Principal, Business Improvement

SOUTH32 Limited; Tucson (AZ); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Short-term incentive bonus

Retirement match

Paid time off (4 weeks)

Parental leave (12 weeks)

Job summary

South32 Group Operations Pty. Ltd. seeks a Principal, Business Improvement to design, implement, and sustain the Hermosa Operating System from construction through operation.

You will work with project leaders and cross-functional teams to shape planning, performance measurement, and value delivery at the Hermosa site near Patagonia, AZ. This role drives the improvement culture, governance, and capability building, partnering with operations and global functions to enable long-term operational

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Finance, Commerce, or related field.
• Minimum 8 years of cross-functional leadership in heavy industrial/mining contexts.
• Continuous improvement training such as Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, or Value Stream Mapping preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the Hermosa Operating System across functions and projects.
• Coach and embed MOS practices; ensure governance and improvement culture.
• Design and implement operating system capabilities, dashboards, and performance metrics.
• Collaborate with project leaders, digital tech and global teams to scale best practices.
• Manage the improvement pipeline, budgeting, and cadence of initiative delivery.

Skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Leadership

Continuous improvement

Analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Business/Finance/Commerce

Job description

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Company: South32 Group Operations Pty. Ltd.

Discover a Brighter Future

At South32, we’re meeting the challenge of enabling a sustainable future through our focus on responsibly producing commodities critical for a low-carbon world.

As a collaborative, caring and inclusive company, there’s no better place to make a genuine difference. Together we’re making a positive, global impact that has the potential to change lives.

Whatever career path you choose, we’ll support you every step of the way to learn, grow and succeed. So join us, step towards a brighter future and leave your legacy.

ABOUT Hermosa

Hermosa, located approximately 75 miles south-east of Tucson, Arizona, is the only advanced mining project in the United States as of 2023 that could produce two federally designated critical minerals—manganese and zinc—as well as silver and lead. The project has the potential to help power the nation’s clean energy future, strengthen the domestic supply chain of critical minerals, grow the local economy, and improve lives in Santa Cruz County and the surrounding community for generations to come.

WHAT SOUTH32 OFFERS

• Annual short-term incentive bonus that recognizes both your individual performance and the overall success of the business.
• When you choose to contribute more into your retirement savings, South32 will match it up to a certain percentage.
• South32 provides you with 4 weeks paid time off.
• 12 weeks full-paid parental leave for primary carers and 2 weeks full-paid parental leave for secondary carers

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Principal, Business Improvement role will play a key leadership role in designing, implementing, and sustaining the Hermosa Operating System while driving continuous improvement acrossthe project and future operation. Working closely with project leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, you will help shape how the business plans, measures performance, identifies opportunities, and delivers value.

This is a unique opportunity to influence the development of a major mining project from construction through operations, establishing the processes, governance, and improvement culture that will support long-term operational excellence. This role is based at the Hermosa mine site near Patagonia, AZ.

Other key responsibilities include, but aren’t limited to:

Operating System

Lead the development of the Hermosaoperational MOS by partnering with project resources and external resourcesfromscoping throughdevelopmentand implementation

Provide support to embed theHermosaOperating Systemacross functions and operations

Act as the operation champion and coach for theHermosa and globalOperating Systems, educating, raising awareness, and providing feedback to the central Innovation & Business Optimisation team.

Support capability-building in the Operating System practices

Support the designofoverall visualisationand implementationapproach for theHermosa MOS

Business ImprovementFuture State Development

Support theplanningof the future state of the Hermosa Business Improvementteam

Partner with Hermosapersonnel, otherSouth32 Operations,and global functions todevelop a framework forHermosa Life of Operation (LoOP) planning routines

Collaborate with other Operations to ensureHermosa’simprovementroutinesincorporate learningsand align with Hermosa’s mine of the future vision.

Full Potential and Improvement Pipeline(Once Operational)

Perform annual full potential diagnostics to inform maximum technical capability (MTC) and set improvement targets andidentifykey focus areas based on highest value opportunities.

Govern and manage the operation improvement pipeline to ensure sufficient pipeline health, cadence of initiative delivery and gap closure to MTC and Improvement target(s).

Business Planning and Alignment

Coordinate development,managementand quarterly reviews of theprojectbusiness plan, in alignment with the South32 Business Planning and Alignment process.

SupportHermosaLead Team (HLT) tomaintainoperation-level Business Calendar and govern its accuracy

Support the project in updating and reporting on scorecard metrics

Visualisation and Analytics

Support the designof theoperation based on Operating System requirements, to accelerate delivery of outcomes through data-enabled decision making.

Partner with Digital Technology to develop an overall visualisation and analytics plan for the operation, aligned with the Full Potential and Improvement Pipeline process and embedded within the Operations Technology Plan.

Partner with Digital Technology team to provide visualisation and analytics capability uplift through provision of training, coaching,toolsand templates.

Where applicable, lead andprovidean analytics capability for the operation including data analytics, datascienceand simulations to enable specific high-value improvement initiatives.

Frontline Improvement(Project though to Operations)

Support South32 leaders to systematically promote and manage frontline employee and contractor-initiated ideas to generate improvement outcomes

Govern theproject/operationfrontline improvement pipeline to ensure frontline improvement processes are working effectively and frontline feel engaged and empowered

Improvement Capability

Identifyand manage improvement capability needs for theproject/operation

Provideimprovement capability uplift across the operation through coaching and training whererequired

Support capability-building in Improvement practices and where relevant, provide technical and project support for improvement activities to ensure delivery of operational outcomes

Other Operational Support

Facilitate and support theproject/operationto manage critical business processes (i.e. Business Planning,futureLife of Operation Plan, etc)

Support theproject/operation to deliveraccuratebudgets and forecasts (includingappropriate stretchtarget setting, development of operating cost forecasts and incorporation of improvement initiatives); challenge the status quo and influence plans asrequired

Support the Vice PresidentProject Delivery/Operations andHLTby providing advice on key commercial decisions; prepare and analyse evaluations to ensure key decisions consider value, risk,costand opportunity

ABOUT YOU

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Finance, Commerce, or a related field required.

• Minimum 8 years of experience working with cross-functional teams and engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders in a heavy industrial environment; mining experience preferred.
• Certification or formal training in Continuous Improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints, or Value Stream Mapping preferred.

Demonstrated experience leading business improvement, operational excellence, change management, or transformation initiatives.

Proven experience developing, implementing, and managing operating systems and continuous improvement programs.

Experience managing projects and delivering results on time, within scope, and in alignment with business objectives.

Prior people leadership or team leadership experience preferred.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including root cause analysis, process improvement, and performance optimization.

Experience with process mapping, value stream analysis, performance measurement, and identifying opportunities for operational improvement.

Proficiency in performance reporting, data analysis, dashboard development, and data visualization.

Experience conducting operational assessments, audits, health checks, and developing actionable improvement recommendations.

Working knowledge of continuous improvement pipelines, benefits realization, budgeting, forecasting, and business performance management.

Familiarity with operational excellence practices, management operating systems (MOS), workforce planning, and frontline execution processes.

Strong leadership and influencing skills with the ability to drive organizational change and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage effectively at all levels of the organization.

Strong consulting and collaboration skills, with the ability to build partnerships across operations, technical teams, and corporate functions.

Ability to develop and deliver clear, data-driven presentations and recommendations to support decision-making.

• Demonstrated commitment to teamwork, continuous learning, and achieving sustainable business results.

South32 is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce that reflects the communities in which we operate. We provide a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible for all and we encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.