| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Operating Officer |
| Direct reports | Plant Head, General Manager Production, General Manager Engineering and Maintenance, Business Excellence Manager |
| Experience | 20+ years in manufacturing, including several years as a plant head and at least 3 years in a multi-plant leadership role |
Vice President 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: Vice President Manufacturing
Department: Production
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
The Vice President Manufacturing is the senior executive accountable for manufacturing across a large company or business unit with several plants. They set the multi-year manufacturing roadmap, approve the capital plan, lead the plant heads and central teams such as engineering and manufacturing excellence, and answer to the COO and board for cost, safety, quality and capacity. A good VP Manufacturing turns business strategy into a plant network that becomes cheaper, safer and more flexible each year.
Key responsibilities
- Build the five-year manufacturing roadmap for capacity, technology, automation and plant footprint, in line with the business plan.
- Approve the annual capital plan across plants, ranking projects by payback, risk and strategic fit.
- Lead quarterly business reviews with plant heads on safety, cost, quality, delivery and people metrics.
- Set group standards for safety, manufacturing systems and shop floor digitization, and audit plants against them.
- Drive a group-wide cost programme on material yield, energy, productivity and overheads, with savings signed off by finance.
- Integrate acquired or newly built plants into group systems, reporting and ways of working.
- Represent manufacturing in board meetings, major customer reviews, investor visits and discussions with regulators.
- Negotiate major equipment purchases and long-term service contracts with strategic suppliers alongside procurement.
- Shape the senior manufacturing organization, choose plant heads and run talent and succession reviews.
- Oversee the response to serious incidents, product recalls or prolonged labour disputes at any plant.
Requirements
- BE or BTech in an engineering discipline
- An MBA or a senior leadership programme from an IIM or similar institute is an advantage
- Recognised credentials in lean or operational excellence are an advantage
- 20+ years in manufacturing, including several years as a plant head and at least 3 years in a multi-plant leadership role
KRAs and KPIs for a Vice President 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 |
|---|---|
| Group manufacturing cost | Manufacturing cost as a share of revenue at or below the level approved in the annual plan |
| Safety performance | Zero fatalities across plants and the group lost time injury rate below the yearly target |
| Capital effectiveness | Capital projects achieving actual payback within the range approved at sanction |
| Capacity and flexibility | Group capacity ready for the next two years of approved demand |
| Quality at customer | Customer complaints across all plants reduced to the annual target |
| Leadership pipeline | Ready-now successors for at least half of the plant head positions |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP S/4HANA reporting, Power BI or Tableau dashboards, Capex appraisal models, Board presentation packs, Manufacturing execution system reports.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Operating Officer, President, Business Head
Interview questions for a Vice President Manufacturing
- How would you decide between expanding an existing plant and building a new one in another state?
- Tell me about a group-wide cost programme you led. How did finance verify the savings?
- How do you bring an acquired plant with a weaker safety culture up to your standard?
- Which three manufacturing numbers would you show the board every quarter, and why those?
- How do you choose a plant head for a plant that is in trouble?
- A large customer threatens to move business after a quality escape. What do you do personally?
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What does a VP Manufacturing do?
A vice president manufacturing leads manufacturing across a large company or business unit. They set the multi-year manufacturing roadmap, approve capital spending, lead plant heads and central teams, drive group cost and safety programmes and report to the COO and board on manufacturing performance. The role is strategic and spends less time on daily plant issues.
What is the difference between VP Manufacturing and head of manufacturing?
Both lead manufacturing across plants. A vice president manufacturing is usually found in larger companies and is an executive role with board exposure, capital allocation and group-wide programmes. A head of manufacturing is common in mid-sized companies and tends to be closer to plant operations. The split depends on company size and grading.
Who does a VP Manufacturing report to?
In most Indian companies a VP Manufacturing reports to the chief operating officer. Where there is no COO, the VP answers directly to the CEO or managing director. Plant heads, the head of engineering and maintenance and the manufacturing excellence team usually report to the VP.