Director of Manufacturing and Procurement

Who We Are

Our Mission

Summary

• Strategic Leadership & Operational Excellence

• Define and drive the vision for Kayali's external manufacturing, procurement, and quality operations, aligned to the brand's global expansion
• Shift the operating model from a reactive to a proactive footing, embedding forward-looking planning and risk anticipation into the manufacturing, procurement, and quality strategy and roadmap
• Lead operational transformation, including the toll-to-contract manufacturing conversion and the multi-region external network build
• Develop risk-mitigation and business continuity plans that ensure supply resilience across all suppliers and geographies
• Build high-value partnerships with contract manufacturers and suppliers to optimise cost, quality, and scalability

• Procurement & Supplier Management

• Lead the Purchasing team and own the strategic sourcing roadmap across direct materials, indirect goods and services, and contract-manufactured finished goods
• Manage the shift in commercial model from component buying (toll) to finished-goods cost management (contract), including should-cost and open-book negotiation and margin transparency with Finance.
• Lead supplier negotiations, contracts, and performance management, balancing cost, quality, and continuity
• Drive value engineering and supplier innovation to enhance product competitiveness

• Quality & Compliance

• Lead the Quality team and the global quality assurance strategy for externally manufactured product
• Establish supplier-quality and audit capability to qualify and govern new contract manufacturers across regions
• Ensure full regulatory compliance across geographies, including GMP, ISO, IFRA, and REACH, and US requirements such as MoCRA facility and product obligations and TTB / denatured-alcohol controls
• Own product-integrity and illicit-trade risk: controlled and denatured-alcohol inputs, restricted aroma chemicals, anti-counterfeit and grey-market mitigation, and the secure destruction of non-conforming and obsolete stock so it cannot enter illicit channels
• Define and track quality KPIs aligned across internal teams and external partners

• Manufacturing Network & Industrialization

• Build and own Kayali's external manufacturing network: site-selection support, qualification, validation, audit, and ramp-up, starting with the new US partner and the Asia pipeline
• Own industrialization and technology transfer from PD design handoff through scaled production, including pilot and first-article batches and launch-readiness gates
• Lead the toll-to-contract technology and BOM transfer across the contract-manufacturing base
• Optimise manufacturability, lead times, and production cost within the design parameters set by Product Development
• Establish data-driven production and network performance tracking

• Cross-Functional Collaboration (Product Development & Finance)

• Product Development: serve as PD's industrialization partner. Receive design handoffs, feed back manufacturability constraints, and co-own the design-to-production gate. PD retains authority over formula and packaging design
• Finance: partner on standard costing, COGS, margin, business cases, and capital decisions for the manufacturing network; own the operational inputs to financial planning
• Act as the connective tissue across PD, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial to ensure seamless launch execution

• Project & Program Management

• Lead manufacturing, procurement, and quality programs end to end: charters, stage gates, RACI, timelines, budgets, and risk logs
• Run the toll-to-contract conversion, US factory launch, and BCP rollout as governed programs with clear milestones and reporting
• Manage concurrent workstreams and cross-functional dependencies, surfacing risk early with clear options

• Leadership & Organizational Development

• Build, mentor, and inspire a high-performing team across procurement, quality, and industrialization
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and operational excellence
• Develop succession planning and leadership development to grow future talent within Kayali

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related field.
• MBA a plus.
• 10+ years in manufacturing operations, procurement, or supply chain, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role in the beauty/fragrance industry
• Proven experience managing outsourced / contract manufacturing networks, ideally in fragrance, cosmetics, or consumer goods
• Direct experience with toll-to-contract or contract-manufacturing model transitions strongly preferred
• Strong project and program management track record; PMP or equivalent a plus
• Demonstrated cross-functional leadership, particularly with Product Development and Finance
• Financial acumen: should-costing, COGS, margin, and business-case development
• Experience managing product-integrity and illicit-trade risk, including controlled and denatured-alcohol inputs (e.g. US TTB / SDA permitting and diversion controls), restricted aroma chemicals, anti-counterfeit and grey-market mitigation, and secure destruction of non-conforming stock
• Working knowledge of multi-geography regulatory compliance (GMP, ISO, IFRA, REACH; US MoCRA an advantage)
• Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement methodologies

Benefits

• Premium Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

• Find Your Magic Days

• Volunteer Day

• Professional Development Days

• Birthday leave

• Egg Freezing Benefits

• Employee discounts on Kayali products
• Quarterly product gifting
• Kayali is committed to building diverse and inclusive teams and upholding an equal employment workplace that is free from discrimination.
• We hire stellar individuals regardless of their race, color, ancestry, religion, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, medical conditions, disability, or veteran status.
• If you need reasonable accommodations at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know