Plant Director (m/f/d)

Pacific International Executive Search; Bergen op Zoom; On-site; EUR 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Pacific International Executive Search is partnering with a mid-sized international industrial group to appoint a Site Director. The role demands proven manufacturing leadership, strong TPM/WCM orientation, and the ability to drive operational and financial performance across a flagship production site.

Based in the Netherlands, the successful candidate will lead a multidisciplinary team, enhance quality and delivery, and collaborate across an international network to share best practices while

Qualifications

• Leads complex manufacturing operations with clear accountability for site results.
• Manages multiple functions, stakeholders and priorities effectively.
• Delivers TPM/WCM and continuous improvement to raise efficiency and performance.
• Understands manufacturing processes, maintenance, planning, quality systems and supply chain.
• Brings strong business insight and translates operations into value and growth.
• Drives organizational change and aligns standards, processes and ways of working.
• Develops and motivates teams across shopfloor and management levels.
• Balances long-term strategy with pragmatic execution for measurable outcomes.
• Creates international collaboration and shares best practices across sites.
• Fluent in Dutch and English, open to international travel.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for the manufacturing site, ensuring strong performance across safety, quality, cost and service objectives.
• Drive Lean methodologies and further develop a culture focused on efficiency, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Embed and advance TPM/WCM principles, strengthening operational excellence and establishing robust manufacturing best practices.
• Lead, coach and develop a multidisciplinary management team, building engagement and long-term organizational capability.
• Ensure smooth and reliable operations by aligning production, supply chain, engineering and support functions.
• Monitor key business and operational metrics, translating insights into actions that improve performance and competitiveness.
• Own the site's financial performance, including budgeting, resource allocation and investment priorities.
• Strengthen collaboration and best-practice sharing across the international manufacturing network, building strong relationships with colleagues across the wider organization.
• Support customer success through consistent product quality, dependable delivery and operational flexibility.
• Lead strategic initiatives and transformation projects that strengthen the site's capabilities and support its development into a flagship operation within the wider organization.

Skills

Manufacturing Leadership

Complex Operations Management

Lean & Performance Excellence

Technical & Operational Expertise

Commercial & Financial Acumen

Transformation & Change Leadership

People Leadership

Strategic Execution

International Collaboration

Languages & Mobility

Job description

Pacific International Recruitment is an established international Executive Search firm with nearly 30 years of proven success in placing senior leadership and critical management positions. Headquartered in London, with strategic offices in Düsseldorf and Philadelphia, we support clients and candidates across EMEA and the United States.

We are partnering with a mid-sized, international industrial manufacturing group with a strong sustainability focus and an established international presence. Following a period of significant growth and continued investment in its manufacturing footprint, the company is now entering an important next phase of its development: further strengthening its operational structures, professionalizing its manufacturing platform and creating the foundations for continued international growth.

As Site Director, you will foster a culture of accountability, safety and continuous improvement while driving operational and financial performance. You will further develop the site’s TPM/WCM culture, strengthen international best-practice sharing and build strong relationships across the global manufacturing network, with the ambition of establishing the site as a flagship operation within the wider organization. The successful candidate is a proven manufacturing leader with the ability to develop and motivate people, optimize performance and translate strategy into results.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership for the manufacturing site, ensuring strong performance across safety, quality, cost and service objectives.
• Drive Lean methodologies and further develop a culture focused on efficiency, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Embed and advance TPM/WCM principles, strengthening operational excellence and establishing robust manufacturing best practices.
• Lead, coach and develop a multidisciplinary management team, building engagement and long-term organizational capability.
• Ensure smooth and reliable operations by aligning production, supply chain, engineering and support functions.
• Monitor key business and operational metrics, translating insights into actions that improve performance and competitiveness.
• Own the site's financial performance, including budgeting, resource allocation and investment priorities.
• Strengthen collaboration and best-practice sharing across the international manufacturing network, building strong relationships with colleagues across the wider organization.
• Support customer success through consistent product quality, dependable delivery and operational flexibility.
• Lead strategic initiatives and transformation projects that strengthen the site's capabilities and support its development into a flagship operation within the wider organization.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Manufacturing Leadership: Experienced in leading complex manufacturing operations with full accountability for site performance.
• Complex Operations Management: Successfully navigates operational complexity, balancing multiple functions, stakeholders and business priorities.
• Lean & Performance Excellence: Strong track record in TPM, WCM and continuous improvement, with the ability to embed a culture of efficiency, accountability and sustainable performance.
• Technical & Operational Expertise: Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, maintenance, production planning, quality systems and supply chain interactions.
• Commercial & Financial Acumen: Combines strong business insight with financial discipline, translating operational decisions into customer value, sustainable growth and long-term profitability.
• Transformation & Change Leadership: Leads organizational change with confidence, challenging traditional ways of working and building alignment around new standards, processes and ways of working.
• People Leadership: Develops, motivates and engages high-performing teams across the shopfloor, management and wider organization.
• Strategic Execution: Combines long-term vision with a hands-on, pragmatic approach, ensuring strategy is translated into measurable operational outcomes.
• International Collaboration: Builds strong relationships across an international manufacturing network and actively promotes best-practice sharing across sites.
• Languages & Mobility: Fluent in Dutch and English, with the willingness to travel internationally occasionally.

Join a leading international manufacturing organization with a strong market presence and a reputation for operational excellence. This is an opportunity to take ownership of a strategically important production site, driving performance, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and leading a dedicated workforce in a fast‑paced industrial environment. Play a key role in shaping the future of the operation while contributing to the long‑term success of a growing global business.

About Pacific International Executive Search:

Pacific International, a globally recognized retained Executive Search firm, is dedicated to empowering Fortune 500, FTSE 100, and high-growth enterprises in building exceptional C‑suite, senior‑level, and strategic leadership teams while championing diversity and inclusion. Our adaptability, agility, and forward‑thinking ethos distinguish us in the ever‑evolving business landscape. Since 1997, we have been dedicated to building lasting client partnerships based on trust and reliability, and a proven track record of successful C‑suite and mid‑to senior‑level leadership project delivery across many key industries globally.

PACIFIC DIVERSITY STATEMENT:

At Pacific International, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the core of who we are and what we do. Our commitment to these values is unwavering and we proudly champion diversity on behalf of our clients in every Executive Search mandate we undertake. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. In pursuit of these objectives, we actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities.