Manager Operational Excellence - Europe

The Role

As Manager Operational Excellence, you will play a key role in driving operational performance and continuous improvement across Plasman’s European manufacturing operations. Working closely with our plant management teams, you will develop, strengthen and standardize the Plasman Production System (PPS) and help turn our operational excellence principles into tangible improvements in safety, quality, delivery and cost.

Plasman operates in a fast-paced and highly competitive automotive environment. Achieving sustainable operational excellence requires more than implementing tools and processes – it requires engaging people, building capabilities and establishing a culture of continuous improvement. In this role, you will work directly with our plants to identify opportunities, establish best practices and ensure that improvement initiatives translate into measurable results.

You will lead the training and development of PPS across our plants, coaching employees and management teams and assessing the effectiveness and maturity of PPS practices. An important part of your role will be to build and facilitate a strong European and global network of PPS Champions, enabling our plants to learn from each other, share best practices and accelerate improvements across the organization.

You will also coordinate our Value Creation Projects (VCP) at plant level. This includes supporting the identification and initiation of projects, providing guidance and common standards, tracking progress and ensuring that projects deliver against agreed budget targets. Where opportunities extend beyond an individual plant, you will lead central VCP initiatives to leverage benefits across several locations. You will work closely with Operations, Finance, plant management and our North American organization to ensure transparent tracking, reporting and alignment.

This is a highly hands-on role. We are looking for someone who is comfortable working directly with our manufacturing teams and who combines strong Lean Manufacturing expertise with the ability to teach, coach and engage people. You should be persistent, energetic and data-driven, with the ability to turn improvement opportunities into actions and actions into sustainable results.

The position reports to the Director Operations and will involve regular travel to our manufacturing locations across Europe.

Education and experience requirements:

• Formal engineering qualification, such as advanced vocational engineering training, B.Eng. or a comparable qualification.

• Minimum of five years of professional experience in a manufacturing environment.

• Strong manufacturing background, ideally within the automotive industry and with experience in injection moulding, painting and/or assembly.

• Significant hands-on experience with Lean Manufacturing, Toyota Production System (TPS) and/or Six Sigma methodologies; formal certification is advantageous but not required.

• Demonstrated leadership capabilities and strong communication and interpersonal skills.

• Proven ability to teach, train, coach and engage employees and management teams.

• Strong analytical mindset with a focus on data, measurable results and sustainable improvement.

• Ability to work proactively and autonomously in an international and cross-functional environment.

• Fluency in English; Swedish, Czech, Flemish and/or German language skills are an advantage.

• Proficiency in MS Office and at least basic knowledge of ERP and MES systems.

Responsibilities

• Maintain, develop and standardize the Plasman Production System (PPS) to continuously improve safety, quality and delivery performance while reducing cost and empowering our employees.

• Lead the implementation, training and further development of PPS throughout our plants.

• Coach plant management teams, PPS Champions and employees in Operational Excellence principles, methods and tools.

• Develop training materials and facilitate classroom training, workshops, boot camps and other capability-building activities across our European plants.

• Build and facilitate a European and global network of PPS Champions to promote best practices and knowledge sharing across the organization.

• Assess PPS practices, conduct audits and ensure compliance and execution discipline in close cooperation with plant management teams and local PPS Champions.

• Coordinate plant-level Value Creation Projects (VCP), including project initiation, guidance and support, common formats and standards, central tracking and reporting.

• Support our plants in delivering VCP results in line with their budget targets.

• Identify and lead cross-plant Value Creation Projects where opportunities can generate benefits beyond an individual manufacturing location.

• Ensure consistent VCP reporting and alignment with Finance and Plasman North America.

• Promote a culture of continuous improvement in which operational issues are addressed systematically and improvements become embedded in daily operations.

• Ensure that a safe and healthy working environment is integrated into Operational Excellence activities in accordance with Plasman policies and applicable legislation.