Manufacturing Manager Fatty Acid & Hydrogenation

Unilever PLC; Sumatera Utara; On-site; IDR 800,000,000 - 1,500,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Unilever PLC seeks a capable Plant Leader for the Fatty Acid 2 and Hydrogenation plants in Sumatra. You will drive safe, reliable, and sustainable operations, ensuring product quality and customer fulfillment while managing costs and continuous improvements.

Based in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra, you will lead safety, competency development, and cross-functional collaboration with Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain to achieve production targets and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering or related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years in oleochemical/chemical/ process manufacturing with managerial experience.
• Strong knowledge of oleochemical processing and hydrogenation operations.
• Solid understanding of process engineering, plant operations, maintenance and reliability, SHE, and process safety management.
• Strong leadership with proven experience in people development and building high-performing teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Good command of spoken and written English.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all plant activities comply with quality, food safety, environmental, health & safety, and process safety requirements.
• Lead Operational Safety & Emergency Management; investigate, report, mitigate, and prevent recurrence.
• Maintain safe, stable, and reliable plant operations while minimizing downtime and risks.
• Coordinate with Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain to meet production targets and delivery performance.
• Make timely operational decisions to protect people, assets, product quality, and continuity during upsets.
• Develop workforce requirements, roles, and performance expectations; enable training and competency development.
• Evaluate performance, provide feedback, and plan succession and career development for the team.
• Monitor production performance, process conditions, equipment performance, and product quality; drive improvements.

Skills

Leadership

Process safety management

Plant operations

Yield optimization

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

English communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or related engineering discipline

Job description

About the Role

The position will be responsible for the safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable operation of the Fatty Acid 2 Plant and Hydrogenation Plant, ensuring product quality, operational reliability, cost competitiveness, and achievement of production targets. The role will lead overall plant operations to ensure products consistently meet required specifications and customer requirements, while maintaining reliable supply of fatty acid and hydrogenated products to Downstream operations and external customers. The position is also accountable for process safety, people leadership, operational excellence, cost management, yield optimization, loss reduction, utility efficiency, and continuous improvement across the plants.

Responsibilities

• Ensure all plant activities comply with applicable requirements for quality, food safety, environmental management, occupational health and safety, and process safety.
• Operational Safety & Emergency Management; Lead the response to operational disturbances and emergencies, including investigation, reporting, mitigation, corrective actions, and prevention of recurrence.
• Plant Performance & Reliability; Ensure safe, stable, and reliable plant operations while minimizing unplanned downtime, equipment damage, production losses, and operational risks.
• Production Target Delivery; Coordinate closely with Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and other relevant functions to achieve production targets for volume, capacity utilization, product quality, raw-material availability, equipment reliability, and delivery performance.
• Make timely and sound operational decisions to protect people, assets, product quality, and production continuity, particularly during plant abnormalities and process upsets.
• Establish appropriate workforce requirements, work assignments, roles, and performance expectations to ensure effective plant operations.
• Develop team competencies through structured training, on-the-job development, coaching, mentoring, and competency management based on the approved training and capability matrix.
• Regularly evaluate employee performance, provide constructive feedback and recognition, address performance gaps in accordance with company policies, and develop succession and career-development plans for the team.
• Monitor and evaluate production performance, process conditions, equipment performance, and product quality. Identify and implement improvements to enhance plant stability, productivity, reliability, and product consistency.
• Lead environmental and safety risk assessments and ensure effective implementation of controls. Maintain high standards of housekeeping and a clean, organized, and safe workplace.
• Prepare and manage the operational budget, ensuring Cost of Conversion (CoC) remains within target. Lead initiatives related to yield optimization, process-loss reduction, waste reduction, product-quality improvement, energy and utility efficiency, and cost optimization to improve overall plant profitability.
• Build strong collaboration across Production, Engineering, Maintenance, Quality, Supply Chain, SHE, and other stakeholders to resolve operational constraints and continuously improve end-to-end plant performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in oleochemical, chemical, or process manufacturing, with demonstrated experience in a managerial or plant leadership role.
• Strong knowledge of oleochemical processing and hydrogenation operations, including hydrogen systems, catalyst handling, and associated process-safety requirements.
• Solid understanding of process engineering, plant operations, maintenance and reliability management, SHE, and process safety management.
• Strong capability in troubleshooting complex process and operational issues, with sound judgment during abnormal and emergency situations.
• Demonstrated experience in production optimization, yield improvement, loss reduction, utility efficiency, cost management, and continuous improvement.
• Strong leadership capability with proven experience in people development, coaching, performance management, and building high-performing operational teams.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, decision-making, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Good command of spoken and written English.
• Willing to be based in Sei Mangkei, North Sumatra.