As a key member of the Benelux Leadership team, the Cluster Director, Heavy Duty is responsible for leading a safe, efficient Cluster to deliver growth, operational performance and customer experience :
- Set Cluster direction, align resources and execute through the Cluster Management Team with full accountability for P&L delivery.
- Drive productivity through Site Managers and growth and efficiency through the Cluster Team (Finance, HR, Sales, Marketing & Innovation and Supply Chain Business Partners).
- Own and drive continuous improvement programmes within the Cluster to ensure optimisation of business performance.
- Own and drive high-performance standards and a unified culture throughout the Cluster.
- Lead the teams to deliver exceptional customer experience and drive strong adoption, expansion and retention.
- Work closely with the Cluster Leadership team to drive profitable and sustainable growth and business results.
Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities
Safe & healthy working practices & sustainability
Lead a safe & healthy working environment and culture by personal example.Deliver DS Smith Health & Safety Policy in the Cluster, Region and overall DS Smith business.Generate strong leadership and commitment to the sustainability plan in the Region.Performance Delivery & Growth
Develop and lead the Cluster Sales & Operations Plan, work collaboratively with Divisional / Regional / Country Leadership, Site Managers and Cluster Managers in the development and delivery of performance targets, objectives and operational plans for the Cluster covering sales, production and paper requirements planning.Cultivate a strong partnership with Functional Leaders, Clusters, and the Region to set policies and work consistently to support the Country / Region / Division's overall profitability.Act as a change leader, seeking out opportunities to effect change and improve the Cluster's performance.Maximise the Cluster model and Regional working to ensure the highest performance levels across the Cluster.Oversee and implement S&OP Strategy to ensure effective operations at Cluster levels.Promote sales growth by enabling and supporting the Sales Marketing & Innovation Cluster Manager to drive the SMI Roadmap, ensuring capacity for on-time-and-in-full delivery to customers and margin protection through Commercial Excellence activities.Commercial Operational Efficiency
Optimise the Cluster's commercial and operational footprint to create additional value, including removing resource & effort duplication.Present a coherent and consistent face to the market.Work collaboratively with functions to drive the Cluster's growth and development, maximising the value from opportunities and responding to Regional needs to ensure customer service levels are met.Ensure Cluster Sites costs are fully optimised – Maximising Cluster P&L.Accountable for the effective management of S&OP to ensure volume allocation is currently allocated across the Cluster, supporting volume sharing and asset optimisation.Continuous Improvement
Ensure the successful delivery of the Cluster CI programme.Establish Culture and Work practices to ensure Site Managers drive CI initiatives in the "DS Smith Way".Responsible for collaborating, providing full oversight and leading cost optimisation and productivity plans, challenging ideas to impact and leverage performance across the Cluster.Leadership
Lead DS Smith's purpose Message.Build an environment where individuals can excel, drive engagement, and collaborate to build high calibre talent within teams to support Cluster strengths.Adopt and contribute to Divisional developments and the execution of the corporate plan.Lead the Cluster through changes with continuous attention to adoption and alignment of Divisional standards and structure.Develop leadership talent for the wider DS Smith business.People and Culture
Drive and facilitate a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement across the Cluster.Provide mentoring and coaching opportunities to drive the establishment of development goals and build a talent pipeline.Ensure that Cluster reporting and plans are delivered, overseeing Cluster risk management and providing a strong day-to-day leadership presence.Supply Chain Optimisation
Optimise the Supply Chain plans and policies to achieve Supply Chain targets as well as OTIF / Inventory.Participate in Country / Division Supply Chain footprint optimisation opportunities.Responsible for leading Site Managers, instilling a culture of collaborative behaviours to ensure maximum machine utilisation & productivity across all Cluster Sites.Collaborate with Sites' Managers to drive the execution on the S&OP Supply Plan.Qualities / Attributes
Fluency in English and Dutch is required; if not fluent in Dutch, then willingness to learn is necessary.Significant experience as a General Manager or Commercial Leader in a multi-product line, multi-country, B2B manufacturing business.A proven track record of leading the strategic development of a business unit within an international manufacturing business with a high degree of operational and commercial complexity.Will ideally have been exposed to different cycles of business and therefore bring experience of contributing to, or leading, in turnaround, growth, and strategic development situations.Demonstrable strategic business planning skills. A track record of effective management and leadership of a multi-cultural leadership team.Strong commercial acumen and financially savvy. Proven influencing and stakeholder management skills with a demonstrable track record of leading and embedding culture led change.Strong general management skills and maturity to be the recognised leader of a large workforce of both direct employees and co-located departments.A strong technical career background and experience managing shop floor manufacturing operations, quality standards and asset maintenance is preferred.External outlook - Ability to interpret and work with the wider strategic agenda, within the division and Cluster.Maturity to recognise and operate comfortably within a matrix environment and sometimes competing priorities while remaining focused on core KPIs.Degree Qualified. A further business-related qualification such as an MBA would be an advantage.To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.
J-18808-Ljbffr