Continuous Improvement Lead

Kerry Group plc; Portadown; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food manufacturer in Northern Ireland seeks a Continuous Improvement Lead to enhance operational performance. This full-time role involves analyzing processes, implementing Lean principles, and leading improvement initiatives in collaboration with cross-functional teams. Candidates should possess expertise in Lean methodologies and strong problem-solving skills.

Qualifications

• Proven background in Lean methodologies and continuous improvement.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills.
• Effective communication abilities.

Responsibilities

• Drive service improvement initiatives using process improvement methodologies.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Lead KPS/process improvement workshops.

Skills

Lean methodologies

Coaching and training

Problem-solving

Analytical thinking

Effective communication

Self-motivated

Results-driven

Job description

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Requisition ID:61277
Position Type:FT Fixed Term
Workplace Arrangement:#LI-Onsite

We are recruiting a Continuous Improvement Lead to join our Dairy Consumer Foods team at Manufacturing facility in Portadown, where we produce cheese products for several of our brands. In this role, you will focus on analysing and optimizing business processes, implementing Lean principles, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Your objectives will include increasing efficiency, driving cost reduction, and enhancing overall operational performance. This will be achieved through close collaboration and interactions with onsite teams.

This is a full-time temporary position covering maternity leave.

About Kerry Dairy Ireland

Kerry Dairy Ireland is a vertically integrated farm-to-fork business with a very substantial consumer foods presenceand a leading nutritional and dairy ingredients division, delivering high-quality dairy solutions with a focus onsustainability and innovation. From partnering with local family farms to producing world-class dairy products, weensure every step of our value chain reflects our commitment to excellence.
With over 50 years’ experience in milk processing, dairy and nutritional technology advancement, and productinnovation, we are a key stakeholder in the global food industry and creators of a strong portfolio of market leadingdairy brands including Cheestrings, Charleville and Coleraine Cheese, Dairygold, Golden Cow and our new SMUGrange. Our from food, for food culture and deep-rooted connection to our 2,800 milk suppliers differentiates ourbusiness and offers captivating opportunities for our customers and consumers.
Our dairy comes from some of the world’s richest grazing land and is produced by a network of Irish family farmsthat have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. Through a combination of expertise, innovation, andsustainability, Kerry Dairy Ireland is proud to shape the future of dairy while meeting the diverse needs of ourfarmers, customers, and communities.
Globally, Kerry Dairy Ireland employs over 1,600 dedicated professionals across Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK,USA, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and China. In 2024, we achieved a turnover of approximately €1.3 billion,reflecting our commitment to excellence and growth.
Our Safety purpose:
“we work together in a caring culture where everybody goes home safe every day”. We arecommitted to providing a safe working environment and ensuring that all safety protocols are strictly followed. Joinus in creating a workplace where safety is everyone's responsibility.

Key responsibilities

Reporting the Operations & Continuous Improvement Manager, you will:

• Drive service improvement initiatives across the business using process improvement methodologies and innovative thinking.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders and cross-functional KPS (Kerry Production System) champions to foster a culture of continuous improvement and support ongoing change programs.
• Lead and facilitate KPS/process improvement workshops to generate ideas and implement solutions.
• Enhance value and efficiency by identifying and eliminating unnecessary complexity in business processes and promoting smarter ways of working.
• Monitor trends and process variations to establish a robust continuous improvement tracking system.
• Develop and implement a best-in-class KPS strategy.
• Own change initiatives from initial identification through to successful project delivery, ensuring alignment with internal governance and controls.
• Work closely with team members across all functions to deliver KPS initiatives.
• Proactively identify and manage project risks, offering solutions before issues arise.
• Ensure business impact, project objectives, and dependencies are clearly defined, tracked, and managed throughout.
• Design and deliver coaching programs and lead projects across multiple jurisdictions.
• Conduct post-implementation reviews to assess success and identify opportunities for future improvement.

Qualifications and skills

• Proven background in Lean methodologies and continuous improvement
• Experience in coaching and training
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills
• Effective communication abilities
• Decisive, self-motivated, and results-driven.

Kerry is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Consistent with our policy of providing equality of opportunity for all, we are required to seek particular information from applicants. As part of your application you will be asked to answer a short number of questions. This information will be held separate to your application and treated in the strictest of confidence.

Beware of scams online or from individuals claiming to represent us. A Kerry employee will not solicit candidates through a non-Kerry email address or phone number. In addition, Kerry does not currently utilise video chat rooms (e.g., Google Hangouts) to conduct interviews. Refuse any request that asks you to provide payment to participate in the hiring process (e.g., purchasing a “starter kit,” investing in training, or something similar). Kerry will not ask you to pay any money at any point in the hiring process with the exception of reimbursable travel expenses. In addition, any payments made by Kerry will be from official firm accounts bearing the Kerry name.

Please note also: We do not accept CVs or candidate profiles from recruitment agencies where terms of business have not been signed. Additionally, we will not consider or agree to payment of any recruiter fee under these circumstances. This also applies to CVs or candidate profiles sent directly to any Kerry Hiring Managers. In the event that speculative CVs or candidate profiles are submitted by recruitment agencies, we reserve the right to contact these candidates directly and consider them for current or future vacancies without any financial obligation to the recruitment agency.