Operational Excellence Manager

Job Description:

Operational Excellence Manager - Automated Fulfilment Operations

Salary: c£(phone number removed) base + Bonus + Benefits

Location: Coventry (site-based, 5 days per week)

This is a senior operational improvement role within a complex, high-volume, semi-automated fulfilment operation that sits at the heart of a fast-growing e-commerce and circular economy business.

The Coventry site processes up to 200,000 items per day and is undergoing continuous evolution through automation, systems optimisation, and performance-led cultural change. The Operational Excellence Manager role has been created to ensure these changes translate into sustained, measurable operational improvement, not short-term fixes.

This is a senior individual contributor role, not a general management or people-management position. Influence, credibility, data, and delivery matter more than hierarchy.

Role Purpose

Reporting to the Operations Director, the Operational Excellence Manager is responsible for designing, leading, and embedding continuous improvement initiatives across safety, service, cost, flow, and automation performance.

You will work directly within the operation, partnering with operations management, engineering, IT, and support teams to identify root causes, redesign processes, optimise automation, and ensure improvements are embedded and sustained.

Key Responsibilities

• Diagnose operational performance issues using data, observation, and structured analysis
• Design and lead continuous improvement initiatives from concept through to sustained delivery
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, and problem-solving methodologies pragmatically in a live fulfilment environment
• Optimise the performance of automated and semi-automated systems in partnership with engineering and technology teams
• Lead cross-functional improvement projects without formal line management authority
• Establish performance metrics, dashboards, and benefit tracking
• Challenge established ways of working constructively and credibly
• Ensure improvements are embedded across shifts and do not regress

Candidate Profile

• Proven experience in operational excellence or continuous improvement within e-commerce, fulfilment, logistics, or high-volume warehouse environments
• Demonstrable exposure to automated or semi-automated operations
• Strong data literacy with experience using KPIs, dashboards, and root cause analysis
• Comfortable working hands-on on the operational floor
• Able to influence senior operational stakeholders without direct authority
• Pragmatic, resilient, and commercially minded

Qualifications & Education

• Degree educated in Engineering, Operations Management, Supply Chain, or a related discipline, or equivalent experience
• Formal continuous improvement qualifications preferred (Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt)

This role offers the opportunity to make a visible, lasting impact within a complex, fast-moving operation where improvement genuinely matters.

Ref: (phone number removed)