Area Director Operations P&M and GI

Job Description
We're looking for an experienced manufacturing leader to oversee multiple facilities and drive operational excellence. In this role, you'll lead teams, optimize resources, and ensure we deliver high-quality coatings products that meet customer expectations—all while fostering a safe, rewarding, and inclusive environment for employees and the community.

This position is remote with a preference to be based from either Germany (around Vaihingen / Mannheim) or in the UK (around Manchester) with 50%-60% time spent travelling within the countries and EMEA.

Why Join Us?
This is a high-impact role where you'll shape the future of our operations and make a real difference for our customers and employees. If you're passionate about leadership, operational excellence, and continuous improvement, we'd love to hear from you

Responsibilities
What You'll Do

• Lead and Inspire: Provide clear direction and strong leadership to plant teams, building capability and engagement.
• Drive Performance: Manage people, materials, and assets to meet production plans and customer requirements.
• Shape Strategy: Develop and execute the manufacturing strategy for your business unit, aligning with long-term goals.
• Ensure Compliance & Safety: Maintain regulatory compliance, protect plant assets, and champion a culture of safety and sustainability.
• Continuous Improvement: Simplify processes, reduce costs, and enhance productivity through innovation and collaboration.

Your Focus Areas

• Safety: Advance safety programs and achieve "Five Zeroes" performance.
• Quality: Deliver top-quality products and maintain readiness for customer audits.
• Service: Meet service level and lead time objectives with a customer-first mindset.
• Cost & Productivity: Improve efficiency, manage budgets, and execute capital projects.
• People: Develop your team, strengthen engagement, and build future leaders.

Qualifications
Education
:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (required)
• Master's degree in Chemical Engineering or MBA (preferred)

Experience
:

• Current Plant Manager or Regional Director, or previous Plant Manager experience with a proven track record in the Five Focus Areas (Safety, Quality, Service, Cost/Productivity, People)
• Leadership experience managing multiple plants
• Significant European operations experience
• Broad knowledge across operations, including Process Safety Management (PSM), supply chain, manufacturing, order management, engineering, and procurement
• Demonstrated success delivering large-scale, high-profile strategic business and technology projects
• Strong project management expertise, including tools, methodologies, and techniques that drive measurable business improvements
• Experience with process mapping and implementation
• Proven ability to support complex, multi-functional and multi-divisional projects
• Experience with large business integrations, acquisitions, or site rationalizations
• Hands-on experience with Process Safety Management (PSM)

Preferred Skills & Certifications
:

• Protective Coating or General Industrial Coating experience
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Our offer to you…

• Work-life balance that supports your wellbeing
• Competitive compensation programme
• Company bonus plan
• Private medical insurance
• Company car
• Company contributed pension
• Career growth opportunities in a truly international environment
• Be part of innovation leaders in the protective coatings industry
• Access to Sherwin Academy for continuous training at all levels
• Wellbeing, mental health, women & inclusion networks and support, and ID&E programmes that make a difference

About Us
At Sherwin-Williams, our purpose is to inspire and improve the world by coloring and protecting what matters. Our paints, coatings and innovative solutions make the places and spaces in our world brighter and stronger. Your skills, talent and passion make it possible to live this purpose, and for customers and our business to achieve great results. Sherwin-Williams is a place that takes its stability, growth and momentum and translates it to possibility for our people. Our people are behind the strength of our success, and we invest and support you in:

Life … with rewards, benefits and the flexibility to enhance your health and well-being

Career … with opportunities to learn, develop new skills and grow your contribution

Connection … with an inclusive team and commitment to our own and broader communities

It's all here for you... let's Create Your
Possible
Eligibility to Work

You will need to provide proof of right to work. It is a condition of any offer of employment we make to you that you have the permission to work in the country for the role for which you are applying for.

Equal Opportunity Employer

An equal opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against based on race, colour, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic or national origin, disability, age pregnancy or maternity, marital or civil partner status, or any other protected characteristic prohibited by law.

Please be aware, Sherwin-Williams recruiting team members will never request a candidate to provide a payment, ask for financial information, or sensitive personal information like national identification numbers, date of birth, or bank account numbers during the application process.