Operational Excellence Manager – Manufacturing

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Operational Excellence Manager to lead site‑wide improvement initiatives in a well‑established manufacturing business. Working closely with senior leadership, engineering, quality and production teams, you will drive productivity, efficiency and cost‑reduction while upholding the highest standards of quality and safety.

Key responsibilities

• Lead continuous improvement and operational excellence programmes across the site.
• Identify and eliminate manufacturing waste, material loss and inefficiencies.
• Drive improvements in production yields, asset utilisation and overall performance.
• Conduct process mapping, bottleneck analysis and value‑stream mapping to uncover optimisation opportunities.
• Collaborate with engineering to enhance equipment reliability and reduce downtime.
• Develop and implement Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) frameworks and performance measurement systems.
• Build a pipeline of cost‑saving initiatives delivering measurable business benefits.
• Review workflows, processes and factory layouts to boost productivity.
• Champion Lean Manufacturing techniques such as 5S, Kaizen, visual management and root‑cause analysis.
• Train, coach and mentor operational teams, fostering ownership of improvement activities.
• Develop standard operating procedures and best‑practice working methods.

Required profile

• Proven experience in leading operational excellence or continuous improvement programmes within manufacturing.
• Strong analytical ability and a track record of delivering measurable, sustainable results.
• Capability to engage and influence stakeholders at all organisational levels.
• Experience working with senior leadership, engineering, quality and production teams.

Required skills

• Lean Manufacturing
• 5S
• Kaizen
• Visual Management
• Root‑Cause Analysis
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• Process Mapping
• Value Stream Mapping
• Bottleneck Analysis