Are you ready to champion, support and lead implementation of Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement and Problem solving initiatives at a cutting-edge recycling/sustainable manufacturing plant in Kent? Join this international group for a career with growth opportunities! As the Continuous Improvement Engineer / Plant Operational Excellence Leader you will be an essential element of the Plant’s Continuous Improvement programme.

Embrace a fulfilling work-life balance working Monday to Friday from 8am to 4.30pm, and enjoy the perks of an on-site gym, comprehensive private medical insurance and substantial pension contributions. Join them in moving sustainability and engineering ingenuity forward. 

As the Operational Excellent Leader, you will have the autonomy to operate across all functions and at all levels in the process plant to implement effectively Operational Excellence requirements, tools and techniques, and will be able to implement Operational Excellence activities without conflict with every day operational duties.

Knowledge and experience to support your application:

• Engineering Degree or equivalent 
• Lean Manufacturing training.
• Experience in a similar position and role.
• Ability to Lead teams and Workshops.
• Lean manufacturing tools and techniques.
• Computer literate in Office tools.

Continuous Improvement / Operational Excellence Leader responsibilities:

• Be the link with the cluster Operational Excellence Manager and the first point of contact for Operational Excellence support, advice and training at the plant.

• Implement the local, country and cluster level operational excellence strategy in line with the expectations of the Plant Manager, UK Operational Excellence Manager and Group Operational Excellence Director.

• Partner with the site leadership team to achieve controllable waste improvement and reduce raw material and energy (steam) use.

• Act as a change agent for leading and managing continuous improvement processes on site whilst promoting a culture of accountability.

• Lead and support the digitalization strategy (using systems and technology to streamline processes).

• Identify opportunities for improvement at local level

• Have the tenacity to challenge the ‘Status Quo’

• Be able to engage with team members to drive and inspire change.

• Lead regular continuous improvement events on site to improve employee skill and knowledge development as well as KPI performance improvement. Tools & Techniques used (not exclusive): - Workplace Organization (5S & Visual Management) - Root Cause Analysis Problem Solving (DMAIC)

• Support the 5S program within the plant using training and auditing of processes

• Support lean initiatives in all manufacturing areas, focused on process improvements to improve quality and reduce waste with clear measurable outcomes

• Educate all employees in the CI / Lean tools & techniques and ensure there is a continuing program to maintain and develop knowledge, awareness and commitment.

• Assist manufacturing personnel in creating relevant SOP (Standards Operating Procedures) documentation and ensure the SOP details are accurate and up-to-date.

• Maintain metrics, analyse results and develop improvement plans. Assure initiatives are completed to meet safety, quality and cost goals.

• Identify and implement metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of process improvements

• Report monthly Operational Excellence performance.

• Complete other duties and assignments as directed.

For a full job description and chat about the role, please contact Tim Hill at Technical Placements.