Assistant Manager, Factory Operations (Pharma/F&B)

Company Overview

Our client is an established, rapidly growing health-science innovator, licensed contract manufacturer, and brand owner specializing in premium nutraceuticals, dietary supplements, and functional food formulations. Operating high-standard cGMP, HACCP, ISO 22000, and JAKIM Halal-certified processing facilities in Selangor, they engineer and manufacture high-potency powders, sachet blends, solid oral capsules, and functional liquids for leading healthcare groups, pharmacy chains, and brand owners across Malaysia and international markets.

To support their continuous market expansion and lead the operational commissioning of a brand-new secondary manufacturing facility, the company is seeking a structured, proactive, and results-driven Senior Operations Executive / Assistant Operations Manager.

Mission

Reporting directly to the Managing Director and Executive Director, this role serves as the central operational leader on the factory floor. The position is tasked with putting structure, standard operating rhythms, and disciplined procedural execution into day-to-day plant operations.

You will lead cross-functional supervisors and technical executives across Production, Quality, Warehouse, Maintenance, and Halal Governance—ensuring orders are planned and fulfilled on time, material yields are maximized, strict NPRA GMP and Halal audit-readiness is sustained, and the new plant expansion is commissioned smoothly into commercial readiness.

Key Responsibilities & Activities

1. Operational Systems, Daily Rhythms & Team Leadership

• Establish Operating Structure: In collaboration with HR and operational leads, author, standardize, and enforce Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across production lines, cleanroom hygiene, quality release, warehouse staging, and preventive maintenance.
  

• Operating Rhythm: Drive predictable, calm plant routines—leading daily morning stand-ups, managing shopfloor visual production boards, supervising shift hand-overs, and compiling daily output analytics for weekly director reviews.
  

• Team Development: Directly coach, mentor, and evaluate Production Executives, line supervisors, QA/QC officers, and warehouse staff; establish clear accountability and optimize attendance across local and foreign worker teams.
  

• Floor Decision-Maker: Serve as the authoritative operational decision-maker on the plant floor, resolving line bottlenecks, resource imbalances, and process snags proactively.
  

2. Production Planning, Material Yield & Execution

• Master Scheduling: Translate sales demand and commercial orders into executable weekly and monthly production schedules (allocating machine hours, line tooling, batch sizing, manpower shifts, and rostered runs).
  

• Yield & Waste Containment: Track and optimize batch yield, raw material variance, and packaging scrap day by day, driving down unplanned downtime and keeping overtime well-planned.
  

• Supply Chain Alignment: Interface closely with Purchasing to monitor raw ingredient lead times, minimum order quantities (MOQs), and buffer stocks; coordinate with R&D on pilot batches, trial formulations, and production scale-ups.
  

3. Quality Assurance, NPRA GMP & Regulatory Audit Defense

• Permanent Audit Readiness: Keep the entire manufacturing facility in an ongoing state of audit readiness for NPRA GMP (health supplements / traditional medicines), HACCP, ISO 22000, and JAKIM Halal inspections, as well as international customer and social compliance audits (e.g., Amfori).
  

• Documentation Rigor: Verify absolute accuracy and integrity across Batch Manufacturing Records (BMR), equipment logbooks, line clearance checklists, cleaning records, change controls, and deviation investigations.
  

• Halal & Regulatory Governance: Support the Internal Halal Committee (IHC) and Regulatory Affairs to maintain active manufacturing licenses, Halal certifications, and product registrations.
  

4. Warehouse, Facilities, Utilities & Maintenance Oversight

• Warehouse & Logistics: Supervise warehouse receiving, raw material/packaging temperature and humidity controls, allergen segregation, inventory cycle counts, and finished goods dispatch cut-offs.
  

• Plant Maintenance: Oversee preventive maintenance (PM) schedules, tooling changeovers, instrument calibrations, and fast breakdown resolutions for blending machinery, sachet packing lines, capsule fillers, and liquid bottling units.
  

• Facility Utilities & EHS: Monitor critical plant utilities (cleanroom HVAC systems, dehumidifiers, purified water loops, compressed air); uphold workplace safety standards in compliance with DOSH and local fire safety requirements.
  

5. New Plant Commissioning & Cost Optimization

• Capital Expansion: Spearhead the operational commissioning of the new manufacturing plant—including cleanroom zoning, machinery positioning, installation qualification (IQ), operational qualification (OQ), process validation, and licensing inspections.
  

• Cost Governance: Systematically track operational expenditures—monitoring batch cost trends, utility consumption, and labor efficiency; assist HR with foreign worker administration and accommodation compliance under Malaysian labor laws (Akta 446).
  

Requirements

Education & Professional Background

• Education: Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science, Food Technology, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Chemical/Industrial Engineering, Pharmacy, or a related scientific discipline.
  

• Industry Experience: Minimum of 3+ years of progressive operations or production leadership experience directly within a health supplement, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, or food processing manufacturing plant.
  

• Supervisory Track Record: Proven background managing people—leading line supervisors, operational executives, and production teams on the shop floor.
  

• Audit Exposure: Hands-on experience participating in, hosting, or defending formal audits (regulatory, third-party certification, or key customer audits).
  

Technical & Operational Competencies

• Regulatory Knowledge: Solid operational understanding of GMP (NPRA / cGMP), HACCP, ISO 22000, and JAKIM Halal compliance frameworks. Exposure to pharmaceutical-grade environments or solid dosage forms (powder blending, sachet packing, encapsulation, or liquid filling) is an added advantage.
  

• Commissioning Exposure (Plus Point): Prior exposure to line commissioning, cleanroom zoning, or plant expansion projects is highly regarded.
  

• Workforce Compliance: Familiarity with foreign worker administration, hostel governance (Akta 446), and 5S / Lean tools.
  

Language & Work Arrangement

• Linguistic Capability: Professional working proficiency in Mandarin, English, and Bahasa Malaysia is required. Fluency in Mandarin is an operational necessity to interface with Mandarin-speaking executive leadership and direct technical communications with raw material and equipment suppliers from Greater China.
  

• Location & Mobility: Based on-site at the Semenyih (Selangor) manufacturing hub. Must possess own transport and live within a reasonable commute.
  

• Personal Attributes: Calm, structured, decisive problem solver who values procedural discipline, builds team capability, and thrives in an active plant environment.