Engineering - Mechanical & Industrial
7 Oct
Director – Strategic Manufacturing Partner Operations
Director – Strategic Manufacturing Partner Operations
Location: Bhuj, Gujarat, IndiaLevel: DirectorEmployment / Assignment Type: Full-TimeSearch Scope: India-based candidates willing to relocate to Bhuj; international candidates open to an India assignment
Role Overview
We are seeking a senior manufacturing and operations leader to act as the organisation’s primary on-site representative at a strategic manufacturing partner in Bhuj, Gujarat.
This is a high-impact operational leadership role sitting at the intersection of manufacturing, supplier management, quality, delivery, customer/order execution and global stakeholder coordination.
The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring that the manufacturing partner consistently delivers against agreed operational, quality and customer commitments while creating strong governance, accountability and communication between the partner facility and U.S./global teams.
This is not a conventional Plant Head role. The position requires an executive who can influence and govern operations across an external manufacturing environment, align multiple stakeholders and drive execution without relying solely on direct organisational authority.
Key Responsibilities
Manufacturing Partner & Supplier Management
Serve as the senior on-site interface between the organisation and its strategic manufacturing partner.
Establish effective governance, operating rhythms, performance reviews and escalation mechanisms with the manufacturing partner.
Monitor manufacturing readiness, capacity, production execution and delivery performance against business priorities.
Identify operational risks early and work with partner leadership to resolve constraints affecting production, quality or customer commitments.
Operational Execution
Translate customer demand, order priorities and business requirements into clear manufacturing priorities.
Drive disciplined execution across planning, production, quality, inspection and delivery.
Track key operational performance indicators including delivery, quality, lead time, productivity and other agreed manufacturing metrics.
Strengthen processes, controls and operating cadence to improve execution predictability.
Quality & Process Assurance
Work closely with manufacturing, engineering and quality teams to ensure products meet required specifications and quality expectations.
Drive structured resolution of quality issues through root-cause analysis, corrective and preventive actions and continuous improvement.
Support supplier process capability, inspection discipline, audit readiness and adherence to applicable quality systems.
Ensure recurring quality or process issues are addressed systematically rather than through short-term corrective actions.
Customer & Order Execution
Maintain strong visibility over customer orders and critical delivery commitments.
Coordinate across manufacturing, supply chain, quality and engineering functions to prevent or resolve execution bottlenecks.
Lead escalation of material operational risks affecting customer delivery or product quality.
Ensure timely and transparent communication of operational status to global stakeholders.
Global Stakeholder Management
Act as the operational bridge between the Bhuj manufacturing partner and U.S./international leadership teams.
Provide structured executive-level updates on manufacturing performance, risks, delivery, quality and corrective actions.
Coordinate effectively across different geographies, cultures and functional teams.
Build credibility with both manufacturing-partner leadership and internal corporate stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement
Identify opportunities to improve quality, throughput, delivery reliability, lead time, cost and operating effectiveness.
Drive structured root-cause analysis and continuous-improvement initiatives.
Help institutionalise stronger processes, accountability and performance management within the partner operating environment.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will be a senior operations executive with approximately 15–22 years of experience across manufacturing, operations, quality, supply chain or related leadership functions within complex engineered-product environments.
We would particularly value candidates who bring a combination of:
Significant hands-on manufacturing and plant/site operations experience.
Experience managing suppliers, vendors, contract manufacturers, outsourced manufacturing partners or external production facilities.
Strong understanding of quality systems, audits, inspection, NCR/CAPA, root-cause analysis and process control.
Demonstrated responsibility for delivery, manufacturing KPIs and customer commitments.
Experience working across engineering, production, quality, supply chain and customer-facing teams.
Exposure to U.S., European or multinational organisations.
Strong executive communication and stakeholder-management capability.
Ability to operate effectively through influence, governance and escalation rather than relying exclusively on direct reporting authority.
Willingness to be based in Bhuj, Gujarat, or undertake a sustained India assignment.
Preferred Industry Background
Candidates from the following environments would be particularly relevant:
Oil & Gas / Oilfield Equipment
Engineered Industrial Equipment
Pumps, Valves and Flow-Control Equipment
Wellhead, Completion, Downhole or Subsea Equipment
Industrial Machinery
Pipes, Tubes and Metals
Pressure Equipment
Forged / Machined Components
Fabrication and Process Equipment
Other complex, quality-critical engineered-product manufacturing environments
The search will particularly target professionals from Oil & Gas OEMs and adjacent engineered-equipment organisations where manufacturing quality, supplier performance and customer delivery are business-critical.
Experience & Competencies
Essential
Senior-level manufacturing / operations leadership experience.
Demonstrated manufacturing-partner or supplier-governance experience.
Strong knowledge of manufacturing operations and production processes.
Quality and process-improvement orientation.
Experience managing delivery and operational performance.
Strong cross-functional leadership skills.
Proven ability to manage senior stakeholders across multiple geographies.
Commercial and customer awareness.
Strong problem-solving and escalation-management capability.
Highly Desirable
Experience with complex machined, fabricated, pressure-containing or oilfield-related products.
Exposure to API / ISO-driven quality environments.
Experience working with multinational manufacturers or U.S./European organisations.
Previous responsibility for outsourced / contract manufacturing relationships.
Experience working in remote manufacturing locations or industrial environments.
The precise technical standards required should be confirmed when the full position specification is available; the strategy deck therefore treats API/ISO and oilfield-hardware experience as indicators to validate rather than confirmed mandatory requirements.
Leadership Characteristics
The successful candidate is likely to be:
Hands-on: Comfortable spending time on the manufacturing floor and understanding issues at source.
Influential: Able to drive outcomes where teams may not report directly to them.
Operationally rigorous: Brings structure, metrics, accountability and follow-through.
Customer-oriented: Understands that manufacturing performance ultimately translates into customer commitments.
Decisive: Comfortable escalating and resolving quality, delivery and operational issues.
Collaborative: Able to build productive relationships with manufacturing partners rather than operating purely through compliance or confrontation.
Globally mature: Comfortable communicating with senior international stakeholders.
Adaptable: Willing and able to work effectively in Bhuj and within a partner-site operating environment.
What Success Could Look Like
Early success in the role would involve:
Establishing a clear operating and governance cadence with the manufacturing partner.
Building transparent visibility across production, quality, delivery and customer orders.
Improving accountability around supplier/manufacturing KPIs.
Reducing recurring operational and quality escalations.
Improving delivery reliability and execution predictability.
Creating stronger communication and alignment between the Bhuj site and global teams.