Director, MES Productivity and Connectivity

Director, MES Productivity and Connectivity is a senior-level role responsible for overseeing teams of software engineers and functional analysts, providing leadership, vision and direction for the organization of Manufacturing Execution Systems, in the IS areas of Productivity, Shop Floor Automation devices, Machine Connectivity. This position is responsible for recruiting, developing and retaining talent, as well as ensuring the MES software development teams have the skills and capabilities to meet business needs. Director, MES Productivity and Connectivity also oversees the implementation of MES innovation initiatives, he/ she is responsible for championing best practices and ensuring initiatives to achieve business outcomes.

The jobholder manages stakeholders at the level of Operational Excellences vice president and pillars, Plant Managers, Manufacturing Regional directors.

He/ She is the technical and functional leader of the MES Productivity team, in charge of the techno-functional coordination of more than 30 resources. His area of influence extends both on the technical and the functional side, taking full responsibility of the MES Productivity and Connectivity products, including projects, enhancements, support and deployment. He is the first go-to person in case of service breaches endangering the service to the shop floors. He is in charge of MES audit with Aptar Internal Audit department.

Leadership and Strategy Responsibilities

The Director MES leads MES organization, designs, develops and implements the MES Productivity and Connectivity as a product; implements short and long-term solutions that meets the business needs of the organization.

• Manages the MES budget, with ongoing focus on personnel, vendor, and capital expenditures.
• Builds strong working relationships with business leaders to ensure MES team meets expectations and contributes to achievement of business goals.
• Influences others including executive leadership to accept best practices/ approaches7
• Provides leadership of MES, including Stakeholder Management, Product Management and Service Management.
• Works with the IS and Business managers and directors of other IS functions to promote a transversal and collaborative work spirit, in the idea of one common team.
• Collaborates with IS and business leaders to develop short- and long-term strategic plans in Manufacturing and Operations.
• Supports and facilitates innovative and experimental software development work to test new ideas, to improve shop floor efficiency, to introduce new production processes, within cost and time frames.4
• Designs, manages, and/or executes MES product roadmaps.

Resource Management Responsibilities

• Leads experienced professionals who can perform independently.
• Develops workforce organization to meet the Aptar’s current and future MES needs through developing, hiring, and/or sourcing talents, leveraging internal and external resources, including remote countries. 
• Manages resource allocation across teams to maximize positive business impact of resources and ensure each unit of his team has the skills and capabilities needed to achieve its objectives.
• Partners with Human Resources and External service providers to create learning and development opportunities aligned to the Aptar’s skill and capability needs.
• Recruits and hires talent to address new needs and skill gaps, for both internal and external resources.
• Builds a culture that supports learning, collaboration, transparency, and inclusiveness
• Manages team members engagement and he promotes value proposition. 

Responsibilities for MES Activities

Director, MES Productivity and Connectivity champions best practices and modern software development methods and tools. He/ she leads IS Digital Services teams and other stakeholders to set goals for improving code quality, maintainability, security, and scalability. He/ she monitors progress against these goals.

• Implements and manages software development status reporting, metrics, and benchmarks.
• Is contributing to the MES team both in hands-on activities and with his ability to coordinate the activities of others on the MES systems.
• Plays an important role of connection between the different projects and the support activities, catching shifts in priorities and preventing decisions from one party to have negative impacts on the others.
• Manages collaboration with Platform management and Infrastructure and Operations to ensure software performs well in production and meets SLAs.
• Works with the Chief Security Officer (or equivalent) to ensure software is effectively secured and that risks are mitigated.
• Manages relationships with consultants, vendors, and contractors and supports negotiation of statements of work and business terms with suppliers.
• Montributes to team activities by proposing ideas to grow the solution and sharing his knowledge.
• In collaboration with Infrastructure and Operations leaders, oversees DevOps processes and practices, including automation of the handoff of code releases from development to operations.

 Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated leadership skills and experience.
• Independent & effective, is able to coaches, review and delegate work.
• Strong talent management skills including talent development, coaching, mentoring, and team motivation.
• Experience leading geographically distributed teams.
• Ability to build and maintain strong cross-functional partnerships at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to understand and drive business objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical information in a condensed manner to various stakeholders verbally and in writing.
• Strong organizational skills, including an ability to perform under pressure and manage multiple priorities with competing demands for resources.
• Be the Subject Matter expert for the MES area, obtained through advanced education & work experience; he is able to analyse internal or external issues and recommends solutions/ best practices
• Solve complex problems, with extensive ability in investigation and analysis
• Understanding of software development methodologies and best practices.
• Understanding of relevant tools and platforms (e.g. cloud platforms, web technologies, client-server technologies, continuous integration and deployment), with an eagerness to learn about new and unfamiliar technologies.
• Adaptability and ability to manage rapid change in business needs, processes, or technologies.

 Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent applied experience.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering.
• 10+ years of experience in managing stakeholders.
• Experience managing large distributed team.
• Background in manufacturing industries is preferred.