Senior Operational Excellence Specialist (PPI)

Job Description

Position Summary:

The role will support the implementation of the Practical Process Improvement (PPI) Business System at the Swindon site for the Drug Product Division Europe to enable profitable growth, improve quality and customer experience, and increase employee engagement. The PPI business system combines and simplifies elements from both ‘Lean’ and ‘Six Sigma’ improvement models and aims to be easier to achieve wider business engagement.

The position collaborates in partnership with key stakeholders to continually improve the site culture and performance through the deployment of the PPI Business System model. The role involves supporting the site PPI Business System Manager in critical metric leadership, facilitating the lean fundamentals such as kaizen methodologies, visual management, tiered accountability, gemba and more advanced lean tools and methodologies such as value stream mapping etc. This role also has responsibility for role modeling our PPI Business System through shared ownership of the PPI productivity metric (savings) including project funnel coordination and site PPI critical metric management. It also involves developing individual and organizational capability in these areas by training and coaching site individuals and teams through daily activities and structured events.

Responsibilities:

• Deputise for the site PPI Business System Manager where required.
• Support the development of the PPI culture by using various methodologies and tools such as lean manufacturing, waste reduction, cycle time assessment, value stream analysis, OEE & labour utilisation analysis.
• Facilitate and influence improvements in Operational Stability and Efficiency using PPI methodologies.
• Work closely with site management and PPI partners to identify and implement project funnel and accelerate the culture change vital to drive profitable and sustainable growth.
• Comfortably adopt the project lead role for key site PPI projects.
• Establishes relationships with Thermo Fisher management to understand the business objectives and priorities and support the PPI Business System Manager to develop supporting improvement initiatives.
• Support the site PPI Business System Manager to grow an action-biased culture of continuous improvement to improve critical metrics, in the areas of customer, finance, people and quality.
• Develop a deep understanding of the Swindon site’s manufacturing capabilities.
• Stay abreast of new developments in business process improvement methodology and best practices, including learning from other sites, market leaders and industries.
• Work with functional teams to stabilise and streamline processes to improve the customer experience, enable profitable growth and become more efficient.
• Train, coach and develop teams to ensure system improvements are sustained and the team members are running the processes independently.
• Help teams identify new projects through kaizen deployment, value stream mapping, data analysis and daily management systems.
• Coordinate the project funnel to keep an ongoing queue of projects to meet productivity goals.
• Develop ‘PPI Process Manager’ capability and capacity to support local project needs.
• Support the site PPI Business System Manager to lead productivity savings reporting process in partnership with site Finance.
• Assists in the knowledge sharing and training of staff on PPI principles.

EH&S:

• Understand emergency procedures and align with safe systems of work.
• Ensure compliance with environment, health and safety and security policies and procedures, rules, signage and instructions at all times
• Ensure prompt reporting and investigation of all accidents, near misses and breaches of rules

Minimum Requirements/Qualifications:

• Previous experience of related experience within an operational role with formal training in operation excellence (e.g. PPI/Lean/Six Sigma). Able to clearly demonstrate previous examples of operational excellence improvements and leadership, ideally within the pharmaceutical industry.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in Engineering or Sciences or Business (with a focus on Operations Management or Project Management).
• Leading complex projects end to end, demonstrating the most appropriate analysis and tools.
• Ability to lead multiple priorities in a dynamic environment.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Strong interpersonal, collaboration and communication skills – verbal, written, presentation.
• Ability to work with and influence a wide range of levels in the organisation - from senior management level to new production operatives.
• Ability to establish positive working relationships in a global, international organization.
• Ability to think and work at a “strategic” level as well as at a “project” level.
• Proficiency in the English Language.
• Exhibits the ThermoFisher 4i Values.

Core Competencies:

• Put the Customer First - Think and act with a customer-centric mind set to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
• Be Responsible For Your Results - Take personal accountability for all you do and always exercise good judgment.
• Find a Better Way Every day - Be intellectually curious and embrace Practical Process Improvement (PPI).

Standards and Expectations:

• Align with all Environmental Health & Safety Policies and Procedures.
• Work constructively with fellow team members, modelling positive team principles, and partnering to meet project and departmental objectives.
• Carry out all duties within strict compliance to Patheon (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific) quality systems SOP's and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).
• Maintain workspace in a clean and orderly fashion.
• Actively engage in and adhere to departmental systems in order to maintain a smooth and efficient workflow (visual management, scheduling systems, shared assets).
• Always be client and patient conscious.
• Understand Key Performance Indicators and strive to improve the performance of the team by identifying areas for system improvements and engage in problem-solving.
• Models positive thinking and is open to change, motivating the team to adapt to shifts in priorities and new ways of working.
• Proactively identifies areas for improvement in the execution of procedures.
• Communicate risks to timelines of results in a proactive manner.
• Consistently strives to improve skills and knowledge in the related fields.

Benefits:

In addition to a competitive annual salary, you will be eligible for an annual bonus plan, 25 days holiday + Bank Holidays, optional holiday purchase scheme, private medical insurance, life assurance, contributory pension, as well as various other optional benefits you can tailor to suit you!

About us

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue exceeding $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, improving patient diagnostics and therapies or improving productivity in their laboratories, we are here to support them. Our global distributed team of more than 130,000 colleagues delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services and Patheon. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com