VP Operations

Vice President of Operations – Biologics Manufacturing (India)

Vice President of Operations

50,000L

The successful leader will oversee manufacturing, engineering, facilities, automation, and capital programmes, while acting as the primary site representative to global leadership.

Role Overview

• Act as the senior-most operational leader for the India site, with full ownership of site performance and long-term strategy.
• Lead site start-up, ramp-up, and ongoing operational excellence aligned with global supply requirements.
• Serve as a key strategic partner to global Manufacturing, Quality, Technical Operations, and Supply Chain teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership across biologics manufacturing operations, including upstream, downstream, formulation, and aseptic fill/finish.
• Own end-to-end site performance across safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people.
• Define and execute the India manufacturing strategy in line with global clinical and commercial demand.
• Lead technology transfer, scale-up, and commercial readiness for biologics products.
• Oversee all engineering, facilities, utilities, validation, and automation functions.
• Drive major capital projects including site expansion, new production lines, cleanroom construction, and infrastructure upgrades.
• Ensure inspection readiness at all times and act as the executive sponsor during global regulatory inspections.
• Build a strong culture of GMP compliance, data integrity, and operational discipline.
• Champion continuous improvement, Lean principles, and Six Sigma across the site.
• Develop, mentor, and retain a high-performing leadership team across manufacturing and engineering.
• Own organisational design, succession planning, and leadership development for India operations.
• Manage site-level P&L, OPEX/CAPEX planning, and long-term capacity forecasting.
• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with equipment vendors, suppliers, and CMOs.
• Ensure production planning, materials readiness, and uninterrupted product supply.

Experience & Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Life Sciences, or a related field; advanced degree (MS, PhD, or MBA) strongly preferred.
• 20+ years’ experience in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Proven leadership in biologics site start-ups, expansions, and commercialisation.
• Deep technical background across upstream/downstream processing and aseptic operations.
• Demonstrated ownership of engineering and facilities functions, including large capital programmes.
• Experience supporting both clinical and large-scale commercial manufacturing.
• Strong regulatory inspection track record with global health authorities.
• Proven success driving process optimisation, cost improvement, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
• Experience with organisational transformation, change management, and leadership development.
• Strong understanding of biologics supply chains and external manufacturing partnerships.
• Executive-level communication skills with a strategic, global mindset.