Production Manager (Chemical Manufacturing)

Mission The Production Manager is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling all production activities within a specialized chemical manufacturing environment (PVC stabilizers and metal soaps). The role ensures safe, efficient, and cost-effective production while maintaining high product quality, driving continuous process improvement, and adhering to strict organizational KPIs.

Key Responsibilities

& Activities

1. Safe, Reliable & Compliant Operations Safety Leadership: Enforce strict adherence to SOPs, operating instructions, MSDS, and process safety standards including HAZOP, risk assessments, and permit-to-work systems. Compliance: Ensure manufacturing processes align with local legal requirements and company safety principles. Incident Management: Lead incident investigations and near-miss reporting, ensuring the implementation of effective corrective and preventive actions (CAPA).
2. Production Planning & Execution Operational Control: Coordinate production activities to achieve volume, delivery, and quality targets with a focus on high First-Time-Right (FTR) performance. Resource Optimization: Optimize manpower, equipment, and raw material utilization. Inventory Discipline: Own production-related stock variance by ensuring accurate material consumption and ERP/SAP postings; lead Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for deviations.
3. Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement Lean Manufacturing: Drive operational excellence initiatives based on Lean principles to improve yield and throughput while reducing scrap, rework, and energy consumption. Technical Scale-up: Support the introduction of new formulations and process improvements in collaboration with R&D and Process Technology teams. Problem Solving: Use structured problem-solving tools to resolve process deviations and quality issues.
4. Asset & Maintenance Management Reliability: Collaborate with the Maintenance department to ensure high availability of production assets and support predictive maintenance strategies. CAPEX Support: Participate in capital expenditure planning, equipment upgrades, and commissioning activities for new machinery.
5. Performance & People Leadership KPI Monitoring: Monitor and report on key indicators including OEE, yield, manufacturing cost per ton, and safety performance. Team Development: Lead and coach a large production team (including Executives, Supervisors, and Technicians), promoting a culture of accountability and continuous skill development.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Chemistry, or Manufacturing Engineering. Technical Knowledge: Strong expertise in chemical processing, powder handling, and mixing/blending operations. Systems: Proficiency in SAP (PP/MM modules) and digital KPI dashboards is highly preferred. Standards: In-depth knowledge of ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and HACCP standards.

Experience & Competencies Professional Background: Minimum 8–12 years of experience in a chemical production/manufacturing environment. Management Experience: At least 5 years of experience in a managerial role (Production Manager level). Leadership: Proven ability to lead large teams (60+ personnel) and manage cross-functional relationships with Supply Chain, Sales, and R&D.