Production Director

About the role

We are partnering with an established international manufacturing business to appoint a Production Director to lead its South African manufacturing operation. This is a technically complex, process‑driven environment where raw‑material variability, process conditions, plant performance and stringent quality requirements directly impact yield, product consistency, cost and customer supply.

Key responsibilities

• Lead a complex continuous and batch process manufacturing operation.
• Drive improvements in yield, throughput, quality, cost and productivity.
• Manage the impact of raw‑material variability and process conditions on production performance.
• Ensure production plans, people, processes and plant capability are aligned to customer demand.
• Partner closely with Engineering, Technical and Quality to resolve complex process and equipment challenges.
• Take ownership of production budgets, variable costs and delivery against broader profitability targets.

Required profile

• Experience in sugar processing/refining, brewing, dairy processing, food ingredients, starch/glucose, edible oils or other technically demanding continuous or batch manufacturing environments.
• Proven plant leadership with strong financial acumen and continuous‑improvement capability.
• A relevant Engineering, Operations Management or related technical qualification is essential.