Global Director, Manufacturing

Are you the kind of person that is always thinking, sketching, seeking, and adjusting? Who needs to understand how things work and then figure out how they can work better? Are you a passionate, tenacious, solver who loves to work with others who share your drive? Are you positive, constructive, and ingenious?
Are you always solving?

Then we’d like to meet you and bet you’d like to meet us.

Ashland has an exciting opportunity for a Global Director, Manufacturing to join our Ashland Personal Care business in a remote role. This is a very visible, significant role within the Company and the Manufacturing function. This position will report to the SVP of Manufacturing.

**This role will be remote with preference to someone living on the East Coast**

The responsibilities of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Providing senior level leadership, direction, and managerial expertise to the manufacturing and engineering element of a global Chemicals Business Unit 
• The Director of Manufacturing will be responsible for multiple global manufacturing sites and manage the manufacturing environment to ensure that manufacturing processes and capabilities are in a state of readiness to handle the introduction of new products and increased customer demand for custom orders 
• Managing the business capital plan, develop and implement capital projects which will improve efficiency, product quality, warehousing, safety, environmental issues, and customer service as well as major engineering products
• Ensure technical expertise and consistency on a global basis and optimize division profitability by improving process techniques, new product lines, manufacturing implementation, plant upgrades, and proper maintenance programs on a continuous basis 
• Lead structured change management across the manufacturing network, ensuring successful adoption of new operating models, capital projects, technology upgrades, organizational changes, and continuous improvement initiatives through clear communication, stakeholder engagement, training, and disciplined execution
• Drive productivity improvement across global manufacturing operations by identifying and delivering cost, yield, energy, labor, throughput, asset utilization, and waste-reduction opportunities using Lean, Six Sigma, OEE, and other continuous improvement tools
• Champion EHS excellence as a core operating discipline, with a specific focus on process safety management, risk reduction, management of change, process hazard analysis, asset integrity, regulatory compliance, incident prevention, and a strong safety culture across all manufacturing sites
• Must be willing to travel in the US and internationally 25% - 30%. Initial travel schedule will be heavy

In order to be qualified for this role, you must possess the following:

• BS degree in a technical field - chemical engineer degree preferred
• 5-10 years of Plant Management experience, US and global with multiple site experience
• Employee and labor relations expertise, including experience in both unionized and non-unionized environments; knowledge of collective bargaining agreements, grievance procedures, mediation, arbitration and works councils strongly preferred.
• Chemical process expertise - possess strong chemical and process (technical) knowledge and skills focused on production operations at a plant
• Manufacturing Process Knowledge - Able to analyze manufacturing and business processes toward optimization using continuous process improvement tools (ie., Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Practices.)
• Experience developing diverse talent and building efficient & collaborative teams; solid people development skills and ability to provide guidance to a global operations and engineering management team.
• Financial and Statistical Knowledge and Aptitude - ability to interpret and analyze statistical data, information and financial reports. Understand and decision based on financial statements, costing methodologies and various methods of cost/benefit analysis.
• Regulatory Compliance Knowledge - Understand and be able to work within various local and regional regulatory safety, environmental, quality and financial regulations, standards and laws as required for the specific location, region, or country.

#LI-REMOTE