Head of Production

Location: Netherlands - Relocation support available

An opportunity for an exceptional operational leader who thrives on responsibility, pace and performance.

Goldstone Associates is supporting an international industrial business in the appointment of a Head of Production to lead operations within a technically complex manufacturing environment.

This is a significant leadership opportunity for an ambitious individual who combines strong technical understanding with exceptional energy, determination and personal accountability.

We are looking for someone who leads from the front, sets high standards and takes genuine ownership of operational performance. Someone who thrives on solving problems, challenges conventional thinking and has the drive to make things happen.

This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position, suited to an ambitious production or engineering leader who enjoys being close to the operation and making a tangible difference.

The Role

You will take responsibility for day-to-day production performance, leading and developing a multidisciplinary operations team within a demanding, continuous-process environment.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, motivating and developing operational teams, establishing a culture of accountability, urgency and high performance.
• Taking ownership of production targets, operational reliability, efficiency and continuous improvement.
• Driving a proactive approach to identifying and resolving operational challenges, minimising downtime and production losses.
• Establishing clear performance expectations, robust reporting and effective operational KPIs.
• Ensuring issues are followed through to resolution, with a strong emphasis on root-cause analysis and corrective action.
• Working closely with engineering and maintenance teams to improve operational performance and equipment reliability.
• Maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and environmental compliance.
• Building an engaged, capable and motivated workforce through visible leadership, coaching and effective performance management.
• Challenging established practices and identifying opportunities to improve productivity, processes and ways of working.

The Individual

Above all, we are looking for someone with the drive, resilience and determination to make a tangible difference.

You will combine strong technical understanding with exceptional leadership skills and a genuine sense of personal responsibility.

We are particularly interested in individuals who demonstrate:

• A strong engineering or technical background, ideally supported by a relevant degree.
• Experience leading production, engineering or operational teams within a demanding industrial environment.
• Exposure to continuous-process manufacturing, chemical processing or other complex, safety-critical operations.
• An exceptionally high work rate, strong personal drive and the ability to create urgency throughout an organisation.
• A hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving, with the determination to see issues through to resolution.
• The confidence and credibility to challenge established practices, raise standards and hold teams accountable.
• Strong interpersonal skills, combining clear expectations with the ability to inspire, develop and support others.
• The ambition and enthusiasm to take on greater operational responsibility.

We are open to candidates from a broad range of engineering-intensive industries, particularly those where operational performance, rapid decision-making, technical rigour and personal accountability are critical.

This could include motorsport, aerospace, advanced engineering, high-performance manufacturing, energy or other demanding industrial environments.

Previous experience managing an entire production facility is not essential. We are equally interested in ambitious individuals who have successfully led smaller operational teams and are ready for a significant step forward in their careers.

Fluent English is essential; Dutch language skills would be advantageous but are not essential.