Process Excellence Lead Europe

Barry Callebaut Manufacturing Iberica SA.; Wieze; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Barry Callebaut Manufacturing Iberica SA. is seeking a senior Process Excellence lead to drive manufacturing performance across the WE + CEMEA excl. Cocoa network. You will push critical processes into control, reduce variation and losses, and build capability to sustain improvements.

You will partner with site teams to quantify losses in yield and throughput, and deploy standards aligned with the Global Process Excellence CoE and BCOS. Travel to sites is required.

Qualifications

• Technical degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial, or Food Engineering.
• 10+ years in process engineering, manufacturing, or process excellence.
• Global matrix experience in multinational manufacturing settings.
• Experience with process transfers, validation, commissioning and new product support.
• Minimum 3 years leading a technical team.

Responsibilities

• Lead PDCA loss-elimination routines focusing on MUV and speed loss at priority sites.
• Quantify losses in yield, waste, rework, first-time-right performance and throughput; establish improvement plans.
• Monitor implementation, validate benefits with Operations and Finance; sustain gains.
• Develop and deploy process standards aligned with Global Process Excellence CoE and BCOS.
• Define operating windows, centerlines and reaction plans; contribute to DCR governance.
• Collaborate with Engineering on bottlenecks and throughput improvements.
• Identify knowledge gaps and build capability through coaching and training.
• Contribute to competency frameworks and learning materials; activate process communities.
• Ensure readiness in Initiative Management for new products, transfers and capacity initiatives.
• Identify opportunities using digital tools and process optimization; lead improvement workstreams.

Skills

PDCA

Root-cause analysis

Statistical process control

Process optimization

Cross-functional leadership

Manufacturing data interpretation

Travel willingness

Education

Technical degree in Chemical/Mechanical/Industrial/Food Engineering

Tools

Process capability analysis

Job description

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide.We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

About the role

The focus is to drive sustainable manufacturing performance across the assigned network by bringing critical processes into control, reducing variation and losses, and building the technical capability required to sustain and continuously improve results. You will translate business priorities into a focused Process Excellence agenda, with emphasis on Material Usage Variance (MUV), speed loss, yield, product quality and effective use of existing capacity. You connect loss identification to practical solutions, embed proven standards and accelerate replication across sites.

The scope involves all Plants within WE + CEMEA excl. Cocoa

Key responsibilities include

• Lead the Process Excellence contribution to structured PDCA loss-elimination routines, with focus on MUV and speed loss at priority sites.
• Partner with site teams to quantify losses in yield, waste, rework, first-time-right performance and throughput; identify root causes and establish prioritized improvement plans with clear ownership and expected benefits.
• Monitor implementation and effectiveness, challenge recurring deviations, and work with Operations and Finance to validate and sustain benefits.
• Develop and deploy process standards aligned with the Global Process Excellence CoE and BCOS, embedding improvements into site practices.
• Establish operating windows, centerlines and reaction plans supported by process control and capability analysis; contribute to Design Capacity Rate (DCR) definition and governance.
• Partner with Manufacturing Excellence and Engineering on bottlenecks, process capability and throughput improvement.
• Technical capability & knowledge sharing
• Identify process knowledge and technical capability gaps, agree development priorities with site and functional leaders, and build capability through coaching, practical training and train-the-trainer approaches.
• Contribute to common competency frameworks and learning materials and activate process communities to share knowledge and replicate proven practices.
• Initiative Management & operational readiness
• Embed Process Excellence requirements into Initiative Management and stage-gate processes for new products, technologies, process transfers and capacity initiatives.
• Assess process feasibility, manufacturing capability, operating requirements and technical risks, partner with Engineering, Innovation, Quality and Operations on commissioning, qualification, validation and manufacturing handover.
• Capture implementation learning and incorporate it into standards and future initiatives.
• Process technology improvement & replication
• Identify opportunities to improve performance through proven technologies, digital tools and process optimization, evaluating solutions against business needs, technical feasibility and expected value.
• Lead agreed improvement workstreams and support deployment through site readiness, validation, capability transfer, benefit tracking and

replication across sites.

• Stakeholder & team leadership
• Prioritize and coordinate specialist support according to business impact, urgency and available resources while protecting capacity for proactive improvement and capability building.
• Build cross-functional partnerships across Operations, Manufacturing Excellence, Engineering, Quality, Innovation and Finance; communicate priorities, progress, risks and resource needs and elevate barriers requiring leadership decisions.
• Lead and develop the team through clear priorities, delegation and capability building.

About you

• Technical degree: University degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Industrial, or Food Engineering.
• Industry tenure: 10+years of experience in process engineering, manufacturing, or process excellence - ideally in food, chocolate, or cocoa processing.
• Global matrix experience: Proven track record in multinational companies, delivering improvements across multiple manufacturing sites, through dotted-line and cross-functional teams.
• Practical experience with process transfers, new product support, commissioning, qualification, and validation.
• At least 3 years of experience directly leading and developing a technical team.
• Process optimization: Strong grasp of manufacturing equipment and its impact on quality, yield, throughput, and capacity.
• Proficient in PDCA, root-cause analysis, statistical process control, and capability assessments.
• Ability to translate manufacturing loss data into technical, business-relevant actions.
• Fluent written and spoken English (additional network languages are a plus).
• Willingness to travel to various network manufacturing sites.

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we have experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong.#oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.

If you want to learn more about Barry Callebaut, please find further information here .