Site Head Germany (Confidential Manufacturing Mandate)

Confidential Company Overview

Our confidential client is a global provider of pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and drug delivery solutions, serving leading pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare companies worldwide. Through its expertise in formulation technologies and specialty pharmaceutical ingredients, our client supports customers in developing innovative products across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

The company operates a dedicated, specialized manufacturing facility in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. The site focuses on API manufacturing. To lead this facility through an ambitious transformation program, focusing on operational excellence, automation, process optimization, and organizational integration, the group is appointing a Site Head Germany.

Reporting directly into the Global Operations organization, the Site Head Germany will hold full site operational accountability and lead the multidisciplinary operations, engineering, EHS, and quality teams in Ludwigshafen.

• Full operational leadership and site accountability for the Ludwigshafen manufacturing facility (~70 FTEs).


• Lead, coach, and develop a multidisciplinary site organization spanning production, engineering, EHS, quality, and supply chain.


• Drive operational excellence (OpEx), Lean Manufacturing principles, and continuous improvement initiatives.


• Ensure GMP compliance, quality standards and EHS performance. Deliver operational, financial and manufacturing KPIs. Partner closely with global Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain and Quality functions.


• Lead organisational change and build a high-performance culture.


• Support future investment projects and long-term site development.


• Partner seamlessly with global corporate functions (Operations, Quality, Engineering, HR, and Supply Chain).


• Steer organizational integration, foster an agile high-performance culture, and manage local labor/works council relations.

Ideal Candidate Requirements

• Academic Background: Degree (M.Sc. / B.Sc. / Dipl.-Ing.) in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Chemistry, or a related technical discipline.


• Leadership Experience: Significant leadership track record managing manufacturing operations, production units, or full sites within chemicals, specialty chemicals, APIs, excipients, or regulated process industries.


• Engineering & Operational Excellence: Hands-on engineering mindset with proven success leading OpEx, Lean/Six Sigma, process optimization, and automation programs.


• Regulatory & Standards Expertise: Strong working knowledge of cGMP, BImSchG, EHS, and regulatory compliance standards in chemical/pharmaceutical manufacturing.


• People & Change Leadership: Empathetic, pragmatic leader with high credibility and the ability to drive organizational change and develop multidisciplinary teams.


• Language Skills: Business fluent in German and English (essential); French language skills are considered an advantage