111818-General Manager Europe Operations (m/f/d) Strategy | Leadership

Our client, the PAYER Group, is a globally operating industrial company headquartered west of Graz (St. Bartholomä) and ranks among Styria’s top 100 companies. Since its founding in 1946, PAYER has been impressing customers with innovative product solutions in the Consumer Goods and Medical business segments and includes leading global brands among its clients.

Experienced leaders now have the opportunity to take on a top-leadership role based at the Reiteregg site (Austria) or at the Ajka site (Hungary), leveraging their expertise and passion to drive operations and ensure sustainable growth.

Your responsibilities – with strategic vision

The General Manager Europe Operations (m/w/d) is responsible for the operational performance and strategic development of the PAYER Group’s European production footprint. The role ensures that PAYER’s European operations deliver operational excellence for defined markets and customers through strong cross-site collaboration, standardized processes, effective industrialization, disciplined performance management, and reliable execution.

Your challenge for both sites in Austria and Hungary:

• Focus on the strategic development of the production sites and evaluate and develop site capabilities, capacity allocation, technology needs, manufacturing flows in line with the Group strategy.
• Lead the operational organization covering Industrial Engineering, Production, Supply Chain Management and Project Management Hungary and ensure that both sites meet agreed targets for safety, quality, delivery, productivity, flexibility, customer satisfaction and costs.
• Standardize core processes, operating principles, equipment strategies and industrialization concepts where these create measurable value.
• Develop, implement and continuously maintain a KPI-driven monitoring system to ensure efficiency, quality, delivery performance as well as continuous improvement and establish common definitions, data quality standards, reporting routines and escalation paths for operational KPIs.
• Be accountable for the successful execution of local projects in Hungary and support projects and other initiatives with significant operational, customer, technical or strategic relevance.
• Lead and develop the operations teams and ensure that operational teams stay on schedule and deliver agreed milestones, actions and business commitments.
• Prepare, manage and monitor operational budgets in cooperation with Finance, relevant site leaders, and Group leaders and drive sustainable cost improvements through productivity, footprint optimization, process standardization, capacity management, automation and effective resource utilization.

Your profile – personality with competence:

• Several years of senior leadership experience in operations, manufacturing or industrial engineering or a comparable industrial environment, ideally in leading multi-site operations
• Experience in customer projects, industrialization, production ramp-ups, technology deployment and operational transformation
• Strong financial understanding, including cost management, budgeting, investment evaluation and business performance monitoring
• Clear, decisive and accountable leadership style
• Ability to create alignment and commitment in a matrix organization without relying solely on hierarchical authority
• Fluent English skills, good command of German and Hungarian
• Willingness to travel frequently between both locations

The Offer:

• Diverse and challenging responsibilities in a value-driven, internationally successful industrial company
• An innovative environment shaped by team spirit, passion and a strong shared understanding of values
• Plenty of room for personal development and a long-term career in the PAYER spirit
• An attractive remuneration package above the collective agreement, starting from EUR 115,000 gross per year (based in Reiteregg), plus bonus and company car, depending on qualifications and experience

Do you create new operational paths, make decisions and take responsibility?

We look forward to receiving your detailed application, quoting the reference number 111 818 via our ISG Career Portal or by email. We assure you of the highest level of discretion at every stage of the recruiting process.