Continuous Improvement Programme Lead | Ireland

Kirby Group Engineering; Limerick; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Kirby Group Engineering is seeking a motivated CI Programme Lead to own governance and coordination of Kirby’s continuous improvement portfolio across Ireland, the UK, Europe and South Africa. You will ensure initiatives are defined, prioritised, controlled and measured to deliver real business value.

The role reports to the Performance Associate Director and is based in Limerick, with potential flexible locations in Dublin or Galway.

Qualifications

• Recognised third level qualification; master’s degree preferred.
• Desirable: programme or project management, Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, business transformation or equivalent.
• Minimum 7 years’ relevant experience in programme management, continuous improvement, operational excellence or business transformation, preferably within engineering or construction.
• Experience coordinating digital transformation, automation or AI initiatives in a business environment.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and influencing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders from project teams through to Board level.
• Strong analytical capability to define KPIs, assess delivery confidence, interpret performance information and present clear recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Kirby’s standard initiative delivery framework, governance model, templates and reporting requirements.
• Ensure initiatives have a clear problem statement, scope, objectives, sponsor, business owner, initiative lead, milestones and measurable benefits.
• Apply a consistent lifecycle from identification and approval through pilot, implementation, embedding and business-as-usual handover.
• Promote practical, proportionate governance that supports delivery without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Maintain a central view of strategic and operational improvement initiatives across the business.
• Coordinate portfolio reviews and governance meetings, ensuring decisions, actions, risks, issues and dependencies are clearly recorded and owned.
• Support senior leadership in prioritising initiatives and identifying resource constraints or competing business demands.
• Challenge stalled or poorly defined initiatives and coordinate recovery actions where agreed outcomes are at risk.
• Maintain a coordinated portfolio of AI opportunities, pilots and implementation initiatives across Kirby.
• Define business problem, intended outcome, ownership, governance and success measures for each initiative with business leaders and IT.
• Track operational value, adoption, risks and lessons learned and share across the business.
• Facilitate scoping, prioritisation, problem-solving and cross-functional improvement workshops.
• Coach initiative leads in structured delivery, governance, risk management and benefits tracking.
• Identify opportunities to simplify work, reduce duplication, improve hand-offs and standardise ways of working.
• Ensure solutions are practical for live engineering and construction environments and can be sustained after handover.
• Stay abreast of industry trends and lead improvements to governance, reporting and benefits-realisation approaches.
• Encourage a culture of innovation, knowledge sharing and organisational learning.

Skills

Portfolio governance

Initiative delivery

Benefits realisation

Executive reporting

Stakeholder engagement

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

• Permanent position available with a considerable portfolio of works for the next 5+ years
• To build your career by assisting in the delivery of ‘leading edge’ engineering projects.
• To work with a vibrant, agile and multi-functional team in delivering projects on time, safely, to budget and to the required quality standards.
• To benefit from Kirby’s Career Development Programmes that will enhance your leadership capability.
• To work with the best.
• Excellent package on offer with room for negotiations

• Permanent position available with a considerable portfolio of works for the next 5+ years
• To build your career by assisting in the delivery of ‘leading edge’ engineering projects.
• To work with a vibrant, agile and multi-functional team in delivering projects on time, safely, to budget and to the required quality standards.
• To benefit from Kirby’s Career Development Programmes that will enhance your leadership capability.
• To work with the best.
• Excellent package on offer with room for negotiations

About Kirby Group Engineering

Kirby Group Engineering is an international multi-disciplinary engineering services contractor and leading provider of high-value engineering services to a number of ‘blue chip’ companies. Operating across Ireland, the UK, Europe and South Africa, Kirby has become the engineering service provider of choice in growth segments such as pharmaceuticals, data centres and power transmission and distribution. Our culture is innovative, collaborative and performance focused. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to grow and develop in a company committed to developing talent and rewarding performance.

Role Profile – CI Programme Lead

Title: CI Programme Lead

Reporting to: Performance Associate Director

Location: Limerick / Dublin / Galway

Role Purpose

Kirby Group Engineering & Construction is looking for a motivated, structured and experienced CI Programme Lead to join our dynamic team. The CI Programme Lead will own the governance and coordination of Kirby’s continuous improvement portfolio, ensuring initiatives are clearly defined, prioritised, controlled and measured.

Core Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Kirby’s standard initiative delivery framework, governance model, templates and reporting requirements.
• Ensure initiatives have a clear problem statement, scope, objectives, sponsor, business owner, initiative lead, milestones and measurable benefits.
• Apply a consistent lifecycle from identification and approval through pilot, implementation, embedding and business-as-usual handover.
• Promote practical, proportionate governance that supports delivery without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

Manage the continuous improvement portfolio (including Kirby AI initiatives)

• Maintain a central view of strategic and operational improvement initiatives across the business.
• Coordinate portfolio reviews and governance meetings, ensuring decisions, actions, risks, issues and dependencies are clearly recorded and owned.
• Support senior leadership in prioritising initiatives and identifying resource constraints or competing business demands.
• Challenge stalled or poorly defined initiatives and coordinate recovery actions where agreed outcomes are at risk.
• Maintain a coordinated portfolio of AI opportunities, pilots and implementation initiatives across Kirby.
• Work with business leaders, initiative owners and Digital/IT to define the business problem, intended outcome, ownership, governance and success measures for each initiative.
• Track the operational value, adoption, risks and lessons arising from initiatives and share learning across the business.

Lead executive and Board reporting

• Prepare concise portfolio updates for the COO, Executive Team and Board covering progress, milestone performance, risks, decisions required and next steps.
• Develop and maintain clear KPIs, RAG criteria and dashboards that provide leadership with reliable visibility of initiative performance.
• Report by exception, focusing on outcomes, exposure, dependencies, required intervention and accountability rather than activity alone.
• Ensure reporting information is consistent, evidence-based and supported by clear owners and target dates.

Measure Benefits Realisation And Programme Value

• Support business owners to define intended financial, operational, programme, risk, quality and productivity benefits at the outset of each initiative.
• Establish proportionate baselines, benefit measures and review points.
• Monitor whether expected benefits are being realised and coordinate corrective actions where outcomes are below plan.
• Develop case studies and lessons learned that demonstrate value delivered and improve future initiative selection and execution.

Support initiative delivery and operational excellence

• Facilitate scoping, prioritisation, problem-solving and cross-functional improvement workshops.
• Coach initiative leads and business owners in structured delivery, governance, risk management and benefits tracking.
• Identify opportunities to simplify work, reduce duplication, improve hand-offs and standardise effective ways of working.
• Ensure solutions are practical for live engineering and construction environments and can be sustained after handover.

Continuous Improvement

• Stay abreast of industry trends, best practices and emerging technologies related to continuous improvement, programme governance and AI.
• Lead improvements to Kirby’s initiative governance framework, portfolio reporting and benefits-realisation approach.
• Encourage a culture of innovation, knowledge sharing and organisational learning.

Qualifications, Skills And Experience

• Essential: Recognised third level qualification; master’s degree preferred.
• Desirable: Qualification in programme or project management, Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement, business transformation or equivalent.
• Minimum 7 years’ relevant experience in programme management, continuous improvement, operational excellence or business transformation, preferably within the engineering or construction industry.
• Strong practical experience of portfolio governance, initiative delivery, benefits realisation, risk management and executive reporting.
• Experience coordinating digital transformation, automation or AI initiatives in a business environment.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and influencing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders from project teams through to Board level.
• Strong analytical capability to define KPIs, assess delivery confidence, interpret performance information and present clear recommendations.

For more information on this role, or other Construction / Engineering opportunities across Ireland, the UK, Europe, or South Africa please review our careers page (Vacancies - Kirby Group Careers) or contact the Talent Acquisition Team at Kirby Group in confidence on [phone].

Kirby Group Engineering is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of race, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or age.