Business Excellence Specialist

Panda International; Leiden; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Panda International in Leiden, the Netherlands, seeks an experienced Lean Six Sigma professional to drive continuous improvement across a pharmaceutical manufacturing site.

You will coach teams, lead Kaizen events, perform root cause analyses and implement practical plans on-site five days a week. A minimum of three years of hands-on Lean Six Sigma experience is required; Black Belt or Green Belt with field experience is preferred.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of hands-on Lean Six Sigma / Continuous Improvement experience.
• Experience driving Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement within manufacturing.
• Strong coaching, problem-solving and data-analysis skills.

Responsibilities

• Drive Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement initiatives within a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.
• Coach operational teams on Lean methodologies and structured problem-solving.
• Lead and facilitate Kaizen events across Operations, Quality and site functions.
• Diagnose operational challenges, perform root-cause analysis and identify improvements.
• Develop implementation plans with stakeholders and support execution.
• Apply Lean tools to improve processes, efficiency and performance.
• Conduct trend analysis to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Support deployment of Business Excellence / Operating System programmes on site.
• Embed sustainable improvements with cross-functional teams on the shop floor.
• Act as a Business Excellence SME across multiple departments.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Continuous Improvement

Kaizen

Structured problem-solving

Root cause analysis

Data analysis

Coaching teams

Stakeholder management

On-site operations

Manufacturing experience

Tools

DMAIC

Kaizen events

GMP awareness

Job description

Hours: 40 hours per week

Experience Required: Minimum 3 years of hands‑on Lean Six Sigma / Continuous Improvement experience

Work Mode: Fully on‑site, 5 days per week

Start Date: September / October 2026

Key Responsibilities

• Drive Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement initiatives within a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.


• Coach operational teams on Lean methodologies, structured problem‑solving and continuous improvement.


• Lead and facilitate Kaizen events across Operations, Quality and other site functions.


• Support teams in diagnosing operational challenges, analysing root causes and identifying improvement opportunities.


• Develop practical implementation plans together with operational stakeholders and support teams through execution.


• Apply Lean Six Sigma methodologies and tools to improve manufacturing processes, efficiency and operational performance.


• Perform trend and data analysis to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.


• Support the deployment of structured Business Excellence / Operating System programmes across the manufacturing site.


• Work directly with cross‑functional teams on the shop floor to embed sustainable improvements.


• Support multiple operational departments as a Business Excellence subject matter expert.


• Help develop Lean capabilities within teams through coaching and knowledge sharing.


• Track improvement initiatives and ensure actions deliver measurable and sustainable results.


• Minimum 3 years of hands‑on Lean Six Sigma / Continuous Improvement experience.


• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt OR Green Belt with significant practical field experience delivering Lean Six Sigma projects.


• Strong practical experience applying Lean methodologies rather than certification alone.


• Demonstrated experience leading or facilitating Kaizen / Continuous Improvement initiatives.


• Experience with structured problem‑solving, root cause analysis and process improvement.


• Ability to analyse operational performance and translate findings into practical improvement plans.


• Experience coaching teams and stakeholders on Lean / Continuous Improvement methodologies.


• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.


• Experience working within a structured manufacturing or operational environment.


• Comfortable working fully on‑site, 5 days per week in a manufacturing environment.

Preferred Requirements

• Previous experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology or life sciences manufacturing.


• Experience working within a GMP-regulated environment.


• Experience from another highly regulated or complex operational environment such as food manufacturing, chemicals, energy, aviation or comparable industries.


• Experience deploying structured operational excellence or business excellence programmes across multiple teams.


• Experience working directly with manufacturing, Operations and Quality teams.


• Experience supporting Lean transformation programmes within multinational organisations.


• Strong understanding of manufacturing performance, operational excellence and continuous improvement principles.