AGM - Factory Operations

Position Title - AGM -Factory Operations

Department Operations

Base Location Kollam Karunagappally

Position Summary -

Western India Cashew is looking to recruit AGM Operations preferably with FMCG industry background to be part of WICC. The incumbent will be responsible for the Company's operations encompassing production, engineering, inventory, factory administration and projects. The AGM Operations is a member of senior most leadership teams and works in close with Purchases, Sales, Marketing & Q&FS teams to achieve smooth customer-focused performance.

Reporting Structure :

This position reports to Director /Chief Operating Officer.

Reportees to the incumbent:

-Direct Reportees (All Units - PTV, H&C, CSEZ, TN): Plant Heads 4 nos

-Indirect Reportees (All Units - PTV, H&C, CSEZ, TN)

-Around -350 nos including all functional department except Quality functions.

Role & responsibilities

• Develop and implement short-, medium- and long-term operational strategies for all manufacturing and supply units of WICC, aligned with the overall business objectives and growth plans.
• Lead and oversee operations across multiple manufacturing units, ensuring efficient utilization of manpower, machinery, materials and other resources.
• Drive production and throughput targets across units and ensure timely achievement of production and shipment requirements while maintaining quality, GMP, food safety and customer standards.
• Develop and monitor capacity plans, production plans and resource requirements to support current operations and future business growth.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, capacity utilization, operational efficiency and overall manufacturing performance across units.
• Monitor and control production costs, wastage, spillage, rework, downtime and other operational losses, with a focus on continuous cost optimization.
• Prepare and monitor operational budgets and cost plans for the respective units and ensure operations are carried out within approved budgets.
• Ensure effective coordination between Production, Quality, Maintenance, Supply Chain, Purchase, Finance, HR and other support functions for smooth and uninterrupted operations.
• Ensure compliance with all applicable statutory, regulatory, food safety, quality, GMP, customer and company requirements across all units.
• Establish, monitor and review key operational KPIs for the respective units and drive corrective and preventive actions wherever performance gaps are identified.
• Conduct periodic performance reviews of individual units and identify operational gaps, risks and improvement opportunities, ensuring timely corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, process optimization and best practices across all manufacturing units and facilitate sharing of best practices between units.
• Ensure effective implementation and adherence to company policies, SOPs, systems and operational controls across all units.
• Work closely with the HR function to build a strong operations team, including manpower planning, recruitment, training, capability development, succession planning and performance management.
• Build positive employee relations and foster a culture of accountability, teamwork, discipline, safety, productivity and continuous improvement.
• Provide leadership and guidance to Factory/Unit Heads and other operational leadership teams, ensuring effective delegation and accountability.
• Identify operational risks and develop appropriate contingency and business continuity plans to minimize disruptions to manufacturing and supply operations.
• Lead initiatives to improve employee productivity, equipment utilization, material utilization and overall cost competitiveness.
• Ensure that operational capabilities and infrastructure are developed in line with the company's future expansion and business growth requirements.
• Liaise with senior management and other functional leaders to provide operational insights, recommendations and strategic inputs for business decisions.
• Play a key leadership role in sustaining the organizations values, culture and policies and contribute towards making WICC a high-performing and employee-focused organization.
• Perform any other duties and responsibilities assigned by the Management from time to time in line with the requirements of the business.

Skill & Attributes Required :

• Strong leadership and multi-unit operations management skills.
• Excellent strategic planning, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong focus on productivity, cost optimization, efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Excellent people management, communication and cross-functional coordination skills.
• Result-oriented, accountable and commercially conscious approach with the ability to manage operations under pressure.

Work Experience : Min 10 years of manufacturing experience in FMCG/Food Processing/Agri Processing. Minimum 5 years in a manufacturing leadership role.

Preferred Age Criteria : 35- 40 years

Qualification: B.Tech / B.E. in Mechanical Engineering is mandatory.

An MBA in Operations from a reputed B-school is preferred and will be an added advantage

Language: English and Malayalam or Tamil language other north & south Indian languages would be additionally advantageous.

*Willingness to travel across manufacturing units.