Richemont Head of Operations Strategy & Excellence
Richemont — Plan-les-Ouates: Head of Operations Strategy & Excellence. Lead group operations transformation and continuous improvement for Richemont's maisons.
Overview
Richemont is a Swiss-based luxury goods group overseeing a portfolio of maisons renowned for watches, high jewellery, leather goods and writing instruments. The organisation combines atelier-level craftsmanship with international commercial operations, sustaining heritage brands through investment in quality, innovation and maison autonomy while operating within a matrix of global teams.
Role & Responsibilities
- Define and deploy the group-level operations strategy focused on productivity, quality, lead-time reduction and capacity optimisation across manufacturing and atelier networks.
- Lead a Centre of Excellence for continuous improvement and operational excellence methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, value-stream mapping) and embed best practices across maisons.
- Sponsorship and delivery oversight of cross-functional transformation programmes spanning supply chain, production planning, quality and after-sales operations.
- Establish and govern KPIs, performance dashboards and data-driven review cadences to monitor cost-to-serve, OEE, on-time delivery and inventory metrics.
- Partner with manufacturing, sourcing, product and finance leaders to translate strategic objectives into feasible operational roadmaps and investment cases.
- Coach and develop regional operations leads and project teams; cultivate change management capabilities and a culture of problem-solving.
- Coordinate governance with senior stakeholders and present programme status, risks and opportunities to executive management.
- Drive standardisation of processes, risk mitigation frameworks and compliance with internal quality standards across production sites.
Qualifications
- Proven senior leadership experience (typically 10+ years) in operations, manufacturing or supply-chain transformation within luxury goods, watchmaking, jewellery or high-precision production.
- Demonstrable track record of delivering large-scale cross-functional improvement programmes and measurable operational gains.
- Strategic thinker with strong analytical rigour, capable of converting strategy into operational plans and measurable KPIs.
- Advanced degree in engineering, operations management, business administration or equivalent; MBA advantageous.
- Professional certifications in continuous improvement or programme management (e.g., Lean Six Sigma Black/Green Belt, PMP or Prince2) are highly desirable.
- Strong stakeholder management and change leadership skills, with experience working in a complex, matrixed international organisation.
Skills
Experience
Extensive experience leading operations and improvement programmes in precision manufacturing or luxury goods (10+ years), with several years in a senior/leadership capacity driving cross‑Maison or multi‑site transformation.
Education
Advanced degree in engineering, operations, supply chain or business administration; MBA or equivalent preferred.
Workplace
The successful candidate will be located in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland, with easy access to Geneva. 20 luxury roles are listed in Plan-les-Ouates on Cerulean, 1 posted in the last 48 hours. Across the Geneva region, Cerulean lists 438 open positions — 4 listed in the past two days. Cerulean currently advertises 700 open roles in Switzerland, including 8 added in the last 48 hours.
Culture
Richemont combines atelier-level craftsmanship with a global, collaborative corporate environment. The group values heritage, meticulous quality and long-term investment in talent while encouraging cross-maison exchange and continuous improvement.
About Cerulean
Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.
Frequently Asked Questions
The luxury industry is characterised by a diverse and nuanced nomenclature. Esteemed houses frequently employ proprietary terminology, and even within a single organisation like Richemont, titles may vary across global markets to reflect local conventions. To ensure absolute clarity, Cerulean assigns a standardised, industry-coherent canonical title to every listing. However, it is worth noting that this role is functionally synonymous with «Head of Operational Strategy», «Director, Operational Excellence», «Head of Operational Performance», «Director, Operations Strategy & Transformation», and other variations. Our sophisticated search architecture anticipates these variations, ensuring that inquiries using related terms will seamlessly yield the exact roles you desire.