Designation
GENERAL MANAGER - OPERATIONS
Location Thane Plant
Job Description
Position Summary
Plans, organizes, leads and controls the Thane factory operations. Plans to produce the required production output keeping to cost budgets and meeting quality expectations whilst meeting the Thane factory's targets of turnover and EBIT. Driving processes in the unit to meet customer requirements and ensuring adherence to good manufacturing practices in the unit are key deliverables. He is expected to implement improved work practices and to lead his team on a path of continuous improvement using modern day techniques. Innovation is key in the business and he must be committed to the creation of a culture that furthers product and process innovation.

Organizational Context
Huhtamaki is a global packaging company with leadership in fresh food, FMCG and food service packaging, with over USD 3.13 bil in sales, operating in 36 countries. PPL is a Asia and Oceania Flexibles Business Unit in the Asia, Oceania and Africa Region. It is a publicly listed company with annual gross sales of USD 150 mn. PPL is a leader in India’s packaging industry and has a reputation for technical excellence and innovation the world over. The company has 4 plants located at Thane, Hyderabad, Silvassa & Rudrapur.

The General Manager- Thane reports to the COO of the company.

There are 13 positions reporting to the position. These include 2 Sr. Manager – Operations (one for Flexo), Head –Materials, Sr. Manager – Projects, Manager-Health Safety & Environment, Sr. Manager – CMD Sr. Manager- Cylinder Production, Head - P&A, Sr. Manager – Plant Accounts, Sr. Manager – Engineering (2), Sr. Manager – New Projects, Sr. Manager – Technical Services.

Planning and Review

  • Annual planning and review covers production standards, plant budget by cost centers, and staff objective plans.
  • Quarterly planning and review involves setting production volume forecasts and working capital levels.
  • Monthly planning and review covers plant performance for the month and next month's plan.

Working Relations
This not only involves day-to-day responsibility for the plant operation but frequent interaction with the other Plant Managers, and Business Managers in Marketing. The position interacts appropriately with all the functional Heads to seek expert advice and opinions on operational and strategic needs for carrying on the business:

Dimension Quantification
Direct Reports 13
Total Staff 380
Operating Year 2007 budget Rs. 1200 million
Qualification

Essential:: Graduate Engineer from an engineering college of repute, (Mechanical, Chemical or Production Engineering).
Desirable:: A post graduation in Industrial engineering or an MBA in Operations / Production management.

Position Requirement
Planning and Organizing
Sets goals and develops plans, anticipates obstacles and develops alternative plans. Co-ordinates own activities and those of others to meet objectives efficiently and effectively.
Change Management
Identifies and acts on what needs to change in the values and ways of thinking and behaving to remove obstacles and allow implementation of the vision and strategy.
Communication Skills
The confidence and ability to structure and communicate material effectively in both written and oral forms, including group presentations.
The ability to focus on and extract customer needs and requirements from a product performance perspective.
The ability to have structured and informal 2-way communication.
The ability to negotiate in a commercial and employee relations’ context.
Know How:
Application and extension of know-how and business understanding to achieve improved performance. Expertise in sufficient areas to run a business or key function by:
Demonstrating sufficient knowledge of all key disciplines needed to run a business or key function, Understanding how the dynamics of the market, e.g. spending patterns, affect PPL’s position.
Understanding all key business processes, and business areas, and how they fit together and interrelate, and appreciating the effect that his/her actions have on other areas.
Business Focus:
Acts to ensure company achieves best possible value and return at minimum cost. Continually assessing better ways of improving the bottom line, implementing opportunities for economies of scale and cost savings,
Considering the cost implications of any proposed changes and shaping decisions accordingly, Monitoring against budget and highlighting variances for action.
Pulling Together and Personal Influence:
Working cooperatively with others, within and across Business Units and Business Groups and striving to achieve common objectives.Promotes cross team working by:
Breaking down barriers to facilitate team work, Working with other teams to identify and implement mutually beneficial solutions, Initiating and participating in cross-functional project teams, and fulfilling an effective and constructive role in the team even when he/she is not the leader.
Customer Focus:
Keeping in touch with the market, identifying and understanding internal and external customers and the business requirements. Builds customer relations by:
Ensuring that everyone in the business understands and acts upon the importance of customers, both internal and external, Developing broad network contacts within key customers in particular product quality and functional needs, Acting to develop a sound understanding of customers' markets and business,
Using his/her understanding of customer's business to identify opportunities, which benefit the customer and own business, International and India wide mobility.
Experience
15 years experience in production / manufacturing industry including management experience in an autonomous, senior operational role. This experience should be gained in a large, complex business, undergoing change with integrated operations and a unionized workforce.Expert knowledge of management information systems and modern operational management methods is an advantage. Systems and procedure orientation. Proven ability to maintain and develop positive customer relations and experience in industrial relations negotiations.Ability to asses risk and take decisions accordingly.
Age 38 - 42 yrs
CTC for this position
Will be in keeping with the best in the Industry and will not be a constraint for the right candidate.
Contact Email Id hrd@pplpack.com
   
Accountability and Expected End results
Key Task/Activity - % of Time Accountability Expected End Result/Key Performance Indicator
Leadership
Set vision targets for Thane team.Create committed, high performing and innovative team.
Provide strong, consistent, ethical and honest leadership so as to be an example to all.Foster team spirit, high morale and commitment.Have ability to work and guide personnel.Be proficient in oral and written communication.
Meet Production Plan
Produce Flexible packaging in accordance with quality standards, which are delivered on time in accordance with Sales and Operating Plan.
Ensure products meet quality standards.Delivered on time and in full.Manufactured within budgeted cost.Meet sales and operating plan targets. Ensure accuracy on Routings, Bills of materials, inventory.
Provides Customer Service
Leads the purchasing, Scheduling, customer service, teams to ensure customer service expectation is achieved. Provide support for front line customer service for selected clients.
Products delivered on time and in full in accordance with Sales Plan.Relationships with key customers established and maintained.Team maintains accurate records.Ensure stock levels conform to budget and forecast requirements.Schedules developed to maximize production line efficiency and profitability.
Controls Costs
Monitors and controls costs of production within budgeted levels.
Planned costs are not exceeded in the areas of materials, labor and factory overheads.Ensures working capital costs (finished goods, work in progress and raw materials inventory) do not exceed agreed levels.Takes actions to continuously improve and control costs by focusing on line efficiency, labor, scrap, rework and maintenance.Understand drivers and relationships that affect profitability while retaining balance of strength, reliability and depth.
HSE
Manages sites occupational health and safety and environment practices to meet Indian and International standards and legal requirements.Ongoing program to enhance safety awareness.
Implements all statutory regulations as required by various legislations in India.Demonstrate commitment to highest standards of safety.
Purchasing
Co-ordinates purchasing of raw materials in accordance with policies and procedures and purchase contracts applicable to the Plant.Select vendors for consumables and engineering applications.
Ensures purchase price of materials does not exceed purchase agreement prices.Optimizes price versus cost.Strives for standardization in line with group recommendations and through the purchasing manager.Maintains a positive supplier relation.Maximum reliability and quality of supply at lowest inventory level and lowest cost.
Annual Planning
Participates in development of Plant strategic plan and budget ensuring factory requirements are met.Develops and implements overall factory plan.
Ensures plan and budget is completed, achieved, communicated and owned by direct reports.
Human Resources Management
Develops and implements factory annual human resources (HR) plan consistent with factory plans.Establishes recruitment standards for all key site positions.Ensures good caliber people are recruited who are capable of long-term growth.Ensures training is provided to meet employees’ development needs.
Ensures adequate succession planning.Coaching counseling and targeted feedback used to foster a performance culture.Staff position holder’s performance reviewed using performance management system.Provide opportunities for high potential employees to develop.Induction, training and development completed as per plan.
Capital (Plant and Equipment)and security
Protects and enhances the value of capital, plant and equipment by proposing and implementing capital improvements and ensuring adequate security.
Propose and implement capital improvements plan with Operations and Technical Managers.Ensure Investment Expenditure Justification target returns are met.Ensure the security and maintenance of all buildings, equipment and stock.
Organization Culture and Commitment
Ensure that factory organization culture and employee relations are supportive of long-term business strategies by effective, open two-way communication and feedback regarding business issues.
Structured communication within factory at all levels.Ensures factory employees adhere to policies and procedures.
Employee Relations
Establish and execute factory employee relations’ plan in accordance with company guidelines.Leads factory agreement negotiations ensuring labor flexibility.Maintain good relations with employees.Create environment conducive to positive change.
Leads enterprise based agreement negotiations achieving planned outcomes.Employee relations plan that meets plant and organisation guidelines.IR plan executed.Provide strong, consistent leadership and support.Foster trust and common objectives within the organization.
Project Management
Design plan and implement projects for new plants, technology and machines as required
Completion of project deadlines as per targets
Monthly Reporting
Reports on factory performance each month, quarter and year in accordance with guidelines.
Ensures all monthly reporting and analysis meets monthly, quarterly and yearly deadlines.

Key challenges
The key challenges for this position are to:

  1. Lead the factory through a period of change delivering lower manufacturing costs.
  2. Meet heightened market expectations for quality and service. A heavily unionized, traditional and long serving workforce complicates the change implementation. The essential component is to drive a performance agenda through all levels of the factory.
  3. Retain talent.
  4. Coaching in technical skills.
  5. Ensure Project completion on time within budgeted cost.