Supply Chain & Operations Data Lead

DS Smith; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading packaging company seeks a Supply Chain & Operations Data Lead to enhance performance through data analysis and insights. The role involves developing dashboards for KPIs, conducting root cause analysis, and partnering with various teams to improve supply chain efficiency. Key qualifications include a relevant degree, advanced Excel skills, and experience in data analysis. The ideal candidate should be detail-oriented, collaborative, and curious about operational performance. This position is critical for driving improvements in data integrity and service goals.

Qualifications

• Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Data Analytics, or related field.
• Advanced Excel skills required; Power BI or Tableau experience preferred.
• Experience in an analyst role within a supply chain, manufacturing, operations, or logistics environment.

Responsibilities

• Own key reporting standards and definitions within the Packaging Division.
• Consolidate and analyse data from supply chain and quality systems.
• Develop dashboards and reports to track operational KPIs.

Skills

Advanced Excel skills

Data visualization and storytelling

Data analysis and insights

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving orientation

Attention to detail

Collaborative mindset

Education

Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Data Analytics, or related field

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

ERP systems (SAP, Oracle)

Job description

The Supply Chain & Operations Data Lead supports the performance, strategy, and improvement agenda of the Packaging division by providing timely, accurate, and actionable data analysis and insights across supply chain and operations functions. It plays a vital role in supporting the end-to-end operations strategy by turning complex data into operational insights that support service, cost, inventory, and quality goals. Position holder also owns the Divisional data tools, manages their operational processes, and engages with Sub-Regions/Countries to ensure data integrity and standards.,

Responsibilities

• Own key reporting standards and definitions and ensure they are consistently used within the Packaging Division
• Collect, consolidate, and analyse data from manufacturing, technical excellence, supply chain and quality systems
• Develop, maintain & administrate use of dashboards and reports to track operational KPIs across plants and regions
• Support monthly and quarterly performance reviews with variance analysis, benchmarking, and commentary
• Conduct root cause analysis on safety trends, service failures, cost deviations, and supply chain inefficiencies
• Partner with all Supply Chain and Operations functions to identify improvement opportunities, enable best-practice sharing on data analytics with Sub Regional teams
• Partner with Digital team at group level to develop analytical tools to be deployed in Packaging
• Build models to assess the impact of network, process, or policy changes on operations and cost
• Support budgeting, forecasting, and productivity tracking processes

Qualifications

• Develop visualisations and storytelling materials to support leadership teams in decision-making
• Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Data Analytics, or related field
• Advanced Excel skills required; Power BI or Tableau experience preferred
• Exposure to ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, etc.) desirable
• Experience in an analyst role within a supply chain, manufacturing, operations, or logistics environment
• Demonstrated experience in building dashboards, reports, or models that drive business decisions
• Proven ability to extract, clean, and analyse data from multiple systems (e.g. ERP, MES, WMS)
• Experience supporting cross-functional stakeholders across Supply Chain and Operations
• Exposure to end-to-end supply chain processes and performance metrics
• Strong analytical thinking and ability to manage large data sets
• High attention to detail and data integrity
• Curious, proactive mindset with a problem-solving orientation
• Strong communication and storytelling skills
• Good understanding of manufacturing and supply chain processes, ability to explain those through use of data and metrics
• Able to prioritise and manage multiple analysis requests in a fast-paced environment
• Collaborative and customer-focused, with an interest in end-to-end supply chain performance.