Director of Operations

About this Position

At Henkel, you’ll be part of an organization that’s shaping the future through innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With our trusted brands like Persil®, ‘all®, Loctite®, Snuggle®, and Schwarzkopf® and our cutting-edge technologies, you’ll have countless opportunities to explore new paths and grow.

This position is with our Adhesive Technologies business unit – where we empower our people to transform industries and provide our customers with a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants and functional coatings.

Dare to learn new skills, advance in your career and make an impact at Henkel.

What you´ll do

• Lead Safety & Compliance: Champion a zero-incident culture and ensure full compliance with OSHA, PSM, and all regulatory requirements while maintaining audit readiness – with high standards.
• Drive Business Performance: Own site P&L and deliver results across OTIF, quality, productivity, cost, and inventory management with strong foresight management.
• Advance Operational Excellence: Build a Lean culture, improve OEE and reliability, and eliminate waste through continuous improvement methodologies.
• Enable Digital, Automation & Sustainability Strategy: Execute automation roadmap and leverage Industry 4.0 technologies and data for real-time decision-making. Deliver net-zero and efficiency targets. •Strengthen Maintenance & Supply Resilience: Enhance preventive and predictive maintenance programs to reduce downtime and improve asset performance.
• Lead Capital: Create & manage CapEx projects effectively and proactively in line with site/ business requirements with a clear prioritization (i.e safety, sustainability, rationalization., energy efficiency )
• Build High-Performing Teams & Partnerships: Develop strong leadership, foster an inclusive culture, grow strong, empowered teams and collaborate cross-functionally to align site and business priorities.

What makes you a good fit

• Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field
  • 10 years in manufacturing / operations / supply chain
  • 5 years leading multi-functional teams
  • Experience in chemical / process manufacturing with strong background in safety, quality, compliance
  • Proven delivery of P&L and operational results, strong financial and business acumen
  • Experience with Lean / TPM / CI tools
  • Exposure to automation / digital manufacturing
  • Hands-on, visible leader on the shop floor
  • Ability to drive performance and transformation together; builds trust, clarity, and high standards
  • Excellent analytic skills with demonstrated resolution skills. Data-driven, but pragmatic
  • Proactive & effective communicator, both verbally / in writing, with the ability to adapt communication style to different audiences, including ability to articulate thoughts clearly and present
  • Growth mindset with strong ownership, collaboration, entrepreneurship and leadership
  • Leads change with energy and resilience
• Preferred
  • Experience in adhesives operations / batch / mixing / packaging
  • Track record in site transformation / turnaround
  • Experience with Industry 4.0 / smart factory / automation / sustainability
  • CapEx leadership and project delivery
  • SAP / ERP / MES experience

Some benefits of joining Henkel

• Health Insurance: affordable plans for medical, dental, vision and wellbeing starting on day 1
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off including sick, vacation, holiday and volunteer time, flexible & hybrid work policies (depending on role), and vacation buy / sell program
• Financial: 401k matching, employee share plan with voluntary investment and Henkel matching shares, annual performance bonus, service awards and student loan reimbursement
• Family Support: 12-week gender neutral parental leave (up to 20 weeks for parents giving birth), fertility support, adoption & surrogacy reimbursement, discounted child and elderly care, and scholarships
• Career Growth: diverse national and international growth opportunities, access to thousands of skills development courses, and tuition reimbursement

The salary for this role is $150,000.00 - $200,000.00. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.

Henkel does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Unsolicited referrals and resumes are considered Henkel property and therefore, Henkel will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited referral.

Henkel is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.