Leading manufacturer of kitchens, wardrobes, bathroom vanities, office furniture, and custom interior solutions. Operating from a modern production facility, it combines advanced CNC manufacturing, premium MFC and MDF boards, quality hardware, and skilled craftsmanship to deliver exceptional residential and commercial projects across Kenya.
Role Purpose
The Factory Operations Manager is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of all manufacturing projects, from order release through planning, production, quality control, dispatch, installation, and final customer handover.
The role oversees three core functions:
- Operations (Planning, Scheduling & Quality Control)
- Production (Machines, Manufacturing & Assembly)
- Installation (Site Delivery & Project Execution)
The successful candidate will ensure projects are delivered on time, to specification, within budget, and at targeted profit margins while driving operational excellence across the factory and installation teams.
This role serves as the operational leader of the factory and is accountable for planning, execution, quality, delivery performance, customer satisfaction, and operational profitability.
Key Responsibilities
1. End-to-End Project Delivery
- Own the execution of all customer orders from production release to final handover.
- Ensure projects are delivered On Time In Full (OTIF).
- Maintain visibility of all active projects and delivery commitments.
- Coordinate production, procurement, logistics, dispatch, and installation activities.
- Lead weekly production and delivery review meetings.
- Identify project risks and implement recovery plans where required.
- Ensure smooth handovers between departments throughout the project lifecycle.
- Drive accountability across teams to achieve agreed project timelines.
2. Planning & Capacity Management
- Oversee production planning and job sequencing activities.
- Ensure factory capacity aligns with incoming sales demand.
- Balance machine loading, labour allocation, and installation resources.
- Monitor project schedules and production workloads.
- Ensure realistic production and installation commitments are maintained.
- Review bottlenecks and resource constraints proactively.
- Maintain oversight of the master production and installation schedule.
- Ensure departments are aligned on priorities and delivery targets.
3. Job Readiness & Workflow Control
- Establish and enforce a formal Job Readiness Process.
- Ensure projects only move between stages when all required approvals, information, materials, and resources are available.
- Verify readiness before:
- Production release
- Factory completion
- Dispatch
- Installation
- Ensure approved drawings, CNC files, material availability, hardware availability, and customer approvals are in place before work commences.
- Prevent incomplete or unready jobs from entering production or installation.
- Drive process discipline throughout the operation.
4. Operations Planning, Logistics & Quality Control
- Oversee production planning, scheduling, logistics, and dispatch functions.
- Ensure efficient allocation of labour, machinery, vehicles, and installation resources.
- Manage delivery readiness reviews prior to dispatch.
- Ensure all products pass quality inspections before leaving the factory.
- Maintain quality assurance procedures and inspection standards.
- Drive reduction of defects, rework, snagging, and warranty issues.
- Conduct root cause analysis and corrective action implementation.
- Maintain accurate reporting of operational KPIs.
5. Production Management
- Manage all factory manufacturing activities.
- Ensure efficient operation of CNC machines, panel saws, edge banders, drilling equipment, assembly lines, and supporting production processes.
- Ensure adherence to approved drawings, cutting lists, machining specifications, hardware schedules, and assembly standards.
- Drive productivity, efficiency, and throughput improvements.
- Monitor machine utilisation and labour performance.
- Minimise downtime and production bottlenecks.
- Implement lean manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Maintain a safe, organised, and efficient production environment.
6. Installation Management
- Oversee all site installation activities.
- Ensure installation teams are properly planned, scheduled, and resourced.
- Coordinate site readiness requirements before installation commences.
- Monitor installation quality and productivity.
- Resolve site issues and customer concerns promptly.
- Ensure all snagging and punch-list items are closed within agreed timelines.
- Manage warranty call-backs and corrective works.
- Ensure professional standards are maintained on all customer sites.
- Drive customer satisfaction throughout the installation process.
- Ensure completion of installation sign-offs and project handover documentation.
7. Cost Control & Margin Protection
- Monitor project costs against approved budgets.
- Control labour efficiency across factory and installation teams.
- Reduce material wastage and production losses.
- Ensure accountability for materials, hardware, and inventory consumption.
- Monitor project profitability throughout the delivery cycle.
- Identify opportunities for cost reduction and process improvement.
- Support accurate production costing and operational reporting.
- Protect project gross margins through disciplined operational management.
8. Team Leadership & Development
- Lead and develop Operations, Production, QC, and Installation teams.
- Set clear expectations, objectives, and performance standards.
- Conduct regular team reviews and performance evaluations.
- Coach supervisors and team leaders to improve capability and accountability.
- Build a culture of ownership, teamwork, quality, safety, and continuous improvement.
- Support recruitment, onboarding, and training initiatives.
- Develop succession plans and strengthen team capability.
9. Health, Safety & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with company policies and statutory requirements.
- Promote safe working practices within the factory and on customer sites.
- Conduct regular safety inspections and audits.
- Investigate incidents and implement corrective actions.
- Drive a culture of safety awareness and responsibility.
- Ensure compliance with operational procedures and quality standards.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Delivery Performance
- OTIF Delivery ≥ 95%
- Installation Completion to Schedule ≥ 95%
- Project Handover Completion Rate
Planning & Workflow
- Job Readiness Compliance
- Schedule Adherence
- Production Lead Time Achievement
Quality
- Rework Rate < 3%
- Customer Snag Rate within Target
- Warranty Claims within Target
- QC Pass Rate
Production
- Factory Labour Efficiency Achievement
- Machine Utilisation Achievement
- Downtime Reduction Targets
- Throughput Achievement
Financial
- Cost Control & Efficiency
- Material Waste Reduction
- Labour Cost Control
- Cost Variance to Budget
Customer Experience
- Customer Satisfaction Scores
- Installation Sign-Off Success Rate
- Warranty Response Performance
Net savings in the range of $2500 - $3500 + All expat benefits
