Unit head

Job Description

Job Purpose

The Unit Head will be responsible for the overall management, performance and profitability of the manufacturing unit. The position requires strong leadership experience in managing plant operations, engineering, maintenance, production, quality, EHS, projects and workforce productivity.

The incumbent will ensure safe, compliant and cost-effective plant operations while achieving production, quality, reliability and business targets.

Key Responsibilities

· Provide overall leadership and strategic direction to the manufacturing unit.

· Manage end-to-end plant operations, including Production, Engineering, Maintenance, Utilities, Projects, Quality, EHS and Supply Chain coordination.

· Achieve production targets while maintaining required standards of safety, quality, cost and delivery.

· Take responsibility for the unit’s operational budget, manufacturing cost and overall profitability.

· Drive improvement in plant productivity, capacity utilisation, yield, equipment reliability and operational efficiency.

· Monitor major plant KPIs, including production volume, downtime, OEE, energy consumption, maintenance cost, yield and manpower productivity.

· Lead preventive, predictive and breakdown maintenance strategies to improve plant reliability and minimise unplanned shutdowns.

· Ensure optimum performance and availability of plant equipment, utilities and infrastructure.

· Identify and implement cost-reduction, energy-saving, debottlenecking and process-improvement initiatives.

· Lead expansion, modernisation, automation and brownfield project activities at the unit.

· Ensure compliance with statutory, environmental, safety and regulatory requirements.

· Build a strong safety culture and ensure adherence to EHS systems, permit-to-work procedures and risk-management practices.

· Review plant incidents, equipment failures and operational deviations, and ensure effective root-cause analysis and corrective actions.

· Coordinate with Corporate Management, Commercial, Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Quality and Technical teams.

· Manage relationships with regulatory authorities, local administration, contractors, vendors and other external stakeholders.

· Develop departmental heads and build a strong second line of leadership.

· Drive employee engagement, workforce discipline, skill development and performance management.

· Present unit performance, risks, improvement plans and business requirements to senior management.

Key Competencies

· Plant and unit leadership

· Manufacturing operations management

· Mechanical engineering and maintenance

· Production planning and control

· Plant reliability and asset management

· Budgeting and cost optimisation

· Operational excellence and continuous improvement

· Project execution and commissioning

· EHS and statutory compliance

· Stakeholder and workforce management

· Strategic decision-making

· Crisis and change management

Preferred Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate should be a commercially aware and technically strong manufacturing leader with experience in managing complete unit operations. The candidate should demonstrate a strong record of improving safety, productivity, plant reliability, cost efficiency and team performance.