Operations Manager

Do you want to make a direct impact on safety, quality, and performance in a dynamic manufacturing environment through your operational leadership? Do you enjoy developing teams, continuously improving processes, and driving innovation? Apply now and help us break barriers to well-being. 

As an Operations Manager, you hold end-to-end responsibility for the operational results of your unit - from safety and quality to cost, delivery reliability, and team development. You provide direction, set clear goals, and translate the site strategy into concrete results on the production floor. 

You are part of the local management team and report directly to the Site Director.

• Safety & Well-being: You always put safety and health first, strengthen a proactive safety culture, and ensure clear standards and 6S principles on the work floor 

• Operational performance & planning: You drive quality, predictability, delivery reliability, and cost performance, translate objectives into KPIs, and ensure teams work according to standards to achieve daily, weekly, and monthly targets. 

• Organizational development & leadership: You lead (line) managers, coach them in effective leadership, and build organizational capabilities that enable sustainable performance. 

• Continuous improvement & loss reduction: You lead improvement initiatives based on Total Productive Maintenance principles, identify losses, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning. 

• Maintenance & asset reliability: You work closely with the Technical Department to deliver an effective maintenance plan, minimize downtime, and increase the reliability of equipment within the agreed budget. 

• Budget & cost management: You are responsible for the operational budget of your unit, monitor cost structures, and initiate improvements to enhance both efficiency and quality. 

• Stakeholder management & strategy: You actively contribute to the site strategy, align with other departments, and translate medium-term plans into concrete investment and capacity plans for your unit. 

• You hold a completed bachelor’s or master’s degree, preferably in engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, or a comparable field. 

• You bring at least 15 years of experience in a production or operations environment, and 8–10 years of leadership experience in a large production environment, preferably at MT level or similar. 

• You have proven experience with production processes and continuous improvement, including working with Total Productive Maintenance principles, and managing processes and improvement projects using a data-driven approach. 

• You are a natural leader who knows how to connect and develop people, strong in communication, coaching, collaboration, decisive action, change leadership, and creating focus and ownership within teams. 

• You are fluent in both Dutch and English, spoken and written, and easily switch between the shop floor, management team, and international stakeholders. 

Our purpose Breaking Barriers to Well-being gives meaning to everything we do. At Essity, you contribute to improving well-being for people while creating positive impact on society and the environment. You will feel valued, supported in your development, and encouraged to achieve results together in an open and collaborative culture. 
Innovate for Good | Excel Together | Be You with Us 

In addition, you will receive: 

• An excellent salary, depending on your experience and education 

• A fixed thirteenth month and a bonus plan (0–15%) linked to company performance 

• A company car 

• 25 vacation days and 11.5 ADV days based on full-time employment 

• A solid pension scheme, with only a 1.54% personal contribution 

• Extensive onboarding and plenty of internal and external training opportunities to strengthen your knowledge and competencies 

• Room for personal growth within an international organization 

• An informal working atmosphere with strong focus on development 

Are you ready to make a meaningful impact in a dynamic environment? Apply today via our website and include your motivation letter and CV. We look forward to meeting you and exploring how you can contribute to our logistics operation in Hoogezand. Questions? Feel free to contact Emilie Wiersma at [email protected] or +31 6 27263810. 

Essity’s Hoogezand site is a modern and highly dynamic factory with approximately 550 colleagues and 18 production lines, where we produce personal care products 24 hours a day - including incontinence products under the TENA and Libero brands. Thanks to recent and upcoming investments, we operate a state-of-the-art machinery park, continuously applying new technologies and innovations. Every day brings new opportunities to realize improvements together with your teams and directly contribute to people’s well-being.