Unit Head / Site Head

Job Description:

Job Description

Unit Head / Site Head – Sayakha Plant

Company: Client.
Location: Sayakha, Gujarat
Reporting To: Managing Director
Experience: 18–25+ years
Compensation Range: Approx. ₹25–40 lakhs per annum CTC, depending on experience, capability, and fit
Function: Manufacturing Operations / Site Leadership

Role Summary

Client is looking for a senior manufacturing leader to head its Sayakha plant.

The Sayakha facility is a multi-product specialty chemicals and agrochemical intermediates plant with DCS-controlled operations and multi-step chemistry capability. The plant handles complex batch manufacturing and reaction capabilities such as hydrogenation, chlorination, high-vacuum distillation, oxidation, sulfonation, amination, and related chemical operations.

The Unit Head will be responsible for the overall performance of the Sayakha site, including production, maintenance, engineering, EHS, utilities, warehouse, dispatch, administration, and coordination with QA/QC, HR, procurement, finance, and other group functions.

This is a senior leadership role requiring strong plant-floor ownership, chemical engineering understanding, process troubleshooting ability, people leadership, and the discipline to build industry-standard systems. The candidate should be able to manage day-to-day plant execution while also supporting scale-up of new products, customer-facing audits, CDMO / tolling projects, and long-term site capability building.

Key Responsibilities

1. Overall Site Leadership

• Take full ownership of the Sayakha plant as an operating unit.
• Lead site functions including production, maintenance, EHS, utilities, engineering, warehouse, dispatch, and site administration.
• Ensure alignment between production targets, safety standards, quality requirements, cost objectives, and customer commitments.
• Build a strong execution culture based on discipline, accountability, data-based reviews, and practical problem solving.
• Work closely with the Managing Director and group functions to align site operations with Crystal Quinone’s growth plans.

2. Production Planning and Execution

• Ensure achievement of production targets across multi-product campaigns while maintaining safety, quality, cost, and delivery expectations.
• Oversee batch planning, shift deployment, equipment utilization, campaign changeovers, and plant readiness.
• Monitor batch performance, yields, cycle times, solvent recovery, utility consumption, and plant throughput.
• Identify bottlenecks and drive corrective actions to improve reliability, productivity, and consistency.
• Ensure strong coordination between production, QC, maintenance, stores, dispatch, and planning teams.

3. Technical and Process Management

• Provide leadership in troubleshooting plant issues related to process performance, scale-up, yield loss, impurity formation, equipment constraints, and operational deviations.
• Support scale-up and stabilization of new products and new chemistries in coordination with R&D, process development, QA/QC, and commercial teams.
• Ensure robust technology transfer from lab / pilot to plant, including process understanding, risk review, equipment mapping, batch documentation, and operator training.
• Bring strong chemical engineering judgment to plant operations, especially in multi-step batch manufacturing.
• Ensure that learnings from production campaigns are captured and converted into improved systems, SOPs, and operating practices.

4. EHS and Process Safety

• Lead the site with a strong safety-first mindset and ensure strict compliance with EHS requirements.
• Strengthen process safety culture across the site, including permit systems, MOC, HAZOP action closure, incident reporting, near-miss reporting, and root cause analysis.
• Ensure safe handling of hazardous chemicals and reactions including hydrogenation, chlorination, oxidation, sulfonation, amination, high-vacuum distillation, and other relevant operations.
• Ensure that contractors, operators, engineers, and supervisors follow safe work practices consistently.
• Drive practical EHS improvements without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

5. Maintenance, Engineering and Reliability

• Ensure effective maintenance planning, preventive maintenance, breakdown analysis, and equipment reliability improvement.
• Prioritize maintenance activities based on production criticality, safety, and long-term asset health.
• Work with engineering and project teams on plant modifications, debottlenecking, utility improvements, and capex recommendations.
• Improve uptime, reduce avoidable downtime, and ensure readiness of critical equipment and utilities.
• Build discipline around maintenance records, spares planning, and equipment history.

6. Quality, Documentation and Systems

• Ensure that production is carried out in line with approved process instructions, batch records, quality requirements, and customer commitments.
• Coordinate closely with QA/QC to reduce deviations, rework, delays in analysis, and batch release issues.
• Strengthen documentation, MIS, SAP discipline, batch data capture, material reconciliation, and production reporting.
• Build systems suitable for a professional specialty chemicals / CDMO manufacturing environment.
• Support internal audits, customer audits, regulatory inspections, and corrective action closure as required.

7. People Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead, coach, and develop production managers, shift in-charges, maintenance teams, EHS, utilities, warehouse, and other site personnel.
• Create clear ownership at each level of the plant organization.
• Improve shift discipline, housekeeping, training, communication, and supervisor effectiveness.
• Build a strong second line of leadership within the Sayakha site.
• Manage contractors and third-party manpower with clear expectations on safety, discipline, and performance.

8. Cost, Productivity and Continuous Improvement

• Monitor and improve key operating parameters including yield, batch cycle time, solvent recovery, energy usage, manpower productivity, downtime, and maintenance cost.
• Drive cost improvement initiatives without compromising safety, quality, or long-term reliability.
• Support better planning of raw materials, intermediates, utilities, consumables, and inventory.
• Establish practical review mechanisms for production, downtime, deviations, EHS actions, and project progress.
• Bring a continuous improvement mindset to the plant while maintaining focus on execution.

9. Customer Audits, Technical Discussions and CDMO Readiness

• Represent the Sayakha site during customer visits, plant audits, technical reviews, and project discussions.
• Work closely with R&D, QA/QC, EHS, commercial, and engineering teams to present the plant’s capabilities in a clear and credible manner.
• Support assessment of new CDMO, tolling, and specialty intermediate opportunities from a plant-fit, scale-up, safety, equipment, and timeline perspective.
• Ensure that the site is prepared for customer expectations on documentation, confidentiality, safety standards, batch discipline, traceability, and project execution.
• Help build Sayakha’s credibility as a reliable multi-product manufacturing site for domestic and export customers.

Candidate Profile

Required Experience

• 18–25+ years of experience in chemical manufacturing operations.
• At least 5–8 years in a senior plant leadership role such as Plant Head, Site Head, Unit Head, Operations Head, or equivalent.
• Strong experience in multi-product batch chemical manufacturing.
• Preferred industry background: specialty chemicals, agrochemical intermediates, fine chemicals, dyes / pigments, or related chemical intermediates.
• Experience in a mid-sized or professionally managed Indian chemical manufacturing company would be highly relevant.
• Exposure to tolling, custom synthesis, or CDMO projects will be an added advantage.

Technical Background

• Degree in Chemical Engineering preferred. Chemistry graduates with strong plant leadership and technical troubleshooting experience may also be considered.
• Strong understanding of batch processes, scale-up, plant troubleshooting, reaction hazards, utility systems, equipment limitations, and process safety.
• Familiarity with operations such as hydrogenation, chlorination, high-vacuum distillation, oxidation, sulfonation, amination, filtration, drying, and solvent recovery will be useful.
• Ability to engage with R&D, QA/QC, engineering, commercial, and customer teams on technical and operational matters.

Leadership Traits

The ideal candidate should be:

• Hands-on and plant-floor oriented.
• Strong in execution, follow-up, and operating discipline.
• Technically sound, with practical chemical engineering judgment.
• Firm on safety, housekeeping, compliance, and documentation.
• Comfortable working in a promoter-led, fast-growing specialty chemicals company.
• Able to balance urgency with process discipline.
• Commercially aware and able to understand the importance of customer timelines, quality, and reliability.
• Strong in people management, but not overly bureaucratic.
• Capable of building systems while also solving immediate operational problems.

Key Performance Indicators

The role will be measured on:

• Achievement of production targets.
• Batch reliability, yield improvement, and cycle-time reduction.
• EHS performance, incident reduction, and closure of safety actions.
• Plant uptime, preventive maintenance effectiveness, and downtime reduction.
• Successful scale-up and stabilization of new products.
• Improvement in MIS, SAP discipline, batch documentation, and material reconciliation.
• Audit readiness and customer confidence in site operations.
• Cost control, productivity improvement, and better utilization of assets.
• Development of a strong second line of leadership at the site.

Reporting and Working Relationships

The Unit Head will report directly to the Managing Director.

All site functional heads will report to the Unit Head. Certain functions such as QC, HR, finance, and procurement may also have dotted-line reporting to respective group functional heads to ensure alignment with company-wide systems and standards.

The role will require close coordination with R&D, QA/QC, EHS, engineering, commercial, supply chain, finance, and corporate leadership.

Preferred Candidate Background

Strong-fit candidates may come from:

• Specialty chemicals manufacturing.
• Agrochemical intermediates.
• Fine chemicals.
• Dyes, pigments, and performance intermediates.
• Multi-product batch chemical plants.
• Indian mid-sized chemical companies with professional operating systems.

Candidates who have only worked in very large single-product commodity chemical plants may not be the best fit unless they also have strong multi-product and batch operations exposure.

Candidates from pharma API backgrounds may be considered if they are practical, plant-oriented, and adaptable to specialty chemical manufacturing. However, the role is not intended for someone who is only documentation-driven without strong plant execution capability.

Position Objective

The objective of this role is to strengthen Sayakha as a reliable, disciplined, and scalable multi-product manufacturing site for Crystal Quinone’s specialty chemicals, agro intermediates, and future CDMO / tolling growth.

The right candidate should be able to run the plant effectively today while also building the systems, people, and execution discipline required for the next stage of growth.