OBP Lead (Continuous Improvement)

Location:          Manchester

Shift:                 Monday to Friday, 07:30 – 16:00

Salary:              Competitive with Opportunity for Growth

We have a new opportunity for an experienced Operating Brilliance Programme (OBP) Lead within our team who would be based at our Kara Foodservices factory in Manchester which is part of our Northern Cluster at Finsbury Food Group.

Finsbury Food Group is a leading speciality bakery manufacturer. We constantly raise quality and efficiency standards and build long-term relationships with major multiple retailers and the foodservice channel. The bread for your morning toast, ready for butter-spreading or egg-dipping. The candle-filled centrepiece for a memorable celebration. The buns, muffins and other treats that turn teatime into quality time. Our Fletchers bakery has over 125 years of baking tradition, with our Kara bakery supplying delicious wholesale bakery products for over 35 years starting with the first floured bap. Both have been part of the Finsbury Food Group since 2014.

Reporting to the Northern Cluster OBP Lead, the OBP Lead’s key focus will be to drive continuous improvement; leading CI/efficiency projects across the site, engaging diverse functional teams to develop in-house LEAN capability and adoption of CI culture. The OBP Lead will lead on strategic Operating Best Practice delivery across manufacturing and wider support functions to embed operating excellence. 

The successful candidate will have worked in a similar continuous improvement position within a fast-paced environment previously. This a leadership role which requires the successful candidate to have good communication and influencing skills, who also has the ability to work with stakeholders across various levels.

This is what you’ll actually do!

As the OBP Lead you will lead, facilitate and co-ordinate training of group standardised OBP, LEAN and PPI (Practical Process Improvement) principles, tools and techniques, developing internal CI capability across the site. You will help to improve decision-making and problem-solving capabilities within high performing teams at all levels throughout the organisation to increase autonomy and the pace of change, therefore excellent communication skills are important.

You will support delivery of the site OBP profit improvement targets via the management of enhancement projects across labour, materials & overheads. It will be important for you to proactively interface with internal customers and functional teams to understand current processes and plant capabilities, applying LEAN thinking to propose recommendations and initiatives for driving improvement. As OBP Lead it is your role to be seeking perfection through “Process Blueprint” via the implementation of new and streamlining of existing processes and controls to improve customer satisfaction, enable profitable growth, deliver consistent high-quality product and improve operational efficiencies.

Within your role you will support the delivery and embedding of Asset Care (TPM) working with Operations and Engineering to develop detailed plans and roadmaps. It will also be key for you to cultivate an action-based culture of continuous improvement to improve KPIs in the areas of; safety, quality, service, cost and people. Adding to this you will be the one to lead, co-ordinate and facilitate the deployment of MARA (our Finsbury management system) across all site functions, actively sourcing and implementing best practices from across the group.

As the OBP Lead you will need to actively share and promote best practice information across the group using FFG workplace forums, in full collaboration and exchange with leads and OBP practitioners from other sites.

Ideally this is you!

·       CI/process improvement experience preferably in the food processing industry.

·       Previous experience in the implementation of lean structures, and application of Lean tools.

·       Proactive in embracing change and has a keen attention for detail.

·       Strong interpersonal and communication skills, being a confident, competent and collaborative decision maker.

·       Strong leadership qualities, including experience in leading and delivering change management.

·       Must have a flexible approach to work, be able to work on own initiative and be a confident decision maker who is able to communicate at all levels of the organisation. 

·       Fully computer literate with particular focus on Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Word.

·       A food science, engineering or bakery qualification attained at HND to degree level.

·       Experience in FMCG, with knowledge and experience of bread and bakery manufacturing process.

·       Knowledge and previous experience with 6-sigma/SPC techniques within process manufacturing.

·       Holds a driver’s license and has no restrictions to travel.

Our vision is to be the leading specialty bakery group in the UK, and we want the best people in place to achieve this. Our continued success is built entirely on the talented people who work here, so employee development is important to us because everyone is a valued member of the team, and we want every individual to have the skills and capabilities to achieve both your own personal goals and our business goals. We want good people to join our company, to help our company continue to go from strength to strength. If this sounds like you, please get in contact to learn more!