions at the production block level; lead root cause analyses for production issues; approve CAPA (Corrective And Preventive Actions); participate in customer complaint investigations. Work closely with the Head of Planning to align master production schedules; approve weekly schedule adjustments; propose capacity changes based on sales forecasts; ensure timely S&OP cycles; coordinate logistics for outbound shipments. Control operating expenses within delegated authority levels; analyse monthly cost variances; drive cost-out programmes targeting scrap reduction, overtime optimisation, and energy savings; reallocate budgets as needed in partnership with the Production Accountant. Champion continuous improvement by sponsoring Kaizen/Lean projects at all sites; promote a 5S culture through regular audits; encourage bottom-up improvements from operators and supervisors; lead digital adoption initiatives including SAP HANA Production module implementation and Power BI dashboard usage. Ensure full compliance with ISO 45001 safety standards by sponsoring safety walks, near-miss reporting campaigns, incident investigations, and comprehensive training for all new production staff as well as ongoing refresher courses. To excel as Head of Production you will bring deep-rooted experience from complex manufacturing settings where you have successfully managed multi-site operations involving diverse teams. Your educational background equips you with robust technical knowledge while your practical experience demonstrates mastery over both day-to-day plant management and long-term strategic planning. You are adept at leveraging lean methodologies not only to optimise processes but also to nurture a culture where every team member feels empowered to contribute ideas for improvement. Your comfort navigating ERP platforms like SAP HANA enables you to extract actionable insights from operational data—ensuring that every decision supports business goals around productivity/cost/safety. Your fluency in both Vietnamese and English allows you to communicate seamlessly with local teams as well as international partners/customers/auditors. Above all else your personal integrity shines through: you are trusted by colleagues at every level because you consistently model ethical behaviour discipline transparency empathy—and inspire others through your commitment to developing future leaders within the organisation. Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science/Textiles or Manufacturing disciplines is required; Master’s degree (MBA/Industrial Engineering/Operations Management) is preferred. At least 10 years’ experience in large-scale manufacturing environments with a minimum of 3 years at Plant Manager/Head of Production/Production Director level managing multiple direct reports simultaneously. Proven track record managing multi-site operations within synthetic fibre/baler twine/synthetic ropes/extrusion/polymer manufacturing or other continuous process industries is essential. Demonstrated expertise in lean manufacturing methodologies (Kaizen/Six Sigma/TPM/5S) with relevant certifications such as Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt strongly preferred. Comprehensive understanding of extrusion/twisting/braiding technologies used in synthetic rope/twine production; familiarity with European/Asian OEM machinery is advantageous. Advanced proficiency using ERP systems (SAP HANA/Oracle/MS Dynamics), Office 365 suite and basic Power BI analytics tools is required; experience implementing MES systems or advanced Power BI dashboards is desirable. Excellent interpersonal skills with proven ability to collaborate effectively across functions including Quality Assurance, Engineering & Maintenance, Planning/Scheduling, Packaging/HSE/HR/Finance teams. Strong analytical mindset with demonstrated ability to make data-driven decisions using real-time metrics such as OEE/FPY/cost per tonne/KPI dashboards. Fluency in Vietnamese is mandatory; working/business proficiency in English for technical documentation review/customer audit communications/vendor interactions is required; additional language skills (Chinese/German/Italian) are beneficial for OEM liaison. Personal qualities include integrity/honesty under pressure; hands-on approach on the shop floor; disciplined work ethic; resilience during crisis situations; genuine care for employee welfare; commitment to living out core values focused on ethical leadership/talent development/lifelong learning.

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