Commercial Project Lead, APAC

Position Summary

Based at the Johor manufacturing site within the Lean / PMO office, the Commercial Project Lead leads cross-functional customer product and manufacturing transfers into Johor. Reporting to the APAC Lean / PMO Leader, with a dotted line to the APAC Customer Care Manager, the role combines project leadership with practical manufacturing and engineering knowledge to assess transfer feasibility, coordinate trials and validation, and establish production readiness. It also owns the APAC customer Change Notification process and delivers selected continuous-improvement projects in the commercial organisation. Engineering, Technical and Quality retain responsibility for their respective technical decisions, validation approvals and product-release authorisations.

Primary Responsibilities / Essential Functions

• Own the portfolio of commercial manufacturing-transfer projects into Johor, from technical feasibility and business-case assessment through customer approval, process trials, validation, first commercial production, stabilisation and project closure.
• Translate the agreed transfer roadmap into integrated project plans with clear scope, milestones, owners, resources, dependencies, technical risks and decision gates. Include equipment, tooling, material, testing and validation lead times.
• Coordinate Sales, Customer Care, Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Technical and Engineering, Finance and Product Management to execute transfers. Work directly with site teams to identify manufacturing constraints, evaluate options and secure agreed actions.
• Partner with Sales and Customer Care to manage customer communication, change documentation, sample and validation requirements, timing and transition plans, providing a clear source of project status.
• Own the general APAC customer Change Notification process, including notification planning, preparation, internal approval, distribution, customer follow-up, acknowledgement and closure, whether or not the change relates to a Johor transfer.
• Coordinate Customer Care Representatives, Regional Managers, Quality, Technical, Operations and other stakeholders to ensure Change Notifications are accurate, issued on time and supported by consistent customer communication.
• Maintain a regional Change Notification tracker, monitor open customer responses and escalate overdue actions or risks that may affect implementation timing or customer continuity.
• Ensure commercial and operational readiness, including customer and part setup, pricing, forecasts, capacity, materials, inventory transition, order cutover, logistics and accurate CRM and ERP master data.
• Lead cross-functional transfer-feasibility and readiness reviews with Engineering, Technical, Quality and Operations. Compare source and receiving-site equipment, process capabilities, materials, tooling, specifications and inspection methods; document gaps, risks, required trials and closure actions before progression through agreed project gates.
• Coordinate engineering trials and validation activities with the responsible functions, ensuring agreed objectives, acceptance criteria, sample requirements, test methods, resources and documentation are in place. Review results with technical owners and escalate deviations or unresolved readiness risks.
• Maintain a transfer-readiness record covering equipment and tooling availability, process settings, material specifications, operator training, inspection and test requirements, approved validation evidence and customer approvals. Obtain the required functional sign-offs before commercial launch; do not independently approve technical changes or product release.
• Lead regular project-governance reviews, maintain milestone plans and risk, action and decision logs, escalate issues and drive timely closure.
• Track and report the transfer pipeline and outcomes, including transfer revenue realised in Johor, project stage, milestone adherence, validation orders and commercial launch timing.
• Support post-launch stabilisation by reviewing trial and production data with site teams, coordinating structured root-cause analysis and tracking corrective actions to agreed quality, yield, service, cost and delivery targets.
• Work closely with the APAC Customer Care Manager through the dotted-line relationship to align customer communication, order-management processes, hand-offs and service continuity.
• Lead selected commercial-process improvement, reporting and customer-experience projects using Lean tools where appropriate, including process mapping, root-cause analysis, standard work and measurable benefit tracking.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Materials Science or a related technical discipline; alternatively, equivalent demonstrable manufacturing-engineering experience supported by relevant technical training.
  
  

Experience

• At least 3-5 years of relevant experience in manufacturing, process engineering, technical project management or manufacturing transfers, including direct involvement in production trials, validation or industrialisation activities.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional manufacturing projects, with the ability to interpret product specifications, process-flow documentation, equipment requirements and trial or validation data. Strong written and verbal English communication skills are required.
  
  

Other Requirements

• Experience in flexible medical packaging, medical devices or another regulated manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of pouch conversion, rollstock slitting and printing, or lid production, including relevant material properties, process parameters and product-quality requirements.
• Experience with process qualification and validation, change control, quality risk assessment and controlled documentation.
• Project-management or Lean certification is beneficial.
• Experience working across APAC countries, cultures and time zones.
  
  

Interpersonal Skills

• Strong project planning, prioritisation and technical risk management, including the ability to challenge readiness assumptions and identify missing engineering evidence.
• Ability to lead through influence and create accountability without relying on direct authority.
• Practical understanding of equipment capability, process parameters, tolerances, tooling, capacity and yield, and their impact on quality, cost and delivery. Balance these requirements with customer and commercial priorities.
• Ability to explain manufacturing constraints, trial results, validation plans and transfer risks clearly to customers, site teams and senior management.
• Analytical problem solving using manufacturing and quality data; working knowledge of root-cause analysis, process risk assessment, basic statistical methods and process-capability concepts.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, CRM and ERP systems; experience with Microsoft Dynamics or SAP is beneficial.
• High attention to detail while managing several projects concurrently.