Project & Plant Head for a chemical manufacturing plant which is a Greenfield JV between French MNC and Para Fine Chem Industries Pvt Ltd.

Position Details

Position Title: Project Manager & Plant Head (Greenfield JV) - India

Department: Operations / Manufacturing

Experience Level: 8-13 Years or more

Educational Qualification: B.E. / B.Tech in Chemical Engineering (M.Tech or MBA in Operations is a plus) (other graduates with relevant experience accepted)

Reporting To: General Manager (India)

Location: Bengaluru | India

Remuneration: Competitive and motivating remuneration package; salary is no bar for the right candidate and will commensurate with experience, technical qualifications, and industry benchmarks.

Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent

Languages

Required: Skilled fluency in English, Hindi, and Kannada

Preferred / Asset: Working knowledge or conversational proficiency in Tamil can be an added advantage.

1. Executive Role Summary We are a premier, globally recognized MNC specialized in high-performance surface chemistry, protective coatings, and advanced chemicals for critical industries including aerospace, automotive, energy & having high expansion plans for India. We are initiating a strategic Joint Venture with expert partners and are seeking a highly technical, strategic, and hands-on Project Manager & Operations Director to lead our India operations on our dedicated Indian site.

This pivotal role is phased: initially acting as the Project Manager overseeing the greenfield site construction, and then transitioning to own the entire Operations ecosystemdriving production scaling, new product introduction, total supply chain, spearheading operational excellence, ensuring uncompromised safety (EHS), and navigating complex Indian regulatory frameworks. The ideal candidate will need a proven track record of managing specialized batch processing or advanced chemical plants, passing stringent international quality audits, and building a high-performing local manufacturing team.

2. Core Responsibilities & Duties

Phase 1: Greenfield Project Management (New Setup) Site Construction: Oversee site construction timelines, manage EPC contractors, and ensure the project is delivered within the approved CAPEX budget.

Installation & Commissioning: Supervise the installation of specialized batch processing lines, blending vessels, and utilities, leading to trial runs and final commissioning.

Initial Licensing: Secure the initial Consent to Establish (CTE) and essential construction and storage licenses from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).

Technology Transfer: Work closely with our industrial partner to seamlessly transfer chemical production technologies and ensure standards are met.

Phase 2: Operations Management

New Product Introduction : Manage the introduction of new products,



managing the sourcing search and validation of the Raw Materials, the process definition and validation, the First Article Inspection process to provide to Manufacturing a capable and validated Product/Process. This activity will be conducted in collaboration with our French and US R&D; entities.

Product Quality management : Ensure Quality Control laboratory execution and Product Quality Mastering for qualification, Non Conformance Management (Customer- Internal) Supplier) and a high Right First Time Yield above 98%

Supply Chain management : Put in place the full total Supply Chain for the India site covering Customer Service, Planning and Supply, ensuring appropriate raw material availability, and streamline finished goods distribution to customers.

Production management : Oversee daily manufacturing operations for specialized chemical lines, ensuring recruitment, training and skills sustainability execution aligns perfectly with demand planning and delivery schedules. Maximize yield and minimize cycle times across multi-product batch manufacturing operations.

Logistics management : Ensure the Receiving, Storage and Delivery of all the Raw Materials and Finished Product according the planning orchestrated by the Supply Chain team

Asset Management : Supervise plant maintenance (preventive, predictive, and breakdown) to maximize uptime of blending vessels, systems, and utilities

Regulatory Frameworks, Statutory Approvals & Liaisoning :

Statutory Compliance: Serve as the chief custodian for all site permissions, ensuring continuous validity of Consents to Operate (CTO) from State Pollution Control Boards.

Hazardous Materials Liaison: Manage institutional relationships and technical filings with the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) for raw material storage and manufacturing licenses.

Labor & Safety Laws: Guarantee absolute compliance with the Factories Act, 1948, Boiler Act, Electricity Rules, and all local municipal/state industrial bylaws.

Quality Assurance & Global Audits

System Integrity: Maintain, update, and champion standard operating procedures (SOPs) to comply with international standards including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Advanced Sector Readiness: Lead the facility through external audits required by high-barrier sectors, including aerospace-grade certifications (such as AS9100)

Customer & Vendor Audits:



Act as the primary technical face of the plant during customer site inspections and strategic vendor assessments.

Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS)

Zero-Incident Culture: Implement a world-class safety culture utilizing Job Safety Analysis (JSA), Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies, and regular safety drills.

Effluent Management: Directly monitor the on-site Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) or Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) discharges, ensuring zero-deviation environmental compliance.

Leadership & Budgetary Control

P&L; Input: Formulate and manage the plant's annual operational expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX) budgets.

Team Development: Lead, mentor, and upskill a cross-functional plant team comprising production engineers, maintenance technicians, EHS officers, and warehouse staff.

Operational Reporting

Report hierarchically : to India GM. Supply the necessary technical and operational data to support the Indian GM and the APAC EVP, who will manage the overarching JV coordination and board-level stakeholder relationships.

Functional Reporting : to COO. Deploy the SOCOMORE Operating System on the Indian Operations and is part of the Socomore Operations Director network leading the different Industrial Sites of the Group

1. Candidate Profile & Requirements

Education & Industry Experience Degree: Bachelor's degree (B.E. / B.Tech) in Chemical Engineering from a recognized institute.

Tenure: 8 to 10 Years of progressive experience in chemical manufacturing, with at least 3+ years in a supervisory, senior Supervisory managing team or independent plant management capacity, ideally with exposure to Greenfield project setups. Already experienced in the Product Quality Management and Supply Chain activities for an Chemical Industrial Site

Sector Background: Specialized chemical processing, advanced coatings, resins, polymers, industrial adhesives, or fine chemicals sectors. Experience in hazardous, highly regulated, or batch-processing plants is mandatory.

Technical & Functional Competencies

Deep experience in batch-reactor operations, chemical blending and specialized industrial packaging.

Thorough working knowledge of Indian industrial legislation, specifically dealing with PESO, SPCB, and the Factories Act.

Strong foundation in Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma methodologies, and Root Cause Analysis (RCA).

Behavioral Leadership Skills

Decisive leadership embarking his/her team in a Humble and Enthusiastic Operations efficiency with strong problem-solving skills, and daily presence on the ground.

Exceptional communication and negotiation skills for engaging with government officials, corporate executives, and blue-collar staff, including delivering clear operational reporting to the local GM.

Strong crisis-management capabilities tailored for a chemical handling environment.

📌 Plant Head Manufacturing (Tumakuru)
🏢 Para Fine-Chem Industries
📍 Tumakuru