Project Manager / Value Stream Lead - Transformation

Job Description:

WE ARE 200 years of history and over 2,300 employees strong. WE ARE a business loaded with opportunity and career progression. WE ARE innovators, designers, makers and engineers who manufacture and provide smart, efficient, and effective building products and solutions.

Through our customer relationships, diverse building product range and solutions, we enable the creation of inspirational homes, places and spaces for us all to live and work better. With eight core product categories, underpinned by expert design and technical services, we work with architects, builders, merchants and the wider construction supply chain to build the face of Britain.

We are fully committed to a net zero future and continue to invest in expertise and product development to manufacture more efficiently and sustainably. We pride ourselves on leading for new, innovative and sustainable products and solutions, both for today and for a new era of building.

To support our progress, we are currently recruiting for a Transformation Project Manager / Value Stream Lead to come and join our team at our Leicester Head Office, Ibstock, LE67 6HS.

You will take a pivotal role with the newly formed Transformation team working across the Ibstock Group. The aim of the team collectively will be to identify, agree, prioritise and implement change aligned with our business priorities, driven through our overall Ibstock Strategy. We will be working predominately across SG&A functions and closely with our IT (Tech) team where further system development / integration is required.

Working within a business that strives to improve our Customer excellence, one of our immediate priorities is to understand how we advance our Customers’ experience throughout the full Customer journey to ensure we establish ourselves as the supplier of choice. This will involve working closely with our functional teams, looking at our internal facing and external processes in detail, identifying opportunities for improvement and managing these through to realisation. In turn, this will deliver recognised benefit to our Customers with reduced order processing times, reduced product lead times / improved availability and improved OTIFIC, ensuring we consistently fulfil our customer commitment.

Areas we already are starting our improvement journey on, and need this role to support our continued progress include:

• Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) - we are developing the blueprint within our clay division, including developing our demand forecasting through new software, and will be rolling these principles out across our wider business categories through 2025.
• Data - we are currently implementing a new data platform which will run across all functions and provide consensus for data accuracy and reporting, but also give significantly improved access to data and the ability develop trend reporting that improves our business agility.
• Standardised ways of working - with the growth of the business including through acquisition there is the need to review how we use our systems and our ways of working to ensure a seamless consistent standard is delivered to our Customers, no matter which factory, product group or brand.

In this role you will bring and further develop your experience of:

• Developing and Executing Strategies: Partner with functional leadership to agree priorities and then develop plans with our functional teams to manage the implementation of change, ensuring project objectives align with the organisation's goals and drive tangible value to our business and our Customers.
• Identifying and Evaluating Opportunities: Through value stream mapping / reviewing end to end processes (internal and external), working directly with functional teams, you will develop method/s for identifying and evaluating opportunities to minimise waste and risk within these processes and together, agree improvements and the tangible benefits that should be realised. You will guide the mapping process using your own and the functional team’s knowledge, capturing current state and future states for all process change.
• Building the Case for Change: Identifying and quantifying the business case for the transformation and communicating that case to the organisation through a documented business case, including resource planning and considering the benefit and cost associated to deliver. Support writing formal business case by gathering data and evidence to substantiate.
• Assessing Change Readiness: Conduct assessments to measure the function/s current maturity and ability to engage with and adopt change.
• Defining Success Criteria: Support the definition of success criteria and performance measures relative to the project and incorporate into progress reporting.
• Collaborating with Teams: Work with cross-functional teams and key stakeholders at all levels across the business, promote engagement with effective communication and help others to visualise the change, their expected participation within this and the benefits this will drive. Provide guidance, support, and mentorship to functional teams involved in transformation projects.
• Project Planning and Tracking: Develop fit for purpose project implementation and progress tracking plans, in collaboration with the business areas to ensure clarity on required resource / engagement. Standardised status reporting formats to be used to ensure we track all deliverables closely. Issue regular RAG status reports with risks and opportunities identified along with recommended risk mitigation actions. Chase down actions with owners where needed and validate closures as required.
• Risk Mitigation: Identifying risk and instigate evaluation with the project team ensuring timely reporting to allow opportunity to assess and minimise any potential impacts

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:-

• Strong project leadership skills
• Analytical / problem solving mindset, takes complex data sets simplifies the output for others, competent in Excel and Powerpoint
• Ability to communicate effectively across all levels and navigate complex organisational structures
• Great engagement, with the ability to influence and bring people with you on the change journey
• Comfortable with asking questions and applying an appropriate level of challenge
• Willingness to disrupt does not accept status-quo, show persistence to achieve end goal/s and overcome resistance
• Self motivated, able to manage own time and establish priorities, and able to organise others
• Able to deal with the here and now whilst maintaining focus on the longer term
• Ability to adapt and maintain a positive “can do” attitude
• Strong communication skills, written and verbally
• Build strong relationships
• Can operate both strategically and tactically
• Continuous learning mind-set, shares experience and knowledge and seeks to continue own learning and development
• Comfortable with and interested in technology and software
• Takes total ownership and accountability, reliable, trustworthy and transparent

Success Metrics

• Successful implementation of transformation initiatives with realisation of benefits cited in business cases. These would include (but not limited to)
• Improved process efficiencies, driving quicker through put times with improved right first time delivery.
• Cost reductions / return on investment commitments realised
• Positive customer / supplier / stakeholder feedback
• Positive improvement in business key performance indicators which transformation project was expected to impact
• Timely and accurate reporting on the progress and outcomes of transformation project, including management of risks
• Smooth integration and continued adoption of new technologies and tools within the organisation

Ideally you will have gained this experience within a multisite / multi product manufacturing organisation. Full UK relevant driving licence is essential, travel will be required across UK sites.

Think you can make a difference? WE ARE your future.

More details:

• Full time, permanent role - [with hybrid working options]
• Competitive salary
• Digicare+ Provided by Aviva
• 10% matched pension, administered by Legal and General
• 3x life insurance
• Share Save scheme eligibility
• Full access to Employee Assistance programme for self and family members
• Access to high street retail discounts platform - with access to discounts at Tesco, Asda, etc…
• Personal development and career progression opportunities

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion?

Excited about the role, but your past experience or qualifications don’t perfectly match everything in the job description? We would encourage you to still apply. Studies have shown that some people, particularly from minority groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. Here at Ibstock Plc we are dedicated to building belonging, empowering our colleagues to be their true self by offering a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. You may just be the right candidate for this role, or other future roles across the Ibstock Group.

Ibstock Plc are committed and passionate about building a diverse environment. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. You will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, national origin, disability or age.

Hybrid working, based at our Head Office in Ibstock, Leicester (or other sites as projects require) average 3 days per week office based, with option to work from home 2 days per week.

This role will report to the Transformation Director, budget responsibility will be project dependant.