Director of Operations

Korn Ferry has partnered with our client on their search for the role,

Director of Operations.

THE COMPANY Company Background: Airbus Airbus is a global aerospace leader with activities spanning commercial aircraft, helicopters, and defense and space. Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus SE operates a broad international footprint and reported 166,876 employees as of 31 March 2026. For FY 2025, Airbus reported revenue of €73.4 billion and EBIT Adjusted of €7.128 billion, delivering 793 commercial aircraft, including 93 A220s.

Canada is Airbus’ most significant presence outside the European Union, with more than 40 years of robust industrial activity spanning the commercial aircraft, helicopters, defence and space sectors, and a footprint that extends from British Columbia to Nova Scotia. Airbus positions itself as a meaningful contributor to the Canadian economy, reporting approximately 27,000 indirectly sustained aerospace jobs, relationships with more than 850 suppliers, and more than $2 billion CAD sourced from Canadian companies. Airbus also reports that more than 5,000 people work across ten Airbus and subsidiary sites and offices in Canada, including over 4,000 in Québec. The main production sites are the A220 commercial aircraft programme headquarters and Airbus Atlantic Canada, both located in Mirabel, Québec, complemented by Airbus Helicopters Canada in Fort Erie, Airbus Defense and Space Canada and AirPro SAR Services in Ottawa, and NAVBLUE in Waterloo, alongside additional Airbus sites and subsidiaries across Ontario, Nova Scotia and Québec.

Mirabel Location Mirabel is a cornerstone of Airbus’ Canadian industrial base and is home to both the A220 commercial aircraft programme headquarters and Airbus Atlantic Canada. Airbus Atlantic Canada operates a strategic Delivery Centre in Mirabel, Québec, supporting the global aerospace supply chain through the industrialization, production, and delivery of complex fuselage sections and major aerostructure components. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus Atlantic, Airbus Atlantic Canada is responsible for the design and manufacturing of the A220 front and aft fuselage sections and the assembly and systems equipping of the centre fuselage section for the Bombardier Global 7500 business jet, positioning the Mirabel operation as a critical, high-technology delivery centre within Airbus’ global supply chain.

THE ROLE Summary/ Objective of the Role: The Director of Operations leads assembly operations for the A220 (Forward and Aft) and G8000 (Mid Fuselage) programmes, ensuring SQCDP objectives are achieved across their scope. The role is accountable for day-to-day production execution, operational performance and compliance, and the deployment of a continuous improvement approach to meet competitiveness and ramp‑up plans, with a focus on collaborative work within MFTs, strengthening AAOS (Airbus Atlantic Operating System) operational excellence, and skills development.

As a member of the site Management Committee, the Director of Operations contributes to broader site transformation and collaborative operations, supporting an intentional shift away from a traditional Bombardier culture toward stronger people leadership, culture, and leadership alignment. The incumbent is relocating to France and the role is tied to succession planning continuity.

Specific responsibilities to include:

Ensures the highest standards of health, safety and environment (HSE) within production, and maintains compliance with internal requirements and local regulations within scope.

Delivers quality, on time and at the required costs against annual and multi‑year objectives, ensuring traceability and adherence to defined processes and standards.

Leads operational excellence through the standards of AAOS and drives continuous improvement to strengthen operational performance and long‑term robustness.

Promotes improvement and change initiatives across health and safety, work environment, product quality, cost optimization, and lead times.

Deploys lean operational governance, empowering MFTs in collaboration with functions and programmes.

Leads day‑to‑day production activities across a two‑shift weekday operation and a weekend shift (Friday to Sunday), ensuring delivery objectives are met in terms of quality, time, and cost.

Develops and manages the convergence of production costs toward the competitiveness plan, including identified cost drivers (e.g., TP, contingencies, internal non‑quality).

Prepares and advances strategy for the evolution of future products to improve manufacturing, costs, and weight, strengthening competitiveness for the product and the plant.

Establishes and maintains performance management routines and regularly reports performance against plan, including schedule, personnel, costs, technical performance, and quality (including green quality gates).

Establishes strategic, tactical, and operational plans to address challenges over a five‑year horizon, aligned to site and programme priorities.

Manages industrial risks, drives effective mitigation plans, and creates opportunities to reduce product costs and generate continuous efficiency gains.

Leads the establishment of a strong feedback loop from design to manufacturing to operations and back to design, enabling continuous improvement of product and process over short‑ and long‑term horizons.

Partners closely with Procurement, Logistics, Engineering, central functions and programmes to anticipate risks and opportunities (R&O) and integrate them into manufacturing operational plans.

Provides clear leadership and vision, inspires and motivates teams to achieve excellence, and supports skill development across technical and behavioural dimensions.

Leads a multifunctional organization, with scope including Operational Excellence / Continuous Improvement, Operations, and administrative support.

Builds and strengthens strategic relationships across functions and levels with internal stakeholders, external suppliers, and colleagues to influence change toward medium‑ and long‑term objectives.

Interacts with union leadership to maintain constructive labor relations and a peaceful social climate aligned with the company’s objectives, including preparation for the next collective bargaining agreement.

Maintains the highest level of Ethics and Compliance, while minimizing risks for the company.

Travels to Europe as required (approximately three trips per year of one week each).

THE CANDIDATE The ideal candidate is a hands‑on, strategic operations leader who thrives in high‑complexity, unionized manufacturing environments and brings strong credibility on the shop floor. They will combine disciplined execution against safety, quality, delivery, cost and people objectives with a modern continuous improvement mindset, empowering multifunctional teams and embedding operational excellence through systems such as AAOS. This individual will be an adaptable, bilingual leader who can navigate transformation and ramp‑up pressures, strengthen labour relationships, and build an engaged, high‑performing culture while delivering measurable competitiveness gains.

Knowledge/ Skills Requirements

Minimum 10 years of experience in production management in a similar operational leadership role, including performance management and risk management. Background in manufacturing, aerospace, or industrial environments strongly preferred.

Expertise in aerospace manufacturing, including quality, traceability, and regulatory/compliance requirements.

Required experience successfully deploying and leading an industrial excellence system (e.g., MES, AOS/AAOS, or similar).

Experience in a unionized environment, with demonstrated capability in maintaining constructive union relationships; experience supporting collective bargaining preparation is strongly preferred.

Experience in a quality role or manufacturing engineering is considered an asset.

Demonstrated experience operating at a scale and complexity comparable to a large site environment.

Skills and Competencies

Fluent in English and French, with the ability to communicate effectively from the shop floor through to senior management.

Strong leadership and people management capabilities across multiple hierarchical levels, with a visible leadership style balancing office‑based work and regular shop‑floor presence.

Strong adaptability and managerial agility, with the ability to manage priorities and perform under pressure in a transition and transformation context.

Collaborative approach that works beyond interdepartmental silos and strengthens cross‑functional execution within multifunctional teams.

Strong problem‑solving ability and innovative mindset, oriented to competitiveness, efficiency gains, and robust operational performance.

Strong knowledge of applicable standards and specifications, quality systems, and HSE responsibilities, with demonstrated commitment to safety culture.

Solid financial acumen, with demonstrated capability in budget management and budget oversight, including accountability for cost performance within scope.

Demonstrates the ability to learn quickly and adapt to new ways of working, including alignment with Airbus ways of working and AAOS operating disciplines.

Demonstrates credibility and relationship‑building strength with shop‑floor / blue‑collar teams, supporting engagement, performance, and culture alignment.

Education A Bachelor’s degree in operations management or equivalent is required.

#J-18808-Ljbffr