Senior Manager, EMEA Operations Strategy

Are you a strategic thinker with a passion for operational excellence? Vertiv is looking for a Senior Manager, EMEA Operations Strategy to shape the future of our operations network across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This is a high-impact leadership role where you'll drive the medium-term strategic agenda — from manufacturing footprint design to M&A integration — supporting a significant growth trajectory over the next three years.

What You'll Do

Operations Strategy (12–36 Month Horizon)

• Develop and maintain the EMEA Operations strategic plan, translating our 4x growth ambition into actionable roadmaps
• Identify strategic gaps in capacity, capability, and cost structure — and propose solutions
• Lead annual strategic planning cycles with data-driven recommendations for executive leadership
• Monitor industry trends, competitive benchmarks, and emerging technologies

Manufacturing Footprint Strategy

• Own the EMEA manufacturing network design across our 10-factory network — evaluating plant locations, capacity allocation, and product-to-site mapping
• Conduct scenario modelling for footprint expansion, consolidation, or reconfiguration
• Lead site selection analysis for new capacity investments (greenfield and brownfield)
• Develop total cost of ownership models incorporating logistics, labor, tax, and regulatory factors

Make vs. Buy Decisions

• Establish and govern a structured make vs. buy framework across the EMEA network
• Lead strategic sourcing evaluations for products, components, and processes
• Partner with Procurement, Engineering, and Finance to build robust business cases (NPV/IRR analysis)

M&A — Operations Perspective

• Serve as the Operations lead for M&A activities in EMEA, including target identification, due diligence, and integration planning
• Assess manufacturing capabilities, capacity, and synergies of acquisition targets
• Develop integration playbooks and lead post-acquisition operational integration

Functional Excellence

• Define and drive the functional excellence agenda — building capabilities in planning, maintenance, quality systems, and digital manufacturing
• Benchmark internal operations against best-in-class external standards
• Sponsor cross-functional programs such as reliability engineering, advanced planning, and digital twin deployment

CapEx Strategy & Portfolio Management

• Provide strategic oversight of the EMEA Operations CapEx portfolio
• Prioritize and sequence major capital investments across the network
• Support business case development for large-scale investments (capacity expansion, automation, new lines)

What We're Looking For

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related field; MBA or Master's degree strongly preferred
• 10+ years of experience in manufacturing/operations, with at least 5 years in strategy, transformation, or corporate development
• Proven experience in manufacturing footprint strategy and network optimization
• Strong background in make vs. buy analysis and strategic sourcing
• Direct involvement in M&A due diligence and post-merger integration (operations perspective)
• Exceptional analytical and financial modelling skills (NPV, IRR, TCO, scenario analysis)
• Ability to translate complex data into clear strategic recommendations for executive audiences
• Experience in a high-growth, multi-site, multi-country environment
• Fluency in English; additional European languages a plus

Preferred:

• Management consulting background (McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or similar) with subsequent industry experience
• Experience in industrial manufacturing, medical devices, or engineered products
• Familiarity with Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing, and advanced analytics
• Track record of leading transformational change in a scaling organization
• Experience working with private equity or in PE-backed portfolio companies

The anticipated salary range for this role Slovakia is between 33 739€ to 42 174€ gross per and reflects the range applicable in that jurisdiction. Certain roles may be eligible for variable compensation and benefits. Where applicable, a comprehensive overview of the full benefits package and any additional compensation will be provided during the recruitment process in accordance with local legal requirements. Compensation is determined based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, including skills, experience, and job responsibilities.

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