Operational Excellence Manager (Opex Manager)

The Compleat Food Group; Bradley Stoke; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary sacrifice schemes

33 days annual leave

Holiday discounts

EV charging points

Job summary

The Compleat Food Group in the UK is seeking an experienced Operational Excellence Manager to drive improvement projects across the Bristol site. You will act as a change agent, identifying gaps in efficiency, capacity, and safety, and embedding an OpEx culture through coaching and development.

You will manage projects end-to-end, ensuring delivery to time, cost and specification, with a strong focus on quality and safety.

Qualifications

• Formal Lean/Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement/OpEx knowledge.
• Minimum 5 years of work experience, preferably in manufacturing environments.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent or vocational qualification (HNC/HND/Apprenticeship).
• Proven experience leading teams in continuous improvement and embedding OpEx culture.

Responsibilities

• Lead diagnostic cycle to define the annual OpEx budget.
• Collaborate with manufacturing to identify improvement opportunities and implement plans.
• Provide analytics on current state, baseline performance and issues.
• Govern projects with reporting on progress and benefits delivery.
• Coach and develop colleagues from management to shop floor.
• Develop lean manufacturing skills and deploy tiered performance management.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Lean

Operational Excellence

Analytical thinking

Leadership

Financial acumen

Project management

Influencing/negotiation

Excellent IT skills

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent (HNC/HND/Apprenticeship)

Tools

Excel

Job description

We are looking for a highly motivated professional to drive the identification and quantification of the improvement agenda in collaboration with the site leadership team, ensuring maximum focus and return on key strategic challenges. You will act as a leading change agent within the business, identifying and closing gaps in operational efficiency, capacity utilisation, wastage, quality, and safety against approved targets. A key part of the role is embedding an Operational Excellence (OpEx) culture across the site by coaching, facilitating, and developing colleagues at all levels, contributing to ongoing OpEx delivery. Additionally, you will manage projects from concept through to handover, taking full responsibility for delivering them to the required time, cost, and specification standards while maintaining the highest levels of safety and quality compliance.

Key Duties, Responsibilities & Accountabilities

• Lead the diagnostic cycle to define the annual 'bottom up' Operational Excellence budget
• To collaborate with manufacturing colleagues to identify improvement opportunities, utilising data analysis, process observations and industry best practices and implementing flight plans to delivery.
• Provide analytic support to enable an understanding of Current state, baseline performance and capture existing issues.
• Implement principles of project governance and administration, including reporting on progress to plan and reporting of benefits delivery
• Collaboratively support and lead multi skilled/cross functional teams
• Use industry knowledge, product and equipment knowledge, project management experience and relationships across the organisation to enable successful delivery of complex/challenging projects.
• Collate data and present in an understandable format to be able to deliver required change
• Coaching and developing of Compleat Food colleagues from management to shop floor
• Develop and upskill colleagues in lean manufacturing principles, tools and techniques
• Facilitate, coach and support the effective deployment of a tiered Performance Management system at site level
• Formal qualification in an OpEx methodology such as but not limited to Lean Six sigma, Lean, TPS
• Bachelor's degree or qualification in a vocational or specialised field short of a degree level (HNC/HND) or Apprenticeship
• Minimum 5 years of work experience, preferably in manufacturing environments
• Proven experience of implementing and leading teams in delivery of continuous improvement projects and embedding an OpEx culture with quantifiable business impact
• Experience of coaching, developing, facilitating and leading teams
• Strong financial acumen including the ability to accurately value the monetary impact of initiatives
• Formal Lean/Lean Six sigma, Continuous Improvement/ OpEx methodology knowledge
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to analyse complex data and communicate findings
• Resilience and perseverance to establish an OpEx culture
• Experience of seeking and identifying cost opportunities, improving efficiencies, improving safety and quality capability, generating innovative/creative solutions
• Proven leadership skills and business acumen and the ability to work with different functions within the organisation.
• Integrity to handle sensitive topics and respect/value the contributions of others
• Strong analytical, logical and numerical competence
• Highly developed influencing, persuasion and negotiation skills
• Excellent IT skills

We're excited to offer an excellent opportunity for an experienced Operational Excellence Manager to join our team in Bristol and play a key role in driving continuous improvement across the business.

About The Compleat Food Group

At The Compleat Food Group, we're proud to be a food business built on purpose and passion. Formed in 2021, we're on a mission to create Food to Feel Good - great quality, tasty and affordable food that people love to eat.

We're home to some of the UK's most exciting and loved food brands, including Wall's Pastry, Pork Farms, Wrights, The Real Yorkshire Pudding Co., unearthed, Vadasz, Squeaky Bean, Palace Culture, and Harvey & Brockless. Alongside our branded portfolio, we're a leading supplier of delicious own-label pastry, sweet bakery, party food, olives and antipasti, added-value egg products, continental meats, dips and sauces and plant-based food to the UK's major retailers, as well as across foodservice.

With over 6,000 talented colleagues across 17 sites, and an annual turnover of £1.3bn, we're united by a shared ambition to shape the future of food for the better.

We are backed by European private equity firm PAI Partners.

Financial & Lifestyle Benefits

• Salary Sacrifice Schemes - including Electric Vehicles, Home & Tech, Cycle to Work, and SMART Pension
• 33 days annual leave with an option to purchase extra days
• Holiday Discounts via our online retail platform
• Access to enhanced retail discounts online and in-store
• Free product handouts across our sites, so you can sample and enjoy our delicious products first hand
• EV charging points - available at selected sites

Health & Wellbeing

• 24/7 access to Grocery Aid for free financial, emotional, and practical support
• Physical Wellbeing Hub - free on-demand exercise classes, gym discounts
• Free diet & nutrition advice with access to thousands of healthy recipes
• Online wellbeing support - from mindfulness to lifestyle resources
• Financial wellbeing tools - including mortgage calculators, budgeting tools, and financial aid

Career Growth & Development

• Access to a personalised online learning platform (LMS)
• Formal and informal training opportunities tailored to your role
• Performance Development Plans and regular Career Conversations
• Company Mentoring Scheme to add depth and really support your career journey
• Recognition through Club Compleat rewards

Community & Culture

• 2 paid volunteering days per year to give back to causes that matter to you
• Charity initiatives and fundraising events
• Team socials to connect and celebrate together
• Employee networks & support groups - including Women @ Compleat
• New baby gift for new parents

What You Should Know About How We Recruit

At The Compleat Food Group, we believe great teams are built on difference. We create an inclusive, respectful environment where everyone feels safe, supported, and are able to be themselves at work.

We're proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to Fairness, Equity, Inclusivity, and Respect. If you need a reasonable adjustment at any stage of our recruitment process, just let us know, we'll support you - confidentially and with care.

We hire the best people for our roles, not the same people. Whoever you are, wherever you're from, we focus on what you do and the impact you could make in our business. Our recruitment process is fair, accessible, and designed to give everyone an equal chance.