Operational Excellence Director

Alcott Global is retained to search for an Operational Excellence Director for a leading packaging company. The role location is flexible within Europe.

Role Overview

The Operational Excellence Director will lead operational improvement and transformation across the European manufacturing sites. Reporting to the Managing Director and serving as a member of the divisional leadership team, the role will strengthen safety, quality, productivity, environmental performance, service and cost efficiency while embedding a sustainable culture of continuous improvement.

 

This is a hands-on leadership role focused on leading and coordinating operational excellence initiatives across the plants within a matrix organization. Working closely with site leaders and cross-functional teams, the Director will harmonize operating practices, build improvement capabilities and drive measurable results. Success requires the ability to challenge constructively, influence without direct authority and balance individual site priorities with overall divisional performance.

 

Job Scope

• Develop and execute the operational excellence strategy and improvement roadmap across European plants, translating divisional priorities into practical site-level initiatives with plant management.
• Embed a strong safety culture, reduce operational risks and support the ambition of zero accidents.
• Build and deploy a common operational excellence system using Lean, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement methods; coach site teams to implement and sustain standardized practices.
• Partner with site leaders to identify performance gaps and improve safety, quality, productivity, service, environmental performance and waste reduction.
• Work directly with production teams to improve extrusion, converting and related flexible packaging processes, addressing scrap, material yield, downtime, changeovers and equipment effectiveness.
• Establish consistent operating standards, KPIs, reporting, benchmarking and performance reviews; use operational data to identify recurring losses, monitor corrective actions and verify lasting results.
• Promote collaboration and best-practice sharing across sites, supporting capacity and production allocation decisions that balance plant priorities with divisional performance.
• Lead operational change and transformation initiatives, including process simplification, systems improvements and more proactive production planning.
• Support annual operational budgets and cost-saving programs, identifying opportunities to reduce manufacturing costs and improve profitability.
• Support capital expenditure projects and equipment renewal planning, including extrusion and printing assets where relevant, by assessing operational needs, investment constraints and expected returns.
• Develop operational excellence capabilities and high-performing teams across continuous improvement, quality, safety and operations analytics, strengthening leadership practices and employee engagement.
• Maintain a regular shop-floor presence across European sites to understand operational challenges, build credibility with site managers and support hands-on implementation.

 

Job Requirements

• Master’s degree in Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Strong experience in flexible packaging manufacturing is mandatory, preferably plastic-based packaging, with solid knowledge of extrusion, converting and production processes.
• Proven direct plant management experience, with accountability for day-to-day manufacturing operations, safety, quality, productivity and cost performance.
• Demonstrated experience leading Operational Excellence and continuous improvement initiatives across multiple manufacturing sites.
• Strong track record in Lean manufacturing, process optimization and operational transformation, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, quality, waste reduction and costs.
• Ability to adapt and implement improvement initiatives across manufacturing sites with varying levels of operational maturity.
• Strong financial acumen, including understanding of plant P&Ls, operational budgets, cost drivers and capital investments.
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence site leaders, drive change and collaborate effectively in a multicultural, matrix organization.
• Willingness to travel frequently across European manufacturing sites.