Managing Director

Verkor is a French industrial company aiming to pioneer low-carbon battery manufacturing in France. With the backing of prominent industrial companies such as Renault Group, Plastic Omnium and Schneider Electric, Verkor intends to electrify the future of European mobility.

With over 200+ experts from 29 different countries, our endeavor is to unite exceptional global talent to bring this ambitious and innovative project to life. Our strong and agile international team continues to grow and adapt to new challenges. Based in Grenoble (France), we are currently establishing our Verkor Innovation Centre (R&D centre and 4.0 pilot line).

In the coming years, we will focus on building the world’s most modern and efficient Gigafactory in Dunkirk (France). With this facility, our ambition is an initial annual production of 16 Gwh of lithium-ion batteries by 2025, thus powering 300,000 electric vehicles annually and creating 1200 direct jobs.

In joining us you will actively participate in this breathtaking industrial adventure toshape the future of European mobility.

The overall objective for our MD is to implement a performance culture, create and monitor KPIs, monitor costs, realize world class production processes, continuously improve systems and processes and the quality of products and services, increase customer satisfaction and implement Industry 4.0.

The MD will be fully accountable for the perimeter of Verkor P&L.

**Missions**:

- Close collaboration with the CEO and the leadership team in terms of setting and driving organizational vision, operational strategy and hiring needs
- Day-to-day management of operations, management and leadership of the operations related teams, incl. operation teams and production, Health, Environment and Safety, Procurement, Supply Chain and Logistics, Construction/Real Estate, Project Management and the Program Management Office
- Strong focus on the improvement and management of operational efficiency, the continuous optimization of production processes and the increase of productivity, ensuring measurable cost savings (both Opex and Capex)
- Streamlining of production via implementation of LEAN manufacturing principles and Six Sigma measures
- Reduction of throughput and lead times, and optimization of inventory structure and levels
- Implementation of state-of-the-art production planning and control
- Implementation of transparency and a KPI-based performance culture in operations
- Rollout of best practice sharing across VIC and Gigafactory
- Develop measures, together with the Department Heads, for gaining advantage from new production and manufacturing technologies, and mapping out efficiency gains and cost savings
- Continue driving the implementation of Industry 4.0 initiatives in production and supply chain

**Prerequisites**:

- Recognized senior industrial leadership, ability to build teams, engage and motivate teams in a diverse and international organisation; and know how to bring together different characters and pool skills
- Leadership skills, with steadfast resolve and personal integrity
- Strong negotiation and communication skills, meaning active listening, and excellent presentation skills
- Comfortable in working in a fast-changing landscape and with the responsibility and pressure that comes with leading a business to success
- Ability to diagnose problems quickly and have foresight into potential issues, as well as find appropriate solutions, leveraging team engagement
- Cultural savvy in dealing with international stakeholders (employees, other external parties, shareholders)
- Superior analytical and problem-solving capabilities with focus on facts and results, yet highly pragmatic and operational doing attitude
- Structured and logical way of thinking, paired with excellent organizational skill
- Minimum of 15 years of experience as an Operations Executive with experience in international companies, with several production sites (Americas, Europe, Asia), in high speed and high tech continuous production facilities
- Industry background in production of high-value customized products
- Strong experience in scaling up organizations and individuals
- Expertise in mass production process with complex workflows
- Industry background in automotive or batteries a strong plus
- Experience in implementing Industry 4.0 improvements, and digitalization in production processes
- Proven track record of successfully implementing LEAN initiatives, improving throughput times and optimizing inventory levels
- Successful introduction of operational KPIs, transparency and highly efficient factory management
- Successful optimization of production planning and steering processes
- Successfully executed projects in a diverse and international environment leading a decentralised team.
- Understanding of advanced business planning
- Strongly data driven
- Very familiar with French law and French industrial ecosystem, including trade-union management
- Strong intern