Site Head – Operations Full Time

Position: Site Head

Designation: SGM/ Vice President

Department: Operations

Experience: 20–25 Years

Location: Kathua, Jammu

Job Purpose

The Site Head will lead and manage the complete operations of a large-scale biotechnology fermentation manufacturing facility, ensuring safe, compliant, efficient, and profitable plant performance. The role will oversee Production (USP, DSP & SRP), Engineering, Quality, Fermentation Process, Supply Chain, Stores, Finance, HR/Admin, Utilities, EHS, and Infrastructure functions.

The incumbent will be responsible for driving operational excellence, process optimization, regulatory compliance, strategic growth, and people leadership across the site.

Key Responsibilities

1. Manufacturing & Plant Operations

• Lead overall site operations for fermentation-based biotechnology manufacturing plant.
• Ensure smooth functioning of USP (Upstream Processing), DSP (Downstream Processing), PP & SRP operations.
• Achieve production targets with optimum yield, quality, and efficiency.
• Monitor batch performance, process stability, and operational KPIs.
• Ensure maximum utilization of manpower, equipment, and utilities.
• Drive productivity improvement and operational excellence initiatives.

2. Fermentation & Process Management

• Provide strategic and technical leadership for large-scale fermentation operations.
• Oversee inoculum preparation, fermentation process control, and pilot plant activities.
• Ensure process consistency, contamination control, and batch success rate improvement.
• Support scale-up and commercialization of new fermentation technologies.
• Lead troubleshooting and process optimization initiatives.

3. Engineering & Utilities Management

• Oversee engineering, maintenance, utilities, automation, instrumentation, and infrastructure functions.
• Drive preventive and predictive maintenance systems.
• Lead automation, PLC, DCS, and digital manufacturing initiatives.
• Manage plant expansion and capital projects.

4. Quality & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with GMP, GLP, ISO, environmental, and statutory regulations.
• Lead QA, QC, microbiology, documentation, validation, and compliance activities.
• Ensure audit readiness for customer, regulatory, and certification audits.
• Drive strong quality culture and continuous compliance improvements.

5. EHS & Sustainability

• Promote a strong safety culture across the organization.
• Ensure implementation of EHS policies and statutory compliance.
• Monitor environmental performance including ETP/ZLD operations.
• Lead risk assessment, incident investigation, and emergency preparedness programs.
• Drive sustainability and energy optimization initiatives.

6. Supply Chain & Inventory Management

• Oversee procurement planning, raw material availability, and inventory optimization.
• Ensure efficient coordination between production planning, procurement, stores, and dispatch.
• Monitor supply continuity and vendor management activities.

7. Financial & Commercial Management

• Manage plant budgets, manufacturing costs, and operational expenses.
• Drive cost optimization without compromising quality or safety.
• Monitor utility costs, manpower productivity, and resource utilization.
• Support business profitability and growth strategies.

8. Leadership & Team Management

• Lead cross-functional teams across manufacturing, engineering, quality, SCM, finance, and HR.
• Build a high-performance and accountable work culture.
• Develop succession planning and capability-building initiatives.
• Drive employee engagement and retention programs.

Span of Control

The Site Head will oversee the following major functional teams:

Production

• USP
• DSP
• SRP

Engineering & Utilities

• Mechanical, Civil & Infrastructure
• Electrical/ Instrumentation
• Automation / PLC / DCS
• Boiler & Utility Operations
• ETP / ZLD Operations

Quality

• QA
• QC
• Microbiology
• Validation & Compliance
• Documentation

Fermentation

• Process Excellence
• Inoculum Fermentation Team
• Pilot Plant Operations

Support Functions

• Supply Chain
• Stores
• Finance
• HR & Administration
• Security

Educational Qualification

 Master’s Degree in Biotechnology, Chemical Engineering, Bioprocess Engineering, or related field.

 MBA / Management qualification will be an added advantage.

Experience Required

• 20–25 years of experience in Biotechnology / Fermentation / Chemical manufacturing industry.
• Minimum 10 years in senior plant leadership role.