Factory General Manager — Job Description

Job Purpose

The Factory General Manager is responsible for the overall management and performance of the factory, ensuring safe, efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality manufacturing operations. The role leads all factory functions and is accountable for achieving production, quality, delivery, cost, profitability, and operational excellence objectives in alignment with the company’s strategic goals.

Key Responsibilities

1. Factory Operations & Production

• Lead and oversee all day-to-day factory operations and manufacturing activities.

• Ensure production plans are achieved in terms of volume, quality, cost, and delivery.

• Optimize production capacity, equipment utilization, workflows, and manpower.

• Establish and monitor production KPIs and take corrective action where required.

• Drive continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, productivity, and operational excellence initiatives.

• Ensure effective planning and utilization of raw materials, equipment, labor, and other resources.

2. Financial & Cost Management

• Develop and manage the factory operating budget and annual business plan.

• Control manufacturing costs, labor costs, material consumption, energy, waste, and overheads.

• Improve factory profitability through productivity and cost-efficiency initiatives.

• Monitor CAPEX requirements and ensure appropriate investment in machinery, technology, and infrastructure.

• Analyze operational and financial performance and implement improvement plans.

3. Quality Management

• Ensure compliance with company quality standards, customer specifications, and applicable regulatory requirements.

• Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of the factory's Quality Management System.

• Monitor quality KPIs, defects, customer complaints, rework, and waste.

• Ensure root-cause analysis and corrective/preventive actions are effectively implemented.

4. Health, Safety & Environment

• Maintain a strong HSE culture and ensure a safe working environment.

• Ensure compliance with applicable occupational health, safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

• Monitor safety performance, incidents, risk assessments, emergency preparedness, and environmental performance.

• Promote employee awareness and accountability for safe working practices.

5. Maintenance & Asset Management

• Ensure high availability, reliability, and efficiency of production equipment and facilities.

• Oversee preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programs.

• Develop plans to reduce equipment downtime and improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

• Ensure proper management of factory assets, utilities, infrastructure, and technical resources.

6. Supply Chain & Planning

• Coordinate closely with procurement, supply chain, warehousing, logistics, and commercial teams.

• Ensure availability of raw materials and production inputs to meet manufacturing requirements.

• Optimize inventory levels, material flow, warehousing, and production scheduling.

• Ensure finished products are delivered according to customer and business requirements.

7. People & Organization

• Lead, develop, and motivate the factory management team and workforce.

• Establish clear objectives, KPIs, accountability, and performance management processes.

• Identify organizational and capability requirements and develop succession plans.

• Promote employee engagement, teamwork, discipline, and a culture of continuous improvement.

• Ensure compliance with labor policies and company procedures.

8. Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure factory operations comply with applicable laws, regulations, permits, standards, and company policies.

• Identify operational risks and establish appropriate mitigation measures.

• Ensure internal and external audits are effectively managed and corrective actions implemented.

• Maintain appropriate operational controls and documentation.

9. Stakeholder & Leadership Responsibilities

• Provide regular performance reports to the CEO/COO or Executive Management.

• Work closely with Finance, HR, Procurement, Sales, Supply Chain, Quality, HSE, and Engineering functions.

• Maintain strong relationships with customers, suppliers, regulators, and other relevant stakeholders.

• Lead major operational improvement, expansion, automation, and transformation projects.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Typical KPIs for the Factory GM include:

• Production volume and plan achievement

• OEE and equipment utilization

• Production cost per unit

• Manufacturing gross margin/profitability

• On-time delivery

• Product quality and defect rate

• Scrap and waste percentage

• Customer complaints

• Machine downtime

• Maintenance cost and reliability

• Inventory turnover

• Labor productivity

• Energy consumption

• HSE performance / lost-time incidents

• Employee turnover and engagement

• Continuous improvement savings

• CAPEX delivery and ROI

Reporting Line

Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO) / Chief Executive Officer (CEO) / Managing Director, depending on the organization structure.

Direct reports may include:

• Production Manager

• Plant/Operations Manager

• Quality Manager

• Maintenance/Engineering Manager

• HSE Manager

• Supply Chain/Warehouse Manager

• Production Planning Manager

• HR/Administration Manager

• Finance/Cost Controller

Overall Accountability

The Factory General Manager has end-to-end accountability for factory performance, balancing safety, quality, delivery, productivity, cost, profitability, people, and asset utilization while ensuring that the factory supports the company's broader commercial and strategic objectives.

Requirements

1. Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline.

• A Master’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field is preferred.

• Professional qualifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Supply Chain, Quality Management, or HSEare an advantage.

2. Professional Experience

• 15+ years of progressive experience in manufacturing, industrial operations, or factory management.

• At least 5–8 years in a senior management/leadership position, preferably as Factory Manager, Plant Manager, Operations Director, or equivalent.

• Proven experience managing large-scale manufacturing operations, including production, maintenance, quality, HSE, supply chain, and technical functions.

• Demonstrated experience managing budgets, operating costs, CAPEX, productivity, and profitability.

• Strong track record of delivering measurable improvements in production efficiency, cost reduction, quality, and operational performance.

• Experience leading organizational transformation, automation, expansion, or major capital projects is highly desirable.

• Experience managing multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.

3. Technical & Operational Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes, production planning, capacity management, and factory operations.

• Strong understanding of Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, Six Sigma, TPM, 5S, and OEE.

• Good knowledge of quality management systems, including ISO standards and quality assurance practices.

• Strong understanding of maintenance, reliability, asset management, and industrial engineering.

• Knowledge of supply chain, procurement, inventory, warehousing, and logistics.

• Strong understanding of HSE requirements and industrial regulatory compliance.

• Good knowledge of cost accounting, manufacturing costing, budgeting, and financial management.

• Understanding of Industry 4.0, automation, digital manufacturing, and manufacturing analytics is an advantage.

4. Leadership & Management Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to lead a large factory organization and deliver results through multiple functional managers.

• Proven ability to lead organizational change and build a high-performance culture.

• Strong negotiation, influencing, and stakeholder-management capabilities.

• Ability to operate effectively under pressure and make timely decisions in complex operational environments.

5. Communication & Language

• Excellent command of English, both written and spoken.

• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with Board members, Executive Management, customers, suppliers, regulators, and employees at all levels.

• Arabic language proficiency would be an advantage, particularly for operations in Saudi Arabia.

6. Digital & Management Tools

The candidate should be highly proficient in:

• ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent.

• Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and production monitoring systems.

• Business Intelligence and data analytics tools, particularly Power BI or equivalent.

• Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint.

• Production planning and scheduling systems.

• Maintenance/CMMS systems.

• Quality and HSE management systems.

7. Preferred Certifications

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or equivalent.

• PMP certification for project-intensive environments.

• ISO Lead Auditor certification or relevant quality-management qualification.

• NEBOSH/IOSH or equivalent HSE qualification.

• Relevant professional engineering or manufacturing certification.