Head of Industrialisation/Manufacturing Production

About the Company

UGL Transport is a diversified transport company delivering critical assets and essential services that sustain and enhance the environment in which we live. Our capabilities extend across a broad range of services and whole-of-life solutions across the Transport sector, utilising world leading, sustainable and innovative technologies. We partner with some of the world’s largest blue-chip companies, government agencies, private enterprise, and public institutions.

We are guided by our Company values which extend to all leaders and team members and across all departments within the company.

Position Purpose

The Head of Industrialisation is responsible for leading the transition of products, systems, and technologies from design and development into efficient, scalable, safe, and commercially viable manufacturing and operational environments. This role ensures production readiness, optimises manufacturing processes, drives operational excellence, and establishes industrial capabilities that support business growth and customer delivery commitments.

The position plays a critical leadership role in New Product Introduction (NPI), production ramp-up, process standardisation, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration between Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, and Program Management teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Industrialisation Strategy: Develop and implement the organisation's industrialisation strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Establish industrial capability roadmaps to support current and future products.
• Lead capacity planning and manufacturing readiness initiatives.
• Ensure industrialisation activities support cost, quality, delivery, and safety objectives.
• Drive investment planning for manufacturing equipment, automation, tooling, and facilities.
• Lead industrialisation activities during product development and introduction phases.
• Ensure Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) principles are embedded into product development.
• Manage production readiness reviews and gate approvals.
• Oversee pilot builds, first article inspections, and production validation activities.
• Ensure successful transition from prototype to serial production.
• Develop robust manufacturing processes, work instructions, and operational standards.
• Drive Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Optimise production flow, cycle times, labour utilisation, and operational efficiency.
• Establish manufacturing KPIs and performance monitoring systems.
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action plans for process-related issues.
• Partner with Procurement and Supply Chain teams to ensure supplier readiness.
• Support supplier capability assessments and qualification activities.
• Lead industrialisation requirements for strategic suppliers.
• Identify and mitigate supply chain risks impacting production readiness.
• Ensure compliance with all regulatory, safety, environmental, and quality requirements.
• Support implementation and maintenance of ISO and industry-specific standards.
• Drive robust process validation and control methodologies.
• Promote a strong culture of quality and continuous improvement.
• Ensure industrialisation activities are conducted in accordance with organisational safety requirements.
• Project & Stakeholder Management: Lead industrialisation workstreams across major projects and programs.
• Manage budgets, timelines, resources, and risks.
• Provide regular reporting to executive stakeholders.
• Act as the key interface between Engineering, Operations, Program Delivery, and external customers.

Qualifications and Skills

• Degree qualification in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, or related discipline.
• 10+ years' experience in manufacturing, industrialisation, production engineering, or operations leadership.
• Demonstrated success leading NPI and industrialisation programs.
• Strong knowledge of manufacturing systems, process design, and production readiness methodologies.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams within complex operational environments.
• Strong project and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent analytical, planning, and problem-solving capabilities.

Diversity

We embrace diversity in all its forms—backgrounds, ideas, work styles, and perspectives. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we strongly encourage applications from women, individuals with disabilities, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, mature-aged workers, and those from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Our selection process includes relevant screening checks such as national criminal history and pre-employment medical assessments, including drug and alcohol screening.

REF:268881