Factory Head -Early Childhood Education

Job Title: Factory Head

Location: Bangalore Kumbalgodu

Reporting To: Leadership Team

Industry: Early Childhood Education Wooden Learning Materials, Classroom Infrastructure & Books Manufacturing

About Kreedo Early Childhood Education

Kreedo Early Childhood Education designs and delivers high-quality learning solutions for young children. Our manufacturing facility at Kumbalgodu produces wooden educational materials, classroom infrastructure, and learning aids that are used across schools and early learning centers.

The factory operates in a discrete manufacturing environment, handling small-batch, high-variation production, with multiple assembly lines running in parallel based on demand and seasonality. The Factory Head will play a critical role in ensuring quality, timeliness, cost discipline, and workforce stability at scale.

Role Overview

The Factory Head is the end-to-end owner of the manufacturing unit, responsible for production, people, quality, materials, compliance, and industrial relations. This role combines operational leadership with strong shop-floor execution.

This is not a narrow production role. The Factory Head functions as a department head for the entire plant, integrating production planning, workforce management, quality control, inventory, dispatch, compliance, and vendor coordination into one cohesive operating rhythm.

The role demands deep hands-on experience with wood-based manufacturing (and paint), familiarity with plastic and metal components is an added advantage.

Key Responsibilities

1. Production & Operations Leadership

• Own daily, weekly, and monthly production planning across multiple assembly lines.
• Manage small-batch, high-mix discrete manufacturing, not a single continuous assembly line.
• Ensure optimal utilization when 23 assembly lines are running simultaneously.
• Deliver production targets aligned to order commitments and school delivery timelines.
• Drive continuous improvement in cycle time, throughput, yield, and cost efficiency.
• Monitor and reduce material wastage, rework, and idle time.

2. Workforce & Shop-Floor Management

• Lead and manage a large blue-collar workforce (200300 employees) including carpenters, polishers, painters, machine operators, helpers, supervisors, contract labour, etc.
• Maintain discipline, attendance, productivity benchmarks, and safe work practices.
• Build strong first-line leadership through supervisors and line leads.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, skill upgradation, and on-the-job training.
• Resolve shop-floor issues swiftly while maintaining morale and productivity.

3. Industrial Relations & Labor Management

• Act as the primary owner of industrial relations (IR) at the factory.
• Handle union interactions, labour negotiations, grievances, and dispute resolution.
• Ensure compliance with labour laws, statutory requirements, and contractor regulations.
• Maintain healthy relationships with workers, union representatives, and local authorities.
• Proactively prevent disruptions due to labour unrest or non-compliance.

4. Quality Assurance & Product Integrity

• Ensure all products meet design specifications, safety standards, and durability requirements.
• Implement strong in-process and final quality checks before dispatch.
• Deeply understand wood behaviour, seasoning, finishing, strength, and durability.
• Ensure proper usage and fitment of zinc components, fasteners, hinges, and metal parts.
• Reduce customer complaints, returns, and rework through root-cause analysis.

5. Inventory, Materials & Vendor Management

• Manage inventory for wood, boards, paints, coatings, zinc hardware, packaging, and consumables.
• Ensure accurate stock records and optimal reorder levels.
• Coordinate with vendors to ensure quality, consistency, and on-time supply.
• Control material losses, pilferage, and overstocking.

6. Planning, Packaging & Dispatch Coordination

• Work closely with sales, academic, and operations teams for demand forecasting.
• Plan production and dispatch for seasonal spikes and school calendar-driven demand.
• Ensure timely packaging and dispatch aligned to customer commitments.
• Maintain a strong bias for execution and urgency.

7. Compliance, Safety & Infrastructure

• Ensure adherence to factory safety norms, labor laws, and statutory compliances.
• Own preventive maintenance schedules for machines and tools.
• Drive a culture of safety, cleanliness, and operational discipline on the shop floor.

Candidate Profile

Experience & Background

• 1015 years of experience in factory or plant operations.
• Proven experience in wooden manufacturing, furniture, toys, educational products, or similar industries.
• Strong exposure to discrete manufacturing and small-batch production environments.
• Experience managing mid-sized factories (200300 people).
• Hands-on understanding of wood processing and zinc-based components.
• Experience in mid-sized or growing organizations, not highly automated automotive MNC setups.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong end-to-end ownership mindset.
• Excellent people leadership and shop-floor management skills.
• Solid understanding of IR, labor laws, and union dynamics.
• High execution bias with problem-solving orientation.
• Ability to plan under ambiguity and shifting priorities.
• Strong cost, quality, and delivery discipline.

Key Success Metrics

• On-time production and dispatch adherence.
• Reduction in material wastage and rework.
• Stable labor relations with minimal disruptions.
• Improved productivity per worker and per line.
• Consistent product quality and reduced customer complaints.