The Factory Director is responsible for the overall leadership, performance, and strategic development of Americana’s poultry marination and vegetable processing manufacturing network across UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt. This highly hands-on leadership role provides both strategic and operational direction across multiple factories, ensuring safe, high-quality products delivered reliably, cost-effectively, and on time.
About This Factory Director Role
Regional Scope: Multi-site manufacturing network across UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt
Core Focus: Poultry marination and vegetable processing manufacturing
Leadership Scope: Leads factory managers and cross-functional teams including Operations, QA, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Engineering, Maintenance, Construction, HR, and IT
Accountability: Manufacturing standardization, capacity planning, capital investments, factory development, and people capability
Why This Role Matters Across the Region
Multi-Country Impact: Direct accountability for factory performance across five countries in the GCC and MENA region
Capital Project Leadership: Lead greenfield and brownfield factory projects from feasibility through commissioning and ramp-up
Operational Excellence: Drive a network-wide manufacturing excellence roadmap using Lean and root-cause analysis methods
Strategic Influence: Report directly to senior management while managing relationships with franchisors, regulators, and suppliers
Position Overview
This Factory Director role involves leading the end-to-end performance of all factories across UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt, setting priorities, targets, governance, and accountability for each location. You will provide technical and operational leadership for poultry and vegetable processing, own food safety, quality, and HSE compliance, lead capital projects from concept to stabilization, manage factory operating budgets, and develop factory managers and functional leaders across the network.
Why This Role Matters: As Factory Director, you lead a multi-country manufacturing network spanning five countries, directly shaping the safety, quality, and reliability of poultry and vegetable products supplied to restaurants and distribution points across the region, own capital project delivery from greenfield design through commissioning and ramp-up, and build lasting organizational capability through people leadership, succession planning, and a strong operational excellence culture.
Key Responsibilities
Multi-Site Manufacturing Leadership
- Lead the end-to-end performance of all factories, setting clear priorities, targets, governance, and accountability for each location
- Maintain regular on-site presence and provide direct operational support to factory managers, particularly during performance gaps, start-ups, and critical incidents
- Establish common operating standards, management routines, and KPIs across the manufacturing network
- Balance production capacity and resources across countries to protect supply continuity and customer service
Operational Performance & Service
- Ensure production plans are achieved safely, efficiently, and on time, with reliable daily supply to restaurants and distribution points
- Drive performance in yield, labor productivity, line efficiency, throughput, downtime, waste, inventory accuracy, and schedule adherence
- Lead structured factory performance reviews and ensure timely corrective action where targets are not achieved
- Optimize workflows, manpower, shift structures, production scheduling, and asset utilization
Poultry, Meat & Vegetable Processing Leadership
- Provide technical and operational leadership for poultry thawing, cutting, marination, packing, chilled/frozen handling, and vegetable receiving, washing, cutting, processing, and packing
- Ensure robust control of time and temperature, cross-contamination, allergens, foreign materials, traceability, shelf life, and cold-chain requirements
- Improve process capability, recipe accuracy, product consistency, yield, and finished-product quality
- Support commercialization, production trials, scale-up, and first production of new and improved products
Food Safety, Quality & HSE
- Ensure compliance with company standards, franchisor requirements, applicable food regulations, and recognized food safety management systems
- Own the implementation and effectiveness of HACCP, GMP, sanitation, environmental monitoring, traceability, recall readiness, and corrective action programs
- Build a strong food safety, quality, and occupational health and safety culture across every factory
- Ensure all sites remain audit-ready and that findings are closed effectively and sustainably
Operational Excellence & Factory Development
- Develop and lead a network-wide manufacturing excellence roadmap focused on safety, quality, service, cost, and people
- Use Lean, root-cause analysis, statistical methods, and structured problem-solving to eliminate losses and improve process capability
- Lead greenfield and brownfield factory projects from feasibility and concept design through construction, commissioning, validation, and ramp-up
- Develop user requirements, process flows, hygiene zoning, capacity models, equipment specifications, layouts, budgets, and implementation plans
Financial Management & People Leadership
- Own factory operating budgets, production costing, cost-improvement plans, and capital expenditure proposals across the network
- Monitor conversion cost, material usage, yield losses, labor cost, utilities, maintenance spend, and inventory performance
- Lead, coach, and develop factory managers and functional leaders across all locations
- Set clear objectives, review performance, strengthen accountability, and build succession plans for critical roles
Risk, Crisis Management & Stakeholder Reporting
- Identify operational, capacity, supply, food safety, equipment, and people risks and maintain effective mitigation plans
- Develop and test contingency plans for production disruption, utility failure, product withdrawal, and supply interruption
- Provide concise, accurate, and action-oriented performance updates to senior management
- Maintain effective relationships with franchisors, authorities, auditors, suppliers, vendors, and contractors
Qualifications & Requirements
Educational Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Food Technology, Food Science, Food Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Process Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline
- Postgraduate qualification in engineering, operations, business, or supply chain is an advantage
Experience Requirements
- Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in food manufacturing, including substantial experience in poultry, meat, or protein processing
- Minimum 8 years in a senior manufacturing leadership role, with proven responsibility for multiple factories or a regional production network
- Demonstrated hands-on experience managing factory operations, solving production issues, and improving performance on the shop floor
- Proven experience leading the design, build, commissioning, and start-up of at least one new food manufacturing facility
- Experience in poultry marination is essential; vegetable processing, chilled/frozen foods, QSR supply, or GCC manufacturing experience is strongly preferred
- Working knowledge of GFSI-recognized food safety standards, HACCP, and occupational health and safety requirements
Leadership & Technical Capabilities
- Strategic leadership with the willingness and ability to remain operationally hands-on
- Strong multi-site governance, performance management, and organizational development capability
- Advanced problem-solving, root-cause analysis, decision-making, and crisis leadership skills
- Strong commercial and financial acumen, including budget ownership, cost control, and investment appraisal
- Practical knowledge of factory design, hygienic zoning, process flow, equipment selection, automation, commissioning, and start-up
- Competence with ERP and manufacturing systems, such as Oracle, with strong data analysis and reporting capability
- Fluent written and spoken English; Arabic is an advantage
- Ability and willingness to travel frequently across UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt, and to work extended hours when operationally required
About Americana’s Regional Manufacturing Network
Americana operates a multi-country poultry marination and vegetable processing manufacturing network spanning UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt, supplying restaurants and distribution points across the region. As Factory Director, you take strategic and hands-on ownership of this network, driving operational excellence, food safety, capital project delivery, and people development across every factory in the portfolio.
Regional Leadership Opportunity: This role offers senior manufacturing leaders the chance to shape a multi-country food manufacturing network at a strategic level while staying deeply hands-on operationally.
Who Should Apply?
- Senior Manufacturing Leaders: With 15+ years in food manufacturing, including poultry/protein processing
- Multi-Site Operations Directors: With proven responsibility for multiple factories or a regional network
- Factory Project Leaders: Experienced in greenfield/brownfield design, commissioning, and start-up
- Food Safety & Quality Executives: With HACCP, GMP, and GFSI-recognized systems expertise
- Regional Leadership Candidates: Willing to travel frequently across UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, KSA, and Egypt
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