COO

International Production | Supply Chain | S&OP | Operational Development

Would you like to lead the creation of greater coherence across an international production platform and help develop the next phase of a well-run Danish industrial company?

Hans Aa is seeking a COO who will be responsible for developing the shared operational direction across the group's activities in Denmark, Poland and China. The role combines clear strategic ownership of production, capacity management, S&OP and supply chain with a hands-on approach to implementing and developing the shared group functions.

Hans Aa has developed from a local company in Esbjerg into an international industrial company with around 400 employees and production in Denmark, Poland and China. The company is among the world's leading suppliers of specialised protection solutions for the wind industry, while also working purposefully to develop its position within, among others, defence, offshore, energy and other industrial segments.

The Role

As COO you will be responsible for developing and driving the shared operational strategy across Hans Aa Group. You own the group's production strategy, S&OP and capacity allocation, and at the same time take on managerial responsibility for the shared group functions within procurement, supply chain, logistics and production planning, which are to be built and further developed.

A central task will be to create transparency and a strong shared basis for decision-making across market, capacity and production. This will include, among other things, establishing a group-wide S&OP process and clear principles for how capacity and orders are allocated between the individual sites.

The local General Managers retain responsibility for their respective organisations and report to the CEO. As COO you will work closely with them through a functional relationship, where the task is to create shared direction and safeguard the group's overall interests, while maintaining the trust and constructive collaboration with the local management teams.

This places particular demands on your ability to lead through influence. You must be able to achieve results across the organisation through professional weight, clarity, relationships and followership rather than solely through formal line authority.

You will report to the CEO and be a central part of the group management.

Your Main Areas of Responsibility

Among other things, you will be responsible for:

• developing and owning Hans Aa Group's overall production strategy and capacity plan

• establishing and running a group-wide S&OP process

• creating a robust decision-making basis for capacity allocation and order-to-site

• building and further developing shared functions within procurement, supply chain, logistics and production planning

• establishing structure and governance around the shared functions in close interaction with the local organisations

• developing sourcing strategies, supplier structure and dual sourcing

• optimising material flow, inventory tie-up and logistics across the group

• driving cross-functional development within LEAN, standardisation, automation and digitalisation

• creating a strong operational interface between Commercial, Technology and Operations

• contributing to ensuring robust handovers from engineering to production, where engineering owns the technical process while the COO ensures efficient implementation and execution at the individual sites

• supporting the General Managers and the organisations at the individual sites in the continued operational development.

A significant part of the task will be to build structure, processes and governance around the new group functions, while daily operations and supply security must continue to function. You are therefore not joining a finished model, but will be a central part of establishing it in close collaboration with the local organisations and the rest of the group management.

The role involves considerable travel, particularly to Poland and China. Visibility at the factories is a decisive part of the job. This is where relationships and an understanding of operations must be built, not solely from head office.

Your Profile

We are looking for a strong operational leader with experience from an international production company and a solid understanding of the connection between sales, planning, production, supply chain and procurement.

You have experience with several production sites and have worked with capacity planning and operational management. Experience with implementing or further developing S&OP processes would be a clear advantage. In addition, we expect you to have solid experience in procurement, sourcing and supplier management, as well as a good commercial and financial understanding.

You do not need to have already been a COO or led a large international production organisation. You may, for example, come from a leading role within operations, production or supply chain and be ready for broader responsibility at group level. What is decisive is that you have the operational weight and impact to create direction across the organisation, along with the ambition and potential to grow with the task.

You are hands-on and thrive close to production. You understand that the best solutions are not always created in the meeting room, but through dialogue with the people who work with the processes in practice.

Personally, you have a collaborative and relational leadership style and a strong ability to navigate an organisation where responsibility and decisions cross functions and geographies. You can drive progress without direct line authority and manage to balance the group's overall interests with respect for the local managers' responsibilities and perspectives. You build credibility through professionalism, clarity and presence, and you can both challenge constructively, make decisions and build support around them.

You have a negotiation-level command of English.

A Central Role in the Next Phase

Hans Aa stands on a strong foundation and has over recent years developed and professionalised the organisation. The ambition is to continue the growth and develop a more integrated and scalable international industrial group.

As COO you will have the opportunity to make a significant mark on this development. You are not taking over a finished group function, but will become an essential part of building it and creating the operational coherence that will support Hans Aa Group's continued development. For the right candidate, it is also an opportunity to take a natural next step in their career and grow in line with a responsibility that spans production, supply chain, functions and countries.

The position is based in Esbjerg with considerable international travel.

Application

Hans Aa is working with GML on the recruitment. You are welcome to contact partner at GML, Søren Laigaard-Andersen, on telephone 20 74 44 92, if you would like to hear more about the position. All enquiries are handled confidentially.