Director of Manufacturing and Procurement
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
KAYALI seeks a Director of Manufacturing and Procurement to lead external manufacturing, procurement, and quality functions. The role oversees supplier sourcing, industrialization at contract manufacturers, and delivery of finished compliant product.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Define and drive the vision for Kayali's external manufacturing, procurement, and quality operations aligned to global expansion
- Lead operational transformation including toll to contract manufacturing conversion and multi region external network build
- Develop risk mitigation and business continuity plans for supply resilience
- Lead the Purchasing team and own strategic sourcing roadmap across direct materials, indirect goods, and contract manufactured finished goods
- Lead supplier negotiations, contracts, and performance management
- Lead the Quality team and global quality assurance strategy for externally manufactured product
- Establish supplier quality and audit capability to qualify and govern new contract manufacturers
- Ensure full regulatory compliance across geographies including GMP, ISO, IFRA, REACH, and US MoCRA
- Build and own Kayali's external manufacturing network: site selection, qualification, validation, audit, and ramp up
- Own industrialization and technology transfer from PD design handoff through scaled production
- Partner with Product Development and Finance on costing, margin, and business cases
- Build, mentor, and inspire a high performing team across procurement, quality, and industrialization
Requirements
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Operations, Business, or related field
- 10+ years in manufacturing operations, procurement, or supply chain
- At least 5 years in a senior leadership role in the beauty/fragrance industry
- Proven experience managing outsourced/contract manufacturing networks
- Direct experience with toll to contract or contract manufacturing model transitions strongly preferred
- Strong project and program management track record
- Financial acumen: should costing, COGS, margin, and business case development
- Experience managing product integrity and illicit trade risk
- 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
Full Job Posting
Who We Are
- Fueled by passion, KAYALI was founded in 2018 by beauty mogul and fragrance fanatic, Mona Kattan.
- Translating to ‘my imagination' in Arabic, KAYALI provides a modern fragrance experience inspired by Mona's rich Middle Eastern heritage and the art of layering scents.
- Mona collaborates with some of the world's most renowned perfumers and sources the finest ingredients to create unique juices that are infinitely memorable, long lasting, and cruelty free.
Our Mission
- To make everyone feel like the diamond they are! To build a global community of fragrance lovers through the power of scent and by providing them with the most innovative & luxurious fragrances, education and sharing our Middle Eastern fragrance rituals with the world.
Summary
- The Director of Manufacturing & Procurement leads Kayali's external manufacturing, procurement, and quality functions, owning the end to end journey from supplier sourcing, through industrialization at contract manufacturers, to the delivery of finished, compliant product.
- Reporting to the Global VP of Operations, this role leads the Purchasing and Quality teams as its operating core, while building the industrialization and external manufacturing capability Kayali needs to scale across new geographies.
- 2026 2028 are build years. The role will lead Kayali's conversion from toll to contract manufacturing, the launch of a new external manufacturing partner, and the establishment of business continuity planning across the full supplier base.
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.
- 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 secure destruction of non conforming and obsolete stock.
- 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.
- 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.
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