Director Global Operations

This role is with a pharmaceutical cold chain packaging company who need someone to build the operational foundation for their next growth phase.

They've grown organically across multiple US and international sites, and now have the classic problem - each location does things slightly differently. 500+ SOPs that nobody can realistically learn.

Someone who can standardise all of this into a "service center in a box" framework. Build a proper training program from scratch. Get the sites aligned. Make it scalable for M&A and expansion.

The hiring manager described it perfectly: "We need a friendly engineer" - someone technical enough to command respect but with the people skills to lead through influence across dotted line relationships.

Look, if you've spent the last few years maintaining someone else's system or watching your recommendations get stuck in corporate approval hell, this is different.

You'd be building the operational backbone for a company's growth phase, frameworks with your name on them, not inherited politics.

You'll work directly with the leadership team, not through three layers of management.

And here's the bit that most senior ops people care about: you'll actually see the results. Six months in, you'll see your training program running. Twelve months in, you'll have sites operating to your standards. No waiting 2-3 years to find out your project got canned in a restructure.

You've been comfortable in big corporate for 10+ years. This will feel like a culture shock. It's entrepreneurial, fast-paced, lots of hats. But if that's your thing, you'll see the impact of your work in months, not years.

• 8+ years senior ops in pharma/life sciences services
• Actually built training programs in GDP/cGMP environments
• Standardised processes across multiple sites/geographies
• Can influence without authority (site managers are peers, not reports)