Operational Excellence Implementation Lead

01 Stora Enso Oyj; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Stora Enso Oyj is seeking an Operational Excellence Implementation Lead to turn our shop floor system into practical daily routines. You will lead hands-on implementation of Shop Floor Management at mills and coach leaders and teams on the gemba.

You will build capability, drive continuous improvement, and enable adoption of digital analytics and AI solutions to strengthen decision-making. Frequent travel to mills in Finland and Sweden is expected.

Qualifications

• Experience in Operational Excellence and continuous improvement in industrial environments.
• Practical Lean expertise with daily management, visual management and structured problem solving.
• Ability to implement new routines, coach others and build ownership close to operations.
• Experience with digital tools, analytics, and AI-enabled solutions is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Implement Shop Floor Management and daily management routines at mills.
• Coach mill leaders, supervisors, operators, and change agents through observation, practice and feedback.
• Build practical Lean and problem-solving capability through learning sessions, DOJO activities and project waves.
• Help teams use data, direct observation, and structured methods such as A3, PDCA, Kaizen, or 8D to solve problems.
• Support disciplined performance management by connecting KPIs, ownership, actions, and follow-up.
• Enable practical adoption of digital, analytics and AI solutions that simplify work and strengthen decision-making.
• Assess maturity, document learning and support readiness for future mill roll-outs.

Skills

Operational Excellence

Lean principles

Coaching & mentoring

Data-driven decisions

Team leadership

Education

University degree in Engineering or relevant technical field

Tools

A3

PDCA

Kaizen

8D

Job description

Are you ready to help shape smarter, safer, and more sustainable ways of working in our mills? We are looking for an Operational Excellence Implementation Lead to turn our Operational Excellence system into practical daily routines, strong shop floor leadership and continuous improvement across Business Area Cartonboard.

In this role, you will lead hands-on implementation of Shop Floor Management and daily management routines at our mills. You will coach leaders and teams at the gemba, build local capability and help ensure that new ways of working are owned and sustained by the line organization.

Responsibilities

• Implement Shop Floor Management, daily management, KPI routines and structured escalation at roll-out sites.
• Coach mill leaders, supervisors, operators, and change agents through observation, practice and feedback.
• Build practical Lean and problem-solving capability through learning sessions, DOJO activities and project waves.
• Help teams use data, direct observation, and structured methods such as A3, PDCA, Kaizen, or 8D to solve problems.
• Support disciplined performance management by connecting KPIs, ownership, actions, and follow-up.
• Enable practical adoption of digital, analytics and AI solutions that simplify work and strengthen decision-making.
• Assess maturity, document learning and support readiness for future mill roll-outs.

What we are looking for

• Solid experience in Operational Excellence and continuous improvement tools and their practical applications in industrial environment as well as experience in manufacturing transformations.
• Strong practical Lean expertise, including daily management, visual management, leader in standard work and structured problem-solving.
• Proven ability to implement new routines, coach others, and build ownership close to operations.
• Confidence in using operational data and supporting the adoption of digital tools, analytics, and AI-enabled solutions.
• University degree in Engineering or another relevant technical field.
• Fluent English and Finnish; Swedish is considered an advantage.
• Experience from paper, packaging, or heavy-process industry is valued.
• Location: Helsinki or one of our mill locations in Finland or Sweden.
• Frequent travel is part of the role.
• You will join a culture where we achieve together, learn continuously, and take accountability for creating value for our customers, our people, and society.

Additional Information

Questions regarding the position can be directed to Flavia Silva, [e-mail].

Depending on the role, we might invite you to a video interview and/or aptitude tests.

Also, our recruitment process could include pre-employment actions such as background, reference and health checks as well as a drug test.

Welcome to work to The renewable materials company! Stora Enso is a global leader in renewable materials with a strong focus on packaging.

Our purpose is to replace non-renewable materials with renewable solutions.

Together with our customers, we design and deliver competitive, high-quality packaging materials and solutions, made from fresh and recycled fibers, accelerating the transition to a circular bioeconomy.

We believe diversity strengthens our competitiveness and contributes to better decision-making. Diverse working teams help us to explore different perspectives and challenge our way of thinking.

We work actively to increase diversity in the workplace and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds.

Stora Enso is an equal opportunity employer and follows non-discriminatory practices.

Are you curious and would like to work with innovation in renewable products? Our purpose “Do good for people and the planet. Replace non-renewable materials with renewable products” underpins our belief that everything that can be made with fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow, and highlights Stora Enso’s opportunity to contribute to a greener economy.

Take a look at our open positions! At Stora Enso you will join forces with around 19 000 colleagues - a wide range of people with a diverse set of backgrounds and skills, all focused on the potential of biomaterials, paper, packaging and wooden construction.

Introduce yourself to our recruiters and we'll get in touch if there is a role that seems like a good match.

By joining us, you will contribute towards a more sustainable world, as we believe that anything made from fossil-based materials today can be made from a tree tomorrow.

With our values in Stora Enso, “Lead and Do what’s right”, we expect high performance, speed and agility in every part of our organization.

Safety and wellbeing are our top priority every day.

We inspire you to lead your growth and to set the ambition high.

We believe diversity strengthens our competitiveness and contributes to better decision-making. Diverse working teams help us to explore different perspectives and challenge our way of thinking.

We work actively to increase diversity in the workplace and welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds.

Stora Enso is an equal opportunity employer and follows non-discriminatory practices.