Production Director

Production Director

Location: Portugal (Relocation Support Provided)
Industry: Artificial Grass Manufacturing
Reporting to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Salary offered: €60 000 - €70 000 per annumn

Our client, a leading manufacturer in the artificial grass industry, is seeking an experienced Production Director to take full operational responsibility for their manufacturing plant in Portugal. This is a critical leadership role, currently held on an interim basis, and will play a key part in driving operational excellence, efficiency, and performance stability across the factory.

The successful candidate must be fluent in Portuguese. International candidates are welcome, and full relocation support to Portugal will be provided.

About the Role

The Production Director will assume end-to-end accountability for plant production execution, ensuring output meets forecast demand while maintaining strict control over efficiency, quality, cost, and downtime. This role requires a hands-on operational leader who is highly analytical, KPI-driven, and experienced in structured performance reporting at executive level.

You will work closely with the COO and cross-functional teams to stabilise performance, implement continuous improvement initiatives, and build strong operational discipline across all shifts.

Key Responsibilities

1. Full Operational Ownership

• Lead and manage all plant production activities across tufting, coating, and fusing operations.
• Define workforce planning requirements to meet forecasted production volumes.
• Ensure optimal efficiency (SQM/H per loom and per shift).
• Take full accountability for plant output, quality, and cost control.
• Oversee and coordinate directly with Maintenance to reduce downtime and improve asset reliability.
• Drive operational discipline and performance management of Shift Leaders.

2. Performance & KPI Management

• Own and report on core production KPIs including:
• SQM/H per loom (per shift)
• Total plant tufting SQM/H per shift
• Coating line and fusing line productivity (SQM/H)
• % Second Choice (plant-wide)
• Usage vs BOM (Yarn, Backing, Latex)
• Mechanical, electrical, and total downtime per loom
• Knife change downtime
• Technical setup and yarn change times
• Labour cost per SQM
• Energy metrics (KW/SQM and gas m³/SQM)
• Creel changes and material consumption indicators
• Conduct root cause analysis on second choice production (by loom, shift, yarn, and process).
• Implement corrective actions with clear timelines and accountability.
• Present structured weekly KPI reports to the COO, including consolidated data, analysis, and action plans.

3. Cost & Margin Control

• Monitor material usage versus BOM to protect gross margin.
• Control technical setup time and reduce changeover losses.
• Optimise electrical and gas consumption across the factory (including photovoltaic contribution).
• Improve overall labour productivity and cost efficiency.

4. Continuous Improvement & Operational Stability

• Drive initiatives to reduce waste, downtime, and inefficiencies.
• Improve technical processes and setup procedures.
• Build a culture of accountability through disciplined weekly KPI review structures.
• Support organisational transition and operational stabilisation.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for a strong manufacturing leader with proven experience in industrial production environments.

Essential Requirements:

• Fluent in Portuguese (spoken and written).
• Senior production leadership experience within manufacturing (textiles, plastics, extrusion, flooring, synthetic materials, or similar continuous production environments preferred).
• Strong knowledge of KPI-driven production management.
• Demonstrated experience in downtime reduction, efficiency improvement, and cost control.
• Solid understanding of BOM control and material usage management.
• Experience managing maintenance coordination in a production environment.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to conduct root cause analysis.
• Confident presenting structured performance reports at executive level.
• Willingness to relocate to Portugal.

Advantageous:

• Experience within artificial grass, carpet, tufting, or similar textile-based manufacturing.
• Lean Manufacturing / Continuous Improvement background.
• Experience managing energy optimisation initiatives.

What’s on Offer

• Senior leadership role with full operational authority.
• Relocation support to Portugal.
• Opportunity to lead and stabilise a key manufacturing operation.
• Direct reporting line to executive leadership.
• Long-term growth potential within a specialised industrial sector.