Head of Manufacturing & Production

West Coast Personnel; Parow; On-site; ZAR 781,000 - 1,004,000; Full time

Job summary

West Coast Personnel is seeking a Senior Production Manager to lead and optimise manufacturing and metal fabrication operations in Parow, Cape Town. You will translate sales into production plans, manage capacity and lead cross-functional teams to meet tight deadlines.

The role requires strong leadership, planning, and problem-solving skills with a hands-on approach to drive efficiency, quality and safety across the plant.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in production, manufacturing or factory management.
• Strong experience in a manufacturing and metal fabrication environment.
• Proven production planning and scheduling experience.
• Strong capacity and resource-planning experience.
• Experience managing complex production environments with multiple projects and deadlines.
• Strong technical manufacturing knowledge.
• Proven leadership and people-management experience.
• Strong commercial and business awareness.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making ability.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across manufacturing and production.
• Oversee fabrication, machining, assembly and finishing operations.
• Develop and manage production plans and schedules.
• Translate sales requirements into achievable production programmes.
• Manage production capacity across labour, machinery, materials and lead times.
• Monitor production against schedules, targets and customer deadlines.
• Identify bottlenecks, delays and capacity constraints and implement corrective action.
• Drive productivity, efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Reduce waste and optimise manufacturing processes.
• Maintain required manufacturing and quality standards.
• Ensure materials, drawings, labour and machinery are available when required.
• Work closely with Engineering, Sales, Procurement and Logistics.
• Implement and maintain effective manufacturing procedures, policies and controls.
• Lead and develop Factory Managers, Supervisors, Artisans and production teams.
• Drive accountability, performance and employee engagement.
• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety requirements.
• Resolve production challenges with practical and commercially sound solutions.

Skills

Production leadership

Production planning

Capacity planning

People leadership

Problem-solving

Time management

Education

N5 qualification

Tools

ERP / manufacturing software

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across manufacturing and production.
• Oversee fabrication, machining, assembly and finishing operations.
• Develop and manage production plans and schedules.
• Translate sales requirements into achievable production programmes.
• Manage production capacity across labour, machinery, materials and lead times.
• Monitor production against schedules, targets and customer deadlines.
• Identify bottlenecks, delays and capacity constraints and implement corrective action.
• Drive productivity, efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Reduce waste and optimise manufacturing processes.
• Maintain required manufacturing and quality standards.
• Ensure materials, drawings, labour and machinery are available when required.
• Work closely with Engineering, Sales, Procurement and Logistics.
• Implement and maintain effective manufacturing procedures, policies and controls.
• Lead and develop Factory Managers, Supervisors, Artisans and production teams.
• Drive accountability, performance and employee engagement.
• Ensure compliance with Health & Safety requirements.
• Resolve production challenges with practical and commercially sound solutions.

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum N5 tertiary qualification.
• Proven senior-level experience in Production, Manufacturing or Factory Management.
• Strong experience within a manufacturing and metal fabrication environment.
• Proven production planning and scheduling experience.
• Strong capacity and resource-planning experience.
• Experience managing complex production environments with multiple projects and competing deadlines.
• Strong technical manufacturing knowledge.
• Proven leadership and people-management experience.
• Strong commercial and business awareness.
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making ability.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills.
• ERP, production-management or manufacturing software experience advantageous.

Key Competencies

• Manufacturing & Production Leadership
• Production Planning & Scheduling
• Capacity Planning
• Metal Fabrication
• Factory Management
• Operational Efficiency
• Continuous Improvement
• Quality Management
• Resource Planning
• People Leadership
• Health & Safety
• Commercial Awareness

Working Hours

Monday – Thursday: 08:00 – 17:00

Friday: 08:00 – 15:00

Location: Parow, Cape Town

Salary: R70 000 – R90 000 CTC per month