| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Managing Director |
| Direct reports | Plant Head, Plant Manager, PPC Manager, Continuous Improvement Engineer |
| Experience | 18+ years in manufacturing, including 5+ years as a plant head or in a multi-plant role |
Head of Manufacturing job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Head of Manufacturing
Department: Production
Reports to: Managing Director
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
The Head of Manufacturing is responsible for manufacturing across all of a company's plants, typically in a mid-sized company with two to five factories. They set manufacturing strategy, decide which plant makes what, standardize processes between plants, approve capital spending and hold plant heads to account for safety, cost, quality and delivery. The role sits on the leadership team. A good head of manufacturing makes every plant run to one standard and keeps capacity ahead of demand.
Key responsibilities
- Set the three-year manufacturing strategy covering capacity, technology, automation and the role of each plant in the network.
- Decide product allocation between plants and make or buy choices, based on cost, capacity and freight to key markets.
- Review each plant's safety, output, quality, cost and delivery scorecard every month with the plant heads.
- Approve the annual manufacturing budget and capital plan, and follow spending and project completion against it.
- Standardize core processes across plants, including production planning, maintenance systems, safety standards and shop floor reporting.
- Lead new plant or new line projects from site selection and approvals through commissioning to stable production.
- Work with sales and supply chain on the sales and operations plan so capacity and inventory match demand.
- Select, develop and review plant heads and senior manufacturing managers, and plan succession for each plant.
- Represent manufacturing in leadership and board meetings, customer audits and major equipment negotiations.
- Take charge of the response to serious incidents, major quality escapes or labour unrest at any plant.
Requirements
- Engineering degree (BE or BTech) in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical or Production
- MBA or an executive management programme from a reputed institute is an advantage
- Formal training in lean, TPM or Six Sigma is an advantage
- 18+ years in manufacturing, including 5+ years as a plant head or in a multi-plant role
KRAs and KPIs for a Head of Manufacturing
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Network cost | Manufacturing cost per unit across plants within the approved budget every quarter |
| Safety across plants | Zero fatalities, and lost time injury rate at or below the yearly target at every plant |
| Capacity readiness | Capacity available at least two quarters ahead of the approved sales forecast |
| Capex delivery | Major capital projects commissioned within approved cost and within one month of plan |
| Customer service | Company-wide on time delivery at or above 95 percent, reviewed monthly |
| Leadership bench | A successor named for every plant head, with development plans reviewed twice a year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP ERP (PP, MM and PM modules), Power BI dashboards, S&OP planning models in Excel, MS Project, Capex appraisal models.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Vice President Manufacturing, Chief Operating Officer, Business Head
Interview questions for a Head of Manufacturing
- Two of your plants make the same product at very different costs. How would you close the gap?
- How do you decide between adding a shift, buying machines or building a new plant?
- Tell me about a plant or line you commissioned. What went wrong and how did you recover?
- How do you hold plant heads accountable without running their plants for them?
- A serious accident happens at one plant at night. What do you do in the next 24 hours?
- How would you present a large capex request to a board that is focused on cash?
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What does a head of manufacturing do?
A head of manufacturing leads manufacturing across all of a company's plants. They set the manufacturing strategy and budget, decide which plant makes what, approve capital projects, standardize systems between plants and review plant heads on safety, cost, quality and delivery. The role reports to the managing director or CEO and sits on the leadership team.
How is a head of manufacturing different from a plant head?
A plant head is responsible for one plant: its people, output, cost and compliance. A head of manufacturing oversees all plants, decides product allocation and capacity across the network, sets common standards and manages the plant heads. Plant heads run operations, while the head of manufacturing shapes the network and holds them to account.
What experience do you need to become head of manufacturing?
Most companies look for 18 or more years in manufacturing, including at least five years running a plant, plus exposure to capital projects and coordination between plants. An engineering degree is standard and an MBA helps. Proof of improving cost and safety at more than one site carries more weight than job titles.