Head of Food Production & Operations

Principal Duties / Responsibilities

Manufacturing Strategy & Operational Excellence

1. Develop and execute The companys manufacturing strategy in alignment with the companys growth objectives.
2. Lead production planning and execution to consistently deliver products on time in full and to specification.
3. Drive Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement initiatives across all production facilities.
4. Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) production efficiency labour productivity and manufacturing throughput.
5. Optimize manufacturing capacity to support new stores increased demand and future business expansion.
6. Establish standardized operating procedures and best practices across all manufacturing sites.
7. Develop production performance dashboards to monitor key operational metrics and drive data-based decision-making.

Operational Risk Sustainability & Business Continuity

1. Identify and proactively mitigate operational quality and supply chain risks affecting manufacturing performance.
2. Develop and maintain business continuity plans for production operations.
3. Improve energy efficiency utility management and environmental sustainability initiatives.
4. Ensure operational readiness for equipment failures supply disruptions and emergency situations.
5. Promote workplace safety and ensure compliance with Occupational Health & Safety standards.
6. Lead incident investigations and implement preventive actions to eliminate repeat occurrences.

Leadership People Development & Culture

1. Build and lead high-performing production teams across all manufacturing units.
2. Develop succession plans for all critical manufacturing positions. Coach Production Managers and Supervisors to improve leadership effectiveness.
3. Embed the GAMEON values and a high-performance culture within manufacturing operations.
4. Drive employee engagement capability development and accountability across the production workforce.
5. Foster a culture of continuous learning innovation teamwork and operational discipline.

Product Innovation & Manufacturing Capability

1. Support Research & Development and Commercial teams in the successful commercialization of new products.
2. Ensure manufacturing readiness for new product introductions. Improve speed-to-market for new product launches.
3. Evaluate emerging manufacturing technologies and production methodologies.
4. Lead capital investment planning for production expansion and modernization.
5. Build manufacturing capability to support the long-term growth strategy.

Supply Chain Integration & Product Availability

1. Collaborate with Supply Chain Procurement Logistics and Retail Operations to improve end-to-end product availability.
2. Improve production forecasting accuracy and production scheduling.
3. Ensure raw material availability to support uninterrupted production.
4. Minimize production-related stock-outs and emergency production runs.
5. Support Sales and Commercial teams during peak demand periods and new product launches.
6. Drive cross-functional Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes.

Manufacturing Productivity & Cost Leadership

1. Drive year-on-year improvements in manufacturing productivity and operational efficiency.
2. Optimize material utilization production yield and labour deployment.
3. Reduce manufacturing waste rework and conversion costs without compromising product quality.
4. Lead annual manufacturing cost improvement initiatives.
5. Monitor and manage manufacturing budgets cost variances and operational expenditure.
6. Identify automation and technology opportunities to improve operational performance.

Food Safety Quality & Regulatory Compliance

1. Champion a world-class food safety culture across all manufacturing operations.
2. Ensure compliance with NAFDAC SON HACCP GMP ISO standards and all applicable regulatory requirements.
3. Lead Quality Assurance and Quality Control systems to ensure consistent product quality.
4. Drive continuous improvement in product quality first-pass yield and customer satisfaction.
5. Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for quality deviations and food safety incidents.
6. Ensure full traceability product integrity and recall readiness across all manufacturing operations.

Qualifications :

1. Bachelors degree in Food Science Food Technology Industrial Engineering Chemical Engineering Production Engineering Manufacturing Engineering or a related discipline.
2. MBA or Masters degree in Operations Management Manufacturing Supply Chain or Business Administration is an advantage.
3. Professional certifications in Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma HACCP ISO 22000 GMP or related disciplines are highly desirable
4. Minimum 1215 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing or FMCG operations.
5. At least 7 years in a senior manufacturing leadership role with responsibility for multiple production lines or manufacturing sites. 
6. Demonstrated success in driving operational excellence manufacturing productivity quality improvement and cost optimization within a high-volume food manufacturing environment.
7. Proven experience leading large multidisciplinary teams and delivering transformational manufacturing initiatives.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time