Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Lead

Canopius Group; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Competitive base salary

Discretionary bonus

Pension

Job summary

Canopius Group seeks a Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Lead to embed a unified approach to CI across the Manchester-based teams. You will shape processes, operating models and delivery discipline, aligning improvements with business priorities and end-to-end value.

The role blends hands-on delivery with capability-building, promoting pragmatic Lean and continuous improvement practices to enhance efficiency, quality and customer outcomes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience establishing or maturing continuous improvement capability in a complex organisation.
• Strong knowledge of Lean, Lean Six Sigma and process improvement methodologies.
• Ability to translate insights into practical, measurable improvement outcomes.
• Experience across change, project, small change and agile delivery environments.

Responsibilities

• Build a Continuous Improvement community within Canopius and governance framework.
• Coordinate improvement activity across CI, Small Change, Projects and AI initiatives.
• Apply best-practice process improvement and Lean methods with focus on benefits and customer outcomes.
• Drive consistency in process design, documentation, governance and measurement.

Skills

Continuous improvement

Lean Six Sigma

Process improvement

Operational excellence

Change delivery

Governance

Stakeholder management

Data-driven mindset

Job description

Job Description

The Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Lead will support and embed a consistent approach to continuous improvement, working across teams to identify, shape and deliver practical improvements that align to business priorities and the end-to-end operating model.

Working across Canopius, the role will contribute to process design, operating model improvement and delivery discipline, helping ensure activities across Continuous Improvement, Small Change, Projects and AI-enabled initiatives are coordinated, clearly owned and appropriately routed.

The Continuous Improvement Lead plays a key role in embedding a culture of continuous improvement, operational excellence, and simplification across Canopius. Based in Manchester, the role focuses on working closely with operational teams, change delivery, and third-party partners to identify, design, and implement sustainable improvements to processes, services, and ways of working.

The role combines hands-on improvement delivery with capability building, supporting teams to adopt pragmatic Lean and continuous improvement approaches that improve efficiency, quality, consistency, and customer outcomes.

This is a hybrid role working 2-3 days at our Manchester office.

Responsibilities

• Build a Continuous Improvement community within Canopius and Framework to support
• Support the maintenance and practical application of the continuous improvement framework, standards and governance processes.
• Help coordinate improvement activity across Continuous Improvement, Small Change, Projects and AI initiatives to support alignment, clear ownership and appropriate prioritisation.
• Apply best practice approaches to process improvement, operational excellence, Lean methodologies and change implementation, ensuring improvement opportunities consider benefits, risks, process impacts and customer outcomes.
• Drive consistency in process design, documentation, governance and measurement across all business functions.
• Support the development and reporting of improvement metrics, benefits realisation and operational performance insights.
• Support business leaders in creating a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and accountability
• Support the development and maintenance of enterprise design standards, governance processes and decision-making frameworks.
• Provide continuous improvement input into business design discussions, helping assess process impacts, dependencies, benefits, risks, resource needs and customer outcomes before changes are progressed.

Skills And Experience

• Proven experience establishing, leading or maturing continuous improvement capability across a complex organisation, ideally within a regulated financial services or insurance environment.
• Strong knowledge of Lean, Lean Six Sigma, process improvement and operational excellence methodologies, with the practical judgement to apply them pragmatically rather than academically.
• Strong end-to-end process analysis and problem-solving capability, with the ability to translate insight into practical improvement opportunities, clear recommendations and measurable outcomes.
• Experience working across change, project, small change and agile delivery environments, with a sound understanding of prioritisation, governance, delivery discipline and dependency management.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex process, operating model and governance concepts clearly to senior leaders, operational teams and change stakeholders.
• Ability to build trusted relationships across business functions and act as a credible partner to leaders, helping them identify, shape and sustain improvement opportunities.
• Comfortable operating independently, bringing structure to ambiguity and taking ownership for frameworks, standards, reporting and continuous improvement ways of working.
• Data-led and outcome-focused mindset, with experience defining measures, tracking benefits, interpreting operational performance data and using insight to drive better decisions.
• Insurance, London Market or broader financial services experience preferred, with an understanding of regulated operational environments, controls, customer outcomes and risk considerations.
• Experience designing or maintaining process standards, playbooks, repositories, ownership models and governance artefacts that support consistent enterprise-wide ways of working.
• Ability to identify duplication, overlap and fragmentation across improvement activity, and to help route initiatives through the most appropriate delivery path.
• Awareness of AI-enabled improvement opportunities and the ability to assess where automation, data or technology can simplify work, improve quality or enhance operational performance.

Our Benefits

We offer all employees a comprehensive benefits package that focuses on their whole wellbeing. This includes hybrid working, a competitive base salary, non-contributory pension, discretionary bonus, insurances including health (family) and dental cover, and many other benefits to enhance financial, physical, social and psychological health.

About Canopius

Canopius is a global specialty lines (re)insurer. We are one of the leading insurers in the Lloyd's of London insurance market with offices in the UK, US, Singapore, Australia and Bermuda.

At Canopius we foster a distinctive, positive culture which enables us to bring our whole selves to work to flourish as people, and build a business which delivers profitable, sustainable results.

Based in incredible new offices in Manchester, Canopius operates a flexible, hybrid working model and is committed to providing an environment that challenges employees to be their best and where everyone's unique contributions are recognised, valued and respected.

We are fully committed to equal employment opportunities for all applicants and providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are made regardless of age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion or beliefs, marital or caring status, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We encourage and welcome applicants from all diverse backgrounds.

We make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and during employment. Please let us know if you require any information in an alternate format or any other reasonable adjustments.