Senior Specialist (Strategy and Operational Excellence)

Randstad Switzerland; Luzern; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Part time

Job summary

Randstad Switzerland is recruiting for a Senior Specialist, Strategy & Operational Excellence, for an international pharmaceutical client. The role is site-based in Lucerne, 1-year temporary contract via Randstad.

You will lead initiatives to simplify and standardize processes across manufacturing and business functions, driving cost reduction and efficiency improvements. The role requires strong data analytics, KPI tracking, and Lean Six Sigma experience, with GMP knowledge and cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in IT, data analytics, engineering, life sciences or related field.
• Experience in operational excellence, digital transformation, or data analytics in a regulated manufacturing environment.
• Ability to define and track KPIs and drive cross-functional improvement.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, standard work or visual management.
• Experience with dashboards/BI tools to monitor performance.
• Knowledge of GMP, SOPs, and inspection readiness.
• German language is an advantage for on-site collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Strategy and Continuous Improvement: identify, prioritize, and execute initiatives to simplify processes and improve timelines.
• Planning, Digital Enablement, and Performance Management: shape mid- to long-term plans; develop automated reports and KPIs.
• Cross-Functional Site Leadership: partner with manufacturing, quality, engineering, and other teams to implement improvements.
• EHS, Compliance, and Learning: uphold safety, GMP, and training requirements; support knowledge management.

Skills

Operational excellence

Data analytics

KPI tracking

Lean Six Sigma

GMP knowledge

Cross-functional teamwork

Project management

Digital transformation

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent in IT, data analytics, industrial engineering, engineering, supply chain, life sciences, biotechnology

Tools

Power BI

Spotfire

Data visualization tools

Job description

For one of our clients, an international pharmaceutical company, we are seeking a Senior Specialist, Strategy and Operational Excellence.

General Information:

• Duration: 1 year
• Extension: to be discussed
• Contract type: temporary contract via Randstad (employment)
• Home office: not possible (site based role)

About the job:

The Strategy & Operational Excellence Team is tasked to lead, from ideation into execution, strategic initiatives that drive process simplification, standardization, continuous improvement, and knowledge management from development through clinical manufacture. The team provides technical expertise and project management leadership to drive the simplification and standardization of manufacturing and business processes to accelerate the progression of pipeline

assets.

The Senior Specialist works on site with local manufacturing, quality, technical, engineering, and support teams to identify, shape, scope, and execute improvement initiatives that remove work, cost, and complexity from site manufacturing and business processes, while connecting site performance and best practices to the wider biologics network.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

Strategy and Continuous Improvement

• Identify, prioritize, and execute initiatives that simplify and standardize processes to accelerate PCC-to-FIH timelines and improve right-first-time delivery.
• Scope and facilitate Lean / Six Sigma improvement projects that reduce work, cost, and complexity, and coach site colleagues to challenge the status quo and focus on value-added activities.
• Establish and govern standard work applied across site manufacturing and business processes, sharing best practices with the network.
• Anchor operational excellence efforts to site and network strategy, tracking impact through defined Key performance Indicators.

Planning, Digital Enablement, and Performance Management

• Drive integrated, proactive planning and advocate for the site locally and across the network, shaping mid- and long-term plans that raise schedule adherence, facility and workforce utilization, and right-first-time execution.
• Support long-term site facility planning and evaluate investment options against capacity needs and return.
• Define, track, visualize, and govern site KPIs, developing automated business intelligence reports that give leaders actionable visibility to performance.
• Digitize planning and deploy program-agnostic digital tools, automated reporting, and real-time metrics that surface performance trends early and mitigate operational risk.
• Apply quantitative performance information to identify, shape, and scope cross-functional improvement projects that simplify work and reduce time, effort, cost, and waste.

Cross-Functional Site Leadership and Network Connection

• Partner on site with manufacturing, quality, technical, supply chain, engineering, EHS, and learning teams to align priorities and implement sustainable improvements.
• Facilitate cross-functional problem solving using KPI trends and quantitative analysis to improve process performance and strengthen operational readiness.
• Standardize work practices, facilitate 5S activities, and support knowledge management by capturing and sharing lessons learned and reusable standards.
• Support the review and approval of GMP technical documents.

EHS, Compliance, and Learning & Development

• Act as a key EHS and L&DE stakeholder; know, follow, and enforce EHS, cGMP, and SOP requirements to sustain a compliant, audit-ready, safety-first culture.
• Serve as Site Area Training Coordinator, as assigned, supporting training compliance and role readiness.
• Ensure improvement initiatives are implemented in line with quality systems, procedural requirements, and inspection-readiness expectations.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in information technology, data analytics, industrial engineering, engineering, supply chain, business operations, life sciences, biotechnology, or a related discipline.
• Relevant experience in operational excellence, digital transformation, process improvement, data analytics, industrial process oversight, or performance management in a regulated manufacturing or comparable technical environment.
• Ability to define and track KPIs, analyze quantitative data, and use performance information to identify, shape, and scope cross-functional improvement projects that reduce time, effort, cost, and waste.
• Experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, standard work, or visual management to simplify processes, reduce waste, and improve flow.
• Experience working with data, dashboards, business intelligence tools, or digital workflows to monitor operational performance and support data-driven decisions, and to translate business needs into clear technical requirements.
• Awareness of biopharmaceutical manufacturing operations, GMP expectations, quality systems, SOP requirements, and inspection-readiness principles.
• Safety certification such as NEBOSH General Certificate, IOSH Managing Safely, Swiss Safety Officer certification, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional safety improvement programs and cultivating a strong safety culture.
• Ability to work independently on site, manage multiple priorities, and deliver results in a dynamic, multiproduct environment.
• Strong collaboration, facilitation, and influencing skills, including coaching colleagues and driving alignment without direct authority.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, with the ability to engage both operational stakeholders and technical teams.

Nice to Have:

• Master’s degree or advanced qualification in information technology, data analytics, industrial engineering, engineering, business operations, biotechnology, or operational excellence.
• Lean Six Sigma certification or formal training in operational excellence, project management, change management, data analytics, or digital transformation.
• Advanced experience acquiring, cleaning, wrangling, analyzing, and governing data from manufacturing, quality, supply chain, planning, or business systems.
• Experience building and sustaining visualization and business intelligence solutions such as Power BI or Spotfire, and industrializing reporting through scalable data models, automated dashboards, and governed metrics.
• Working knowledge of artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, or low-code tools, with the ability to identify practical use cases that remove manual work.
• Experience establishing KPI frameworks and performance-review routines that surface trends early and prioritize improvement opportunities, and acting as a translator between manufacturing operations and technical developers.
• Knowledge of manufacturing operations, scheduling, capacity planning, cycle time, schedule adherence, cost of goods, and right-first-time execution.
• Awareness of biologics drug substance operations, new product introduction, technology transfer, and clinical manufacturing.
• German language skills are an advantage for on-site collaboration.