Interim General Manager

Our client is an international FTSE 250 manufacturing company. They have an immediate requirement to appoint an Interim General Manager to run one of their manufacturing plants in Hungary which employs circa 300 people.

The Interim General Manager will provide the site management and leadership to support the operations of the business to achieve its business objectives, safety, customer service targets, operational and budget targets and overall business objectives.  The General Manager will have P&L responsibility to drive balanced growth of the location including Gross Margin, Operating Profit, Working Capital (inventory)

Principle Accountabilities:

• The provision, maintenance and continuous improvement of a safe, healthy and constructive working environment for the site operations team.
• Achievement of daily quality, costs and delivery requirements
• Own site customer relationship to drive positive customer satisfaction throughout the site
• Own and achieve customer quality targets.
• Lead corrective actions and have customer facing contact where operational deviations make this appropriate
• Regularly review all key performance indicators to develop and manage corrective or improvement actions
• Own the top level continuous improvement plan for the site operations focusing on the sustainable improvement of productivity, inventory reduction, health and safety, delivery performance, cost avoidance /reduction and the training and development of operations employees
• Coach and mentor direct reports to be effective leaders of their function and to support the top level operations objectives
• Participate in site financial reviews. Develop and maintain budgets for direct, indirect and support function employees, operating expenses and capital projects
• Ensure that cost/margin objectives are met for all products and variances are identified and corrected in a timely manner.  Participate in price discussions with commercial teams to ensure optimisation of Gross Margin on existing and tendered business.
• Ensure that all operations functions support all appropriate quality standards, ISO 9001, BRC and ISO 14001 processes and procedures so that certifications and systems are continually maintained
• Work constructively with the managers of all site functions and other Site Managers across the Group to optimise operational performance and overall profitability
• Take on the leadership and any special projects as developed by the Divisional Operations Director

Key Skills and Attributes:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Must have a strong Manufacturing background and extensive experience as Site General Manager or Manufacturing Manager level of the size, scope and complexity of a business which is similar to that of the current operation
• Relevant experience in the manufacture of large volume but low unit cost products
• Proven track record of operational/strategic change and improvement through people and processes
• Proven experience in establishing and embedding Continuous Improvement methodologies and new working practices to drive change
• A commercial and customer orientated approach.
• Self-starter – highly motivated, seeking to continually improve and not afraid to challenge the ‘norm’
• A people manager that is inspiring, engaging and motivational.
• A manager that is both a leader and coach to the team.
• Good standard of numeracy, ability to analyse data and performance
• Good problem solving and facilitation skills
• Strong ability to delegate and to communicate effectively
• A 'hands on' approach.
• Strong and tenacious character
• Computer literacy, Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Must be willing to travel as needed

The Interim General Manager is required for an initial 3-6 months contract in Hungary. This could be extended and/or a permanent role offered at another location if desired. Both candidates interested in the Interim Contract and longer term opportunity will be considered.