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Job Summary

A global leader in medical device contract manufacturing is seeking a Managing Director for Ireland, with a defined path to take on the broader remit of VP European Operations. The role will initially focus on leading a flagship high-volume manufacturing site in Ireland (300+ headcount), with progression to oversee multi-site European operations and drive strategic growth across the region.

This is a rare opportunity for a dynamic operations executive to step into a succession role that blends site leadership, regional scale-up, and client-facing commercial ownership within a regulated, innovation-led environment.

Experience 

• Strong understanding of injection moulding, plastics processing, or high-volume assembly (medical, pharma, or packaging sectors) 
• 10+ years’ experience in manufacturing leadership roles, within medical devices, - Essential
• Proven experience leading a site of at least 200 employees in a cleanroom or regulated production environment.
• Experience overseeing cross-functional teams: operations, quality, engineering, supply chain, and commercial.
• Exposure to multi-site leadership or international operations is a distinct advantage.

Skills & Competencies

• Visionary leader with the ability to scale operations, develop people, and influence culture.
• Strong commercial acumen and the ability to represent operations to global customers.
• Deep understanding of GMP, ISO 13485, and regulatory compliance in a manufacturing setting.
• Highly structured approach to Lean, OEE, and performance measurement.
• Excellent communicator, skilled in stakeholder management across all levels.
• Ability to deliver on both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic initiatives.

Role Responsibilities

• Lead all aspects of the Irish manufacturing site including P&L ownership, production, quality, and people leadership.
• Ensure consistent delivery of customer requirements while maintaining compliance, safety, and quality standards.
• Develop and mentor a high-performing senior leadership team across departments.
• Collaborate with global leadership on strategic planning, investment, and growth across European operations.
• Prepare for and transition into a multi-site European leadership role within 6–12 months.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimize efficiency, reduce cost, and exceed customer expectations.
• Act as a primary point of contact for key European customers, leading operational reviews and commercial discussions as required.

Interested? Please submit your CV to stephanie@intersearch.ie

Please only apply if you meet the criteria. Only those meeting the criteria will be responded to.

Summary

This SME is one of Ireland’s leading providers of refurbishment, testing, analysis and consulting services for electrical components to the global power conversion sector. Their work optimises and enables greater sustainability and reliability for a range of power systems, increasing asset optimisation, reducing downtime and enhancing performance. Client sectors include renewable energy (wind, solar) as well as IT/Telecom datacentres across Germany, France, Spain, UK, Scandinavia and Ireland, as well as North America and Japan.

To help drive further growth the company has undergone a senior management restructure, expanding the Operations remit to cover Production, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality & Facilities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement an integrated operations strategy aligned with company objectives and growth plans.
• Oversee day-to-day performance of Production, Quality, Engineering and Supply Chain functions through functional leads.
• Ensure seamless coordination between departments to achieve production targets, product quality and delivery schedules.
• Drive efficiency, productivity and cost control.
• Support business planning, budgeting and forecasting activities.
• Oversee supply chain performance, ensuring reliability, cost-effectiveness and resilience.
• Build strong relationships with key suppliers and partners.
• Engage on New Product Introduction processes.
• Support engineering in product and process improvement initiatives.
• Promote a safe, inclusive and high-engagement workplace culture.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and accountability.
• Champion quality and compliance across the business.

Experience

• Your experience can come from anywhere within the electrical or electronic component manufacturing sector.
• An electrical or electronics engineering background (a degree is advantageous but not essential).
• Have worked in an SME / small company environment that will have provided hands on cross functional expertise.
• Have held a Manufacturing, Operations or Production Manager / Senior Supervisor role across manufacturing or repair sectors.
• A good understanding of supply chain and its role within operations.
• Worked closely with engineering function.

Leadership 

• Hands-on and pragmatic leadership style suited to a small SME environment.
• Collaborative and approachable, with strong communication and influencing skills.
• Results-driven, resilient, and able to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving business.
   

Please submit your CV to duncan@intersearch.ie . Applications will be reviewed and only suitable candidates will be contacted.
 

Reporting to: CEO

Responsible for: Global operations across multiple sites (Ireland, USA, Canada, and new locations as they are introduced)

Direct Reports: Site Directors across international locations, along with Global Manufacturing Engineering, Supply Chain, and Quality leaders.

Purpose of Role
The Vice President of Global Operations is responsible for ensuring operational excellence while enabling scalable growth across a global network. This leader will drive both continuity of existing operations and the development of new production capabilities—transforming prototypes into manufacturable, repeatable, and profitable programs. The position will be instrumental in building a systematic approach to product realization, ensuring that customer handoffs from the commercial team translate into successful, on-time, and compliant production launches that meet deliverable and margin expectations. This role will also work in close collaboration with the Business Unit Presidents to ensure strategic alignment and operational execution of the company's growth and sustainability plans. Additionally, this leader will mentor and develop talent across the organization, fostering a unified corporate identity, culture, and operational synergy between sites. As a key member of the senior leadership team, this position will directly contribute to achieving ambitious financial performance targets through operational excellence and scalable efficiency.

Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership & Growth Enablement

• Develop and implement a global operations strategy that balances core business performance with scalable growth, ensuring readiness for new customer programs and technology introductions.
• Lead the development of a unified prototype-to-production framework, including processes, resources, and metrics that enable rapid validation, ramp-up, and transfer to steady-state production.
• Partner with Commercial, Engineering, and Program Management to ensure seamless handoff from concept to production—'from customer intent to operational reality.'
• Collaborate with Business Unit Presidents to align operational priorities with strategic growth objectives, ensuring cohesive planning and execution across the global organization.

2. Operational Excellence & Standardization

• Ensure world-class execution across manufacturing, supply chain, and quality, leveraging lean principles, automation, and digital systems.
• Establish consistent global KPIs to track throughput, quality, cost, and delivery performance while driving continuous improvement and operational discipline.
• Oversee the implementation of systems and tools (ERP, MES, and data analytics) to increase visibility, predictability, and decision-making speed.

3. Innovation & Capability Building

• Build scalable capabilities in precision manufacturing, complex subassembly integration, and validation testing that align with the company's strategic growth sectors including Med-Tech and Life Sciences.
• Lead capital investment planning and technology deployment to expand prototype and pilot production capacity in collaboration with the R&D functions.
• Develop workforce skills and leadership depth to support growth—building a culture of accountability, agility, and technical excellence across sites.

4. Financial & Customer Stewardship

• Collaborate with Finance to define operational budgets, ROI-driven capital plans, and site-level profitability targets.
• Partner with key customers to ensure operational alignment, transparency, and readiness for scaling programs.
• Support commercial growth by ensuring manufacturing readiness is a competitive differentiator.

 5. Compliance, Culture, and ESG

• Ensure compliance with all regulatory, quality, and environmental standards.
• Promote a unified company culture of innovation, collaboration, and shared success across all global sites.
• Lead ESG implementation through operational practices that minimize waste, energy consumption, and environmental impact.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Operations Management, Engineering, or Business Administration.
• 10+ years in global operations or manufacturing leadership roles, ideally within precision components, medical device, or analytical instrumentation sectors.
• Proven ability to build and scale manufacturing systems that enable product launches and revenue growth.
• Strong record of cross-functional collaboration—particularly with engineering, commercial, and program teams.
• Demonstrated success in leading operational transformations (Lean, Six Sigma, Industry 4.0).
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and decision-making skills; thrives in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment.
• Willingness to travel internationally (20–30%).
• Mentor and develop emerging leaders and site management teams, ensuring a strong pipeline of operational talent capable of supporting the company’s next stage of growth.
• Drive cultural and operational integration across sites to create a unified, high-performing organization with shared goals and performance standards.
  

Please submit your CV to stephanie@intersearch.ie or ciara@intersearch.ie . Applications will be reviewed and only suitable candidates will be contacted.