Senior Cluster Technical Leader – Packaging & Innovation

DS Smith Plc; Wakefield; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Pension scheme, life assurance and收入

Employee Assistance Programme

25 days' holiday plus bank holidays

Cycle to work scheme

Employee discounts

Job summary

DS Smith is seeking an experienced Cluster Technical Manager to build and lead a new function within the Design & Innovation team. You will oversee a dispersed team of four Cluster Technical Specialists across nine UK sites, shaping the cluster strategy and ensuring proactive technical risk management and customer engagement.

Reporting to the Retail D&I Manager, you will drive governance, KPI oversight, cross-site problem solving (8D, RCA) and continuous improvement, while partnering with

Qualifications

• 8+ years in corrugated or packaging manufacturing across production, quality, technical or design roles.
• Deep understanding of corrugated manufacturing processes (corrugator and conversion).
• Proven leadership, including geographically dispersed or field-based teams.
• Track record of delivering measurable performance improvements in customer-facing technical roles.
• Strong customer-facing and stakeholder management with senior-level influence.
• Experience with 8D and RCA problem-solving tools.
• Analytical skills to convert data into actionable insights.

Responsibilities

• Define and deploy the cluster technical strategy aligned to D&I, Quality and Packaging priorities.
• Lead, coach and develop four Cluster Technical Specialists across a dispersed cluster.
• Own governance, escalation matrix and KPI framework; report at cluster level.
• Build strong relationships with customers, site leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Drive cross-site trend analysis, standardisation and continuous improvement programs.

Skills

Corrugated packaging

Leadership

Customer engagement

8D problem solving

Root Cause Analysis

Data analysis

Multi-site coordination

Strategic thinking

Education

Packaging/Engineering degree or equivalent

Tools

ERP systems

QMS systems

CRM systems

Job description

DS Smith is seeking an experienced Cluster Technical Manager to build and lead a new function within the Design & Innovation team. You will oversee a dispersed team of four Cluster Technical Specialists across nine UK sites, shaping the cluster strategy and ensuring proactive technical risk management and customer engagement.

Reporting to the Retail D&I Manager, you will drive governance, KPI oversight, cross-site problem solving (8D, RCA) and continuous improvement, while partnering with