Chief Operations Officer of Nidec Energy AS (Joint Venture Nidec & FREYR Battery)

On 30th August 2022, Nidec Corporation, the world’s largest small precision motor manufacturer in the automotive, industrial, and appliance sectors, signed a joint venture agreement with FREYR Battery Norway, a Norwegian company with innovative semi-solid lithium-ion battery manufacturing technology.

The objective of the alliance is to create a global leading provider of utility-scale battery energy storage products utilizing both companies' strengths to bring cutting-edge technology to the market.

The joint venture will start mass production in 2025, and targets to manufacture more than 8GWh/year of battery modules and packs from 2027, growing to 12GWh/year in 2030. Furthermore, the joint venture is expected to have invested more than $110 million by 2030 and to hire more than 300 employees by then.

The joint venture company’s shareholders will be Nidec 66.7% and FREYR 33.3%, while the headquarters will be based in Oslo, Norway.

Join the team and be part of shaping the future success of this exciting venture as our
Chief Operations Officer.

As a key member of the executive Leadership team, the job holder is in general responsible for driving the operational plan, ensuring and improving the performance, productivity, efficiency, and profitability of departmental and organizational operations through the provision of effective methods and strategies. In particular, for the JV purpose, the COO will be in charge of the development of the industrialization plan and the manufacturing plan as well as developing the full supply chain

Selections of your work tasks:

• Develop and execute the industrialization and manufacturing plan in line with the JV Initial
• Business Plan and the JV development plan.
• Ensure the JV manufacturing process, organization and team will be operational and ready on time for the JV SOP.
• Collaborate with the CEO in setting and driving organizational vision, operational strategy, and hiring needs.
• Develop, implement, and oversee continuous improvement programs (Lean, value stream mapping, Kaizen) hereunder also a quality management system.
• Build and manage the Quality Management team.
• Benchmark JV quality performance against competition and ensure best-in-class performance.
• Ensure ISO and Entity quality system compliance.
• Build and manage supply chain development and procurement teams.
• Identify, select, negotiate with, and assign logistics partners and suppliers in line with the JV development plan. 
• Assess financial stability and the ability to meet production requirements.

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• Master's degree in engineering, preferably electrical engineering.
• Lean/ 6-sigma certifications.
• Solid proven experience in Operational roles (Manufacturing / Supply chain / Quality).
• Track record of leadership of complex projects and teams
• Strong business acumen and solid financial understanding
• Experience in the industrialization of highly automated processes.
• Experience in running large manufacturing operations in 3 shifts is a plus.
• Fluency in English in word and writing is an absolute must, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish language in addition is a plus.
• Possibly Electrical and electromechanical understanding, preferable in battery storage or power electronics products environment.

As a person, you have the ability to analyze complex situations, seek advice where necessary, and provide clear, concise guidance to others. You manage to inspire teams to engage in change programs and you easily “think out of the box”. You are enthusiastic, trustworthy, and show a positive attitude, good motivation skills, and a brilliant problem solver

The perpetual protection of the environment is an important issue for all mankind. Nidec is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and its customers’ environmental footprint by designing, manufacturing, and delivering its products and solutions with this in mind in order to meet our social responsibilities
With us, you will learn a lot and a lot will be expected of you.
We aim to pick high performers that will slot in immediately. Along the way, we cheer for you, help you when needed, and share the joy when you succeed.
- Let's make history together!