Director, Technical Operations Middle East Franchise

The Coca-Cola Company; Dubai; On-site; AED 300,000 - 400,000; Full time

Job summary

A global beverage leader seeks a Technical Operations Director to drive operational excellence in the Middle East Franchise. The role demands extensive experience in technical leadership within the food & beverage sector and collaboration with franchise units. The successful candidate will optimize processes, support growth, and ensure alignment across operations. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are essential, along with a willingness to travel frequently.

Benefits

Annual Incentive program

Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualifications

• Min 10 years of experience in food & beverage manufacturing operations.
• Proven track record in complex manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of technical governance processes.

Responsibilities

• Drive operational excellence across designated markets.
• Lead bottling plant actions to optimize manufacturing costs.
• Collaborate with Franchise Operations Managers.

Skills

Technical risk management

Lean practices

Collaboration

Strategic problem-solving

Project management

Job description

The Technical Operations Director for the Middle East Franchise is a pivotal role responsible for driving operational excellence, providing technical leadership, and supporting executional priorities across designated markets. This position ensures alignment between bottler operations, the Franchise team, and Coca-Cola system-wide goals, playing a critical role in the success of the Franchise ecosystem.

Focus, Scope, & Impact:

Strategic Focus & Geographical Impact

• The role is focused on the region, covering single or multiple countries within the Coca-Cola Company's Middle East Franchise. It oversees critical business indicators such as volume, revenue, and operating income, considering the complexity of supply chains, geographical diversity, and the maturity levels of the bottling partners.

• The primary focus markets for this role include KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait, Bahrain where the incumbent will act as the TI&SC (Technical, Innovation & Supply Chain) lead for the Franchise operations, working closely with the Franchise Senior Technical Operations Director and key project executional support to whole Franchise.

Territory-Level Support & Collaboration

• Provide technical leadership and executional support to franchise units and bottling partners across all TI&SC functional areas, ensuring alignment with regional strategies and operational goals

• Serve as the technical franchise leader, setting ambitious yet achievable targets for each bottling plant, while guiding their efficient execution to support growth and operational capacity building.

• Collaborate with Franchise Operations Managers to enable targeted capability and capacity building in supply chain, production infrastructure, process optimization, and cost efficiency within the assigned territories.

Operational & Supply Chain Optimization

• Lead bottling plant actions to optimize manufacturing costs and yields, ensuring profitability targets are met while maintaining quality standards.

• Facilitate the development and execution of productivity initiatives and supply chain contingency plans (BCPs) across the assigned territories in alignment with system goals.

• Coordinate demand and supply activities between bottling partners and the broader Supply Chain team, ensuring seamless alignment within the Franchise operations.

Commercialization & Execution

• Support the development and execution of commercialization/innovation plans by working collaboratively with key stakeholders, including Corporate, CPS (Commercial Products Supply), bottling partners, and other Franchise Operations (FO) functions.

Integrated Individual Contribution

• While this is an individual contributor role, it requires extensive collaboration across technical functions and operational teams to provide guidance and actionable solutions for strategic execution.

Experience

• Min 10 years of experience in one or more functional areas related to preferred food & beverage manufacturing operations

• Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Production, QSE (Quality, Safety & Environment), SRA (Scientific & Regulatory Affairs), Commercialization, Technical Franchise Leadership, or roles within the food and beverage industry.

• Proven track record of navigating complex manufacturing environments with an understanding of regional challenges and operational diversity.

• strong knowledge of technical risk management, technical governance processes (frameworks, KPIs, etc.), and commercialization methodologies, supply chain process and operations.

• Familiarity with QSE metrics, operational assessments, and project management tools to execute technical/commercial initiatives successfully.

• Demonstrated expertise in continuous improvement methodologies and lean practices within large-scale production and distribution ecosystems.

• Strong planning and organizational skills to ensure efficient execution of technical and commercial projects in dynamic environments.

• Robust risk-mapping capabilities and strategic problem-solving skills to anticipate operational issues and define effective solutions.

• open to travel min 40%

Annual Incentive Reference Value Percentage:30

Annual Incentive reference value is a market-based competitive value for your role. It falls in the middle of the range for your role, indicating performance at target.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state or local protected class.