Program Manager - Operations Transformation

About VAT Group

At VAT, we change the world with vacuum solutions. As the world’s leading supplier of high-performance vacuum valves, we have been driving innovation for more than 60 years. With over 3,200 employees worldwide, we operate from our headquarters in Haag, Switzerland, with manufacturing sites in Switzerland, Malaysia and Romania, as well as sales and service hubs around the world. We are guided by our passions: integrity, teamwork, customer centricity, and innovation – always working together as #oneVAT.

Joining us means becoming part of a passionate, international team where your voice is heard, your ideas matter, and your career growth is supported.

Lead the successful establishment of VAT’s China assembly operation by orchestrating cross-functional teams, aligning global and local stakeholders, and ensuring operational, organizational, and infrastructure readiness to achieve a safe, compliant, and sustainable production ramp-up that delivers business value.

Leading the end-to-end establishment of a new assembly operation in China through a brownfield expansion model. The role will orchestrate multiple cross-functional workstreams to ensure successful operational readiness, product qualification, business process deployment, organizational setup, infrastructure readiness, and production ramp execution.

Acting as the central integration point across global functions and local stakeholders, the incumbent will drive execution discipline, remove roadblocks, manage stakeholder alignment, and ensure all program milestones are achieved on time, within scope, and in accordance with quality, compliance, and business objectives.

The role works in close partnership with the future China Assembly Production Head and serves as the primary coordinator across Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, Product Management, and Business Units. 

1. Program Leadership & Governance

• Lead the overall China Assembly Set-Up Program from planning through operational stabilization.
• Establish program governance, steering committees, reporting structures, and escalation processes.
• Develop and maintain integrated master schedules covering all workstreams, dependencies, risks, and milestones.
• Coordinate global, regional, and local stakeholders to ensure alignment on priorities and execution plans.
• Provide regular executive updates, risk assessments, and decision papers to leadership teams.
• Drive accountability across functional leaders and project owners.

2. Business Process & ERP Deployment

• Lead implementation of core operational business processes required for the China operation.
• Coordinate ERP deployment and system readiness activities across manufacturing, planning, procurement, logistics, quality, finance, and inventory management.
• Ensure process standardization and alignment with global VAT operating models.
• Manage master data readiness, transaction testing, user acceptance testing, and go-live activities.
• Coordinate training and change management activities to ensure successful user adoption.
• Drive operational readiness reviews prior to production launch.

3. Product Qualification & Industrialization

• Coordinate product transfer and qualification activities with Business Units, Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Product Management, and Quality.
• Ensure successful execution of validation plans, process qualifications, pilot builds, and customer approvals.
• Monitor qualification milestones and proactively address technical risks.
• Coordinate engineering change implementation and product documentation readiness.
• Support industrialization activities required to achieve targeted production performance.
• Facilitate cross-functional resolution of qualification issues impacting program timelines. 

4. Organization & Functional Team Establishment

• Lead establishment of the local operational organization required to support assembly activities.
• Coordinate hiring plans, onboarding schedules, organizational design, and workforce readiness programs.
• Support recruitment and onboarding of the China Assembly Production Head and key leadership positions.
• Ensure sufficient resource planning across production, engineering, quality, supply chain, planning, and support functions.
• Coordinate training roadmaps, capability development plans, and knowledge transfer activities.
• Monitor workforce readiness against production ramp requirements.

5. Infrastructure & Facility Readiness

• Drive facility readiness activities required to support assembly operations.
• Coordinate factory layout preparation, equipment installation, utilities readiness, workspace allocation, and operational infrastructure deployment.
• Ensure readiness of IT systems, network connectivity, manufacturing systems, and supporting infrastructure.
• Manage facility-related risks, dependencies, permits, and compliance requirements.
• Coordinate commissioning activities and operational acceptance criteria.

6. Production Ramp Readiness

• Work closely with the China Assembly Production Head to prepare for successful volume ramp-up.
• Coordinate manpower planning, training, production readiness, and operational execution plans.
• Ensure synchronization between infrastructure readiness, workforce readiness, supply chain readiness, and product qualification milestones.
• Establish and monitor ramp KPIs covering quality, delivery, productivity, and capacity.
• Lead issue resolution for critical ramp-related risks and bottlenecks.
• Drive stabilization activities through the early production phases. 

7. Cross-Functional Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary interface between Malaysia, China, and Global stakeholders.
• Facilitate alignment across Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, Product Management, HR, IT, Finance, and Facilities functions.
• Lead program reviews, workshops, readiness assessments, and executive steering meetings.
• Ensure transparency of risks, decisions, dependencies, and resource requirements.
• Build strong working relationships across cultures and geographies to ensure execution effectiveness.

8. Risk & Change Management

• Proactively identify program risks, resource constraints, and execution gaps.
• Develop mitigation and contingency plans to protect program objectives.
• Manage scope changes through structured governance mechanisms.
• Drive problem-solving and escalation resolution for complex cross-functional issues.
• Ensure effective communication and change management throughout the program lifecycle.

Success Measures

The successful candidate will be measured on:

• Achievement of overall China Assembly launch milestones.
• On-time readiness of ERP and business processes.
• Successful product qualification and transfer execution.
• Organizational and workforce readiness.
• Infrastructure and facility readiness.
• Production ramp achievement versus target.
• Executive stakeholder satisfaction.
• Budget, schedule, and quality performance.
• Successful transition from project phase to stable operations. 

Critical Leadership Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong execution discipline.
• High resilience and ability to manage complexity.
• Strong cross-cultural leadership and stakeholder management.
• Structured problem-solving and risk management mindset.
• Ability to influence without direct authority.
• Comfortable engaging with senior executives while driving execution deep into operational teams.

Our commitment to inclusion, fairness and equal opportunities

We believe in meaningful careers, continuous learning, and equal opportunities for everyone to drive our innovation and success. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace. If you have concerns, our compliance channel is available at our website. All reports are handled with strict confidentiality and in accordance with our Code of Conduct.