Operations Director - Europe

Operations Director – Europe

“Orchestrate Operational Excellence Across Europe’s Safety Technology Network”

Location: Netherlands (Rotterdam area/hybrid)

Executive Leadership | Supply Chain & Logistics | Pan-European Operations

An outstanding opportunity has arisen for a seasoned and diplomatic Operations Director to lead strategic transformation across a pan-European business. As the company unifies five national subsidiaries into a single European legal entity, your leadership will be instrumental in shaping a lean, agile, and customer-centric operational platform.

The Role

This senior role is about driving clarity and cohesion in a complex but well-resourced regional structure. You’ll be the senior operational voice on the EU Board—collaborating with three Regional Sales Directors and leading the central logistics, warehousing, and inventory operation from Rotterdam.

This is not a hands-on logistics position—it is a high-impact leadership appointment, designed to bring structure, process, and efficiency to a growing, decentralised European operation serving critical safety-driven sectors.

EU Operational Structure

You’ll partner closely with a strong leadership bench already in place:

• 3 Regional Directors, each sitting on the EU Board, are responsible for profitable commercial growth across five countries:
  • France & Holland
  • Italy & Germany
  • Poland
• Each country hosts a Branch Commercial Manager (Sales, Marketing, Technical) and a Branch Operations Manager (Customer Service, Credit Control).

You will not be building this from scratch. The people are in place. Your mission is to align them, elevate capability, and standardise operational execution across borders.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate warehousing, demand planning, and logistics across multiple countries.
• Manage the EU central cost centre, including a flagship Rotterdam warehouse.
• Align S&OP forecasting with commercial ambition while maintaining cost and service discipline.
• Implement shared KPIs, tools, and processes across regions—balancing control with cultural nuance.
• Coach and challenge regional peers to enable joined-up decision-making and strategic follow-through.
• Champion operational excellence that supports EU-wide scalability, resilience, and customer satisfaction.

What You Bring

Required:

• Proven experience leading complex, multi-country supply chains within short-cycle, B2B environments.
• Strong background in logistics, aftermarket, service-based or industrial distribution businesses such as automotive aftermarket, vehicle telematics or safety, retrofit equipment providers, technology enabled logistics, service led B2B distributors.
• Deep knowledge of EU cross-border trade, customs, VAT, and regulatory standards.
• ERP proficiency (Microsoft Business Central or similar), with planning and demand management insight.
• Gravitas to lead change in a post-restructure environment—bringing stability, trust, and clarity.

Advantageous:

• Experience with retrofit, telematics, or vehicle safety technologies.
• Familiarity with working within SMEs or privately-owned groups.
• Multilingual skills; fluency in English is essential, other EU languages are a bonus.

Offer & Benefits

• Base Salary: Up to €120,000 p.a.
• Bonus: Based on EU profitability, sales support, and performance targets.
• Car/Travel Allowance: Generous and tax-efficient, aligned to EU travel needs.
• Statutory Dutch pension scheme + 13th-month salary.
• Permanent role on Dutch contract.

Location & Travel

• Netherlands-based, with routine access to the Rotterdam warehouse.
• Frequent travel required across EU branch offices in France, Holland, Germany, Italy, and Poland.

A Career-Defining Opportunity

If you're a credible, commercially aware operations leader who thrives on bringing order to complexity, this role offers a unique chance to shape the future of a global brand’s European operations.

Submit your CV with a summary of your international operational leadership experience to begin your next chapter, in English, quoting reference LX 3246220

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