Operational Excellence Specialist - Stourton

ARLA; Leeds; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading dairy company is looking for an Operational Excellence Specialist in Leeds to enhance operations through Continuous Improvement initiatives. The role requires a Master's degree and a minimum of 5 years of experience in food production. Responsibilities include ensuring compliance with food safety and quality standards while driving sustainability and innovation. Competitive salary and career development opportunities are offered.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Annual Pay review

Employer pension matched up to 6%

X4 annual salary life assurance cover

Flexible Benefits

Strong career development & training

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years' experience in food production operations.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders.
• Proven track record in compliance to quality and food safety.

Responsibilities

• Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities.
• Ensure execution of business plans and compliance with standards.
• Drive sustainability initiatives and optimize processes.

Skills

Continuous improvement

Quality and food safety compliance

Data-driven decision making

Stakeholder coordination

Collaborative coaching

Problem-solving

Education

Master's degree in Engineering or Science

University degree with equivalent experience

Tools

SPC

OEE

MDE

SAP

MES

Job description

Overview

Do you want to make a visible impact on a large, complex operations site by driving quality, safety, efficiency and continuous improvement? As an Operational Excellence Specialist, you'll be a key contributor to our site's performance, challenging processes, coaching colleagues and turning data into better decisions every day. You'll work with limited supervision and collaborate widely across functions to deliver tangible results. You will be responsible for achieving operational targets and ensuring delivery of services within your area, interacting with stakeholders and acting as an important interface across the function. You will drive CI activities, ensure compliance to Arla standards and legal requirements, and coach colleagues to embed best practice across the site.

Responsibilities

• Act as an Operations Specialist impacting performance at a large/complex senior site; identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities.
• Ensure execution of business plans and compliance with Arla Foods' standards and procedures with strong focus on Quality, EHS and economy.
• Own compliance to quality and food safety requirements in your area, completing tasks and activities to secure operations performance.
• Drive sustainability initiatives with focus on responsible resource usage and practices; optimize processes and enable innovation through technology.
• Collaborate with Production and Innovation; support operations with NPI/NPD, project implementation and customer visits; escalate issues and propose solutions.

Qualifications

• Master's degree (e.g., Engineering/Science) or equivalent; or University degree with equivalent experience.
• Minimum 5 years' experience in food production operations or deep specialist skills gained through significant years of experience (10-15+ years with special training).
• Proven track record in CI/lean, compliance to quality and food safety, and data-driven decision making (SPC, OEE, MDE, SAP, MES, basic statistics).
• Experience coordinating cross-functional stakeholders and supporting NPI/NPD and investment projects.
• Improvement champion: challenges status quo and turns insights into practical changes.
• Collaborative coach: supports and mentors colleagues while building a safe, inclusive culture.
• Pragmatic problem-solver: prioritises effectively, communicates clearly, and follows through.

About Arla

We work closely together with high job satisfaction and strong onboarding support, within a purpose-driven, safety-first culture grounded in farmer-owned values and sustainability at the core, offering a steep learning curve, development opportunities, and internal mobility in a market-leading company.

Arla is a global leader in the dairy industry, committed to producing high-quality products while championing sustainability and innovation. We're passionate about people and our planet, striving to unleash the full potential in each of us. Our goal is to make healthy dairy nutrition and good food habits accessible to all. Join us at Arla Foods and become part of a worldwide cooperative dedicated to making a significant impact on the planet and steering the dairy industry towards a sustainable future.

What we offer

• Competitive salary
• Annual Pay review
• Employer pension matched up to 6% (12% total contributory)
• X4 annual salary life assurance cover
• Flexible Benefits - buy up to 5 days annual leave, reward gateway scheme - discounts with various retailers via my benefit platform
• Strong career development & training (internal and external training)