Plant Head - (Edible Oils, Fats, Margarine or Refinery Operations) at CDL Human Resource

ROLE PURPOSE


To provide strategic and operational leadership for the entire refinery, oils, fats and margarine manufacturing business by ensuring world-class levels of safety, quality, cost, delivery, inventory optimization, asset utilization and people capability development while delivering business profitability targets.


The incumbent will lead the end-to-end manufacturing value stream covering:


Crude oil refining
Fractionation
Oils production
Fats manufacturing
Margarine manufacturing
Packaging operations
Utilities and engineering
RM PM inventory management
Continuous improvement and Lean transformation


The role is accountable for delivering operational excellence while maintaining the highest standards of food safety, product quality, environmental compliance and employee engagement.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES


Business Leadership: Lead DRT operations, manufacturing performance, profitability, EBITDA growth, and long-term capacity/investment strategies.
Manufacturing Excellence: Optimize refinery, fractionation, packing, throughput, OEE, reliability, and production plan adherence.
Supply Chain & Inventory: Optimize raw materials, WIP and finished goods, inventory turnover, working capital, and stock accuracy.
Cost Management: Control manufacturing, labor, utilities, maintenance, logistics costs, and drive yield and cost-per-MT improvements.
Refinery & Yield Optimization: Improve refining efficiency, reduce oil losses, and optimize chemical, steam and energy consumption.
Quality & Food Safety: Ensure food safety compliance, First Time Right production, and reduction of complaints, rework and rejections.
Engineering & Utilities: Drive equipment reliability, preventive/predictive maintenance, plant uptime, and utility efficiency.
Lean & Continuous Improvement: Lead Lean, TPM, Kaizen, OEE and waste-reduction initiatives to improve productivity and efficiency.
People Leadership: Build high-performing teams, develop talent and succession pipelines, and drive employee engagement.
Health, Safety & Environment: Promote a zero-harm culture and ensure statutory, safety and environmental compliance.
Project Leadership: Lead strategic capital projects, ensuring timely delivery, budget adherence and targeted ROI.


IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Education

Mandatory

Bachelor's Degree in one of the following:


Chemical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Food Process Engineering


Preferred


Master's Degree (MBA, Operations Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Excellence)
Professional certifications in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma or TPM


EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

Minimum


15 years experience in FMCG manufacturing.
Minimum 10 years in edible oils, fats, margarine or refinery operations.
At least 5 years in a senior leadership position managing multiple manufacturing
Candidates currently serving in roles such as Plant Head, Refinery Manager, Head of Manufacturing, Factory General Manager, or Operations Head are encouraged to apply.


Technical Competencies:


Strong expertise in edible oil refining, fractionation, hydrogenation, interesterification, margarine manufacturing, blending, quality management, utilities, energy optimization, yield & inventory improvement, SAP ERP, S&OP, Lean Manufacturing, TPM, Kaizen, OEE, and continuous improvement.


Leadership Competencies:


Strategic thinking, business & commercial acumen, change leadership, people development, stakeholder management, results orientation, operational excellence, financial acumen, and data-driven decision-making.


Scale Managed


200+ employees
Multiple production lines
Annual production exceeding 100,000 MT
Multi-product FMCG manufacturing environment