Country Head - Specialty Chemicals

Job Purpose:

Job Location: North Africa

The Country Head will be responsible for leading the operations with full accountability for business performance, manufacturing excellence, statutory compliance, organizational capability and long-term growth.

The role will drive profitable growth across the Africa, Middle East & Turkey (AMET), Europe and Americas region while building a high-performing organization anchored on safety, quality, operational excellence and customer centricity.

Company Background:

Leading Specialty Chemicals manufacturing company

Key Responsibilities:

Business & P&L Leadership:

- Own the overall P&L of the company, delivering sustainable revenue growth, profitability, cash flow and return on capital employed.

- Develop and execute the country strategy aligned with company's global business objectives.

- Drive business growth while balancing commercial priorities, operational excellence and long-term sustainability.

- Lead annual business planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance reviews.

Customer & Market Leadership:

- Lead the largest regional business across Africa, Middle East & Turkey while driving growth agenda of exports to over 80 countries (including Europe, Americas).

- Build and manage strategic relationships with key customers and channel partners.

- Drive market expansion through organic growth, new customer acquisition, new product commercialization, and entry into adjacent markets.

- Develop deep understanding of customer needs, competitive dynamics, and regional market opportunities.

Profitability and Competitiveness:

- Lead manufacturing operations to achieve world-class standards in safety, quality, productivity, reliability and cost competitiveness.

- Optimize capacity utilization, yields, conversion efficiency, utility consumption, inventory, manpower productivity & overall manufacturing costs.

- Drive continuous improvement through TPM, Lean, automation & operational excellence initiatives.

- Ensure efficient procurement, planning, logistics, maintenance & quality management.

Statutory and Regulatory Compliance:

- Ensure full compliance with statutory, environmental, health, safety, Free Zone, Customs, GAFI, and other applicable regulations.

- Institutionalize robust safety and quality systems while fostering a culture of compliance and continuous improvement.

- Ensure implementation and sustainability of ISO, TPM, DuPont safety and other operational management systems.

Capital Projects & Business Growth:

- Lead capacity expansion, capital investment and strategic improvement projects.

- Deliver projects safely, on time, within budget and aligned with business objectives.

Organization & Leadership Development:

- Build a high-performing organization through talent development, succession planning, capability building, and leadership development.

- Establish effective performance management systems, KRAs/KPIs and regular performance reviews.

- Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, safety and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder Management:

- Build strong relationships with the Board, regional leadership, government authorities, regulators, customers, industry bodies, suppliers, and other external stakeholders.

- Represent the company to strengthen its reputation and support long-term business growth in the regions.

Functional Competencies:

- Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated P&L management capability.

- Strategic business planning, budgeting, forecasting and financial management.

- Strong understanding of continuous and batch chemical manufacturing operations.

- Expertise in manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, quality, EHS and supply chain management.

- Knowledge of chemical processes, process safety, automation (PLC/DCS), and operational excellence methodologies including TPM.

- Working knowledge of SAP/ERP systems.

- Experience implementing and sustaining Quality, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 or equivalent).

- Experience managing capital projects and capacity expansion initiatives.

- Ability to build relationships with government authorities, customers, suppliers and strategic partners.

- Sound understanding of commercial, finance, logistics, procurement and supply chain functions.

Behavioral Competencies:

- Global business perspective with strong commercial orientation.

- Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into execution.

- Strong business judgment and sound decision-making ability.

- Proven leadership in building high-performing teams and developing future leaders.

- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills across customers, regulators and government authorities.

- Strong cross-cultural leadership capability with the adaptability to work effectively in diverse environments.

- High resilience, adaptability, and ability to operate in ambiguity.

- Collaborative leadership style with strong execution discipline and accountability.

- Passion for operational excellence, continuous improvement and innovation.

- High integrity, perseverance and commitment to organizational values.

Qualifications & Experience:

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Chemical Engineering.

- MBA in Operations Management or Business Management preferred.

- 15 - 20 years of leadership experience in multinational or reputed manufacturing organizations within chemicals, specialty chemicals, fertilizers, or related process industries.

- Age: 45 - 53 years.

- International business exposure and experience working with global stakeholders preferred