Continuous Improvement Manager Materials
About The Position
The Continuous Improvement Manager, Materials leads, coordinates, and manages global continuous improvement activities and the Operations Excellence programme across Materials Manufacturing facilities in the Performance Carbon Global Business Unit. The role facilitates continuous improvement training, coordinates and tracks idea generation and savings, supervises value stream mapping, and applies practical continuous improvement standards, toolkits, and behaviours. The position is part of the Materials organisation within the Operations and Supply Chain function. It requires strong global, cross-site, and cross-functional collaboration to meet operational and financial targets, including EHS, Quality, Delivery, and Efficiency targets. The manager works closely with the Operations Excellence Manager, Finishing facilities, to support consistency and best-practice sharing across global operations. The role owns continuous improvement efforts and promotes a collaborative, ambitious, and effective approach across Materials facilities.
Requirements
- Degree educated, ideally in Engineering, Business, or a relevant technical discipline.
- Lean expertise and extensive experience in a manufacturing environment, with a hands-on approach.
- Proven track record of developing, training, and coaching teams while implementing and driving a Business System approach.
- Must be able to travel globally as required by the role.
Nice To Haves
- Experience working in a multiple-site or global environment is preferred.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement a global continuous improvement strategy aligned with organisational goals and the Finishing organisation.
- Standardise best practices and continuous improvement methodologies across Materials facilities, including practical standards, toolkits, and a behaviour framework.
- Provide indirect reporting leadership for continuous improvement personnel across Materials facilities.
- Teach, coach, and mentor peers and team members in continuous improvement skills and mindset.
- Promote collaboration across functions, business units, sites, and the wider organisation.
- Coordinate and enhance idea generation throughout the Materials organisation.
- Track, review, and report on continuous improvement projects and activities, including progress, costs, and savings.
- Mentor, coach, and track Green Belt projects; review project charters, facilitate gate reviews, and assist with benefits calculations.
- Partner with site leaders to select and prioritise continuous improvement activities that support key metrics and strategic initiatives.
- Coordinate and report on site continuous improvement activities, ensuring progress and performance align with business goals and objectives, typically targeting annual savings of 4–5% on cost of goods sold.
- Design, facilitate, and track continuous improvement training programmes, including shopfloor training and Lean Yellow Belt, Lean Green Belt, Lean Black Belt, and Six Sigma programmes.
- Develop effective ways to capture and share continuous improvement and best-practice activities between sites.
- Manage and report against performance measures including continuous improvement targets, budgets and forecasts; EHS indicators; Quality KPIs; CAPEX KPIs; and Delivery KPIs such as OTD or lead time.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
