Job Title: Site Director
Reports to Position: Operations Director EMEA
Location: Ludwigshafen, Germany
Language Skills: German and English required, French a plus
Date: October 2026
Summary
The Site Director leads our Process Technology, Engineering, and overall Site Management team for the Ludwigshafen, Germany location. The Ludwigshafen site is one of SPI Pharma’s three global manufacturing sites supporting the Actives business.
Reporting to the Operations Director EMEA, this role is accountable for achieving site goals while ensuring the safety, health, and well-being of the workforce. The Director provides leadership and support to all site personnel, creating a high-performance organization.
Other key responsibilities include leading automation projects and capital expenditures to improve capacity, delivering high-quality products that meet customer needs, and managing site spending and profitability.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Two focus areas: Site Leadership and Functional Leadership, with an approximately 50/50 time split.
Site Director
- Provides strategic and team leadership and development.
- Is accountable for Key Performance Indicators, business goals, and financial objectives.
- Reliably delivers on strategic and operational goals.
- Establishes a strong Safety, Health, and Environmental (SHE) culture and is accountable for the safety and health of all site personnel and contractors, as well as the site’s environmental performance and compliance.
- Builds and develops a collaborative, high-performance team with a strong sense of urgency, purpose, and clear accountability for results.
- Develops talent through active mentoring and career development.
- Develops collaborative working relationships across the SPI organization to help achieve SPI’s overall business goals, drive operational excellence, and share and implement best practices and lessons learned to create industry-leading manufacturing practices.
Process Technology & Engineering
Process Technology
- Leads process engineering capability development and activities to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable production.
- Drives process optimization initiatives to improve yield, throughput, quality, energy efficiency, and manufacturing costs.
- Establishes and maintains robust process control strategies and process performance monitoring systems.
- Provides technical leadership for scale-up, technology transfer, debottlenecking, and capacity expansion projects.
Engineering & Asset Reliability
- Leads engineering support functions, including maintenance strategy, reliability engineering, utilities, and infrastructure management.
- Develops long-term asset management plans to improve plant reliability and reduce unplanned downtime.
Capital Projects (CAPEX)
- Develops and maintains the site CAPEX roadmap aligned with business growth and operational strategy.
- Identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes capital investment opportunities based on business value and ROI.
- Leads the execution of capital projects from concept development through commissioning and start-up.
Automation and Digital Manufacturing
- Develops and executes the site’s automation and digitalization strategy.
- Drives the implementation of advanced process control, automation upgrades, and smart manufacturing technologies.
- Improves process visibility through data analytics, dashboarding, and performance-monitoring tools.
Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
- Champions Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Drives waste reduction, productivity improvement, and cost-reduction initiatives.
Safety, Health & Environmental (SHE) Leadership
- Ensures engineering and project activities comply with all SHE requirements.
- Drives initiatives to improve environmental performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability.
- Serves as a visible leader in promoting a strong safety culture throughout the organization.
People Leadership
- Develops a high-performance management team and functional excellence in Engineering and Process Technology.
- Travel of up to approximately 10% is expected.
Education, Skills and Experience
- Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering preferred. A Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering is the minimum requirement.
- Minimum of 10 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical, specialty chemicals, or a similar highly regulated industry.
- Progressive experience in Plant and/or Engineering leadership roles, including experience as a Process Engineer.
- Experience leading site operations and driving safety, preventive maintenance, plant layout and design, automation projects, site reliability, and a continuous improvement culture.
- Strong experience in project management, contractor outsourcing, and contractor management.
- Previous P&L responsibility and proven experience managing financials and project deliverables, with strong financial acumen and an understanding of ROI.
- Proven continuous improvement capabilities; Lean management skills are a plus.
- Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from employees, senior leadership, and customers.
- GMP experience is preferred.
- Experience working in a multinational organization within a highly regulated industry.
- Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills in German and English; French is a plus.
Leadership Traits
- Business Acumen & Judgment: Accurately assesses complex business situations and industry trends, making timely, well-informed decisions.
- Strategic Mindset: Develops and executes strategies that create a durable competitive advantage and deliver superior financial results.
- Results Orientation: Consistently delivers outcomes aligned with strategic objectives.
- Customer Impact: Creates value for customers by addressing both known and emerging needs.
- Skilled in developing talent and building strong teams.
- Able to balance strategic thinking with tactical execution.
- Digs into the details as needed to solve problems and lead teams.
- Drives cross-functional team collaboration and coordination with stakeholders.
- Leads by example.
- Builds a performance culture through the effective delegation of responsibility and accountability to direct reports.
- Engages and leads a diverse, global organization.
Personal Characteristics
- Honest, with strong integrity and the ability to work collaboratively.
- Highly organized, with strong project management skills.
- Comfortable taking initiative and driving process improvements.
- Articulate in discussions and written communications, with the ability to clearly convey ideas.
- Methodical and data-driven in decision-making.
- Possesses a global perspective and is accustomed to collaborating with colleagues in a virtual environment.
- Persuades others to achieve excellence and fosters an environment of openness and teamwork.
- Demonstrates a proven ability to anticipate business needs and provide clear, actionable guidance across all levels of the organization.
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