Senior Operational Excellence Manager - Germany

Arla is dedicated to achieving world-class standards in operational excellence, and they are now seeking a Senior Operational Excellence Manager in Germany to join their central Operational Excellence and Digital team.

As Senior Operational Excellence Manager, you will be part of the Market VP Leadership Team based at the headquarters, leading the Operational Excellence journey and driving the regional Arla Performance System (APS) strategy and implementation across Arla’s sites in the German market, playing a key role in moving Arla’s production towards the vision of ZERO losses, ONE team and 100% engagement.

How you will make an impact

As Senior Operational Excellence Manager, you will take a leading role in the operational excellence implementation and in shaping a culture of continuous improvement across your market. You will own and lead the global development and governance of specific APS methodologies and work practices, acting as the subject matter expert within your area.

Through regular site visits, you will provide hands-on coaching, assess progress, support site management teams, and ensure that OpEx initiatives are successfully implemented and sustained. You will manage pilot implementations and support capability-building initiatives that enable sites to sustain their own improvements and expand APS according to well-developed roll-out plans.

You will also initiate and foster strong OpEx communities within and across key production markets and spearhead efforts to digitalize and automate processes where relevant, supporting a zero-loss culture.

As part of the Market VP Production area, a Lighthouse site and structured roll-out approach have already been defined. You will ensure that OpEx practices and standards are first implemented at the Lighthouse site, and, as part of the structured roll-out, oversee the design, support structure, and pace of APS and digital transformation expansion to subsequent waves of sites, ensuring strong adherence to global standards. To enable this, you will collaborate closely with Lighthouse sites in other regions and nurture “in-market” communities that accelerate best-practice sharing, capability development, and programme expansion.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Drive and lead the implementation of APS, leveraging TPM and Lean methodologies to optimize performance across multiple site regions, including Lighthouses and expansion to other sites

• Function as a key sparring partner in driving the operational excellence and balanced scorecard (SQCDMP) progress and results in the market

• Use regular site visits to drive the OpEx agenda and APS program forward and partner with Senior OpEx Managers across regions to build APS and digital communities

• Develop and implement world-class operational excellence ways of working and drive the standardization of processes across multiple production sites, fostering communities and collaboration across Lighthouse sites and within regions

• Facilitate workshops, training sessions, and on-the-job coaching in developing capability at all levels to sustain a site and market operational excellence program

• Fully support, enable, and champion the automation and digital transformation implementation across sites in the market

What will make you successful

To thrive in this role, you should have a degree in engineering, dairy science, economics, or supply chain management, and at least 10 years of relevant experience in manufacturing, leadership, and operational excellence. You have a deep understanding of Lean, TPM, and Continuous Improvement methodologies, and a proven track record of leading large-scale improvement initiatives in a complex, matrixed organization.

Further, we believe that you have:

• Strong interpersonal and coaching skills, with the ability to engage and inspire stakeholders at all levels

• Proven track record of driving large-scale improvement initiatives and achieving measurable results

• Ability to lead in different situations, balancing operational, performance, and strategic needs, and people development

• Experience in digital transformation, including automation and Industry 4.0 technologies, is highly valued

• A passion for inspiring and developing manufacturing teams towards world-class operational excellence

• Fluency in German and English is required

• Expectation of up to 35% of travelling

What Arla offers

At Arla, you will be part of a forward-thinking organization that is committed to pushing the

boundaries of operational excellence. In this role, you will have the opportunity to make a significant impact by leading critical improvement initiatives across multiple sites and shaping their long-term operational strategy.

They're committed to professional development and have a positive and collaborative culture. You will work alongside passionate and skilled colleagues who are dedicated to delivering high-quality products and driving continuous improvement across all aspects of their operations.

Would you like to join Arla?

If you are ready to take the next step in your career and drive operational excellence at Arla, we would love to hear from you. Please contact CoreSearch at +45 7026 0326 or send us an email at job@coresearch.dk