Continuous Improvement Manager

Job description

Continuous Improvement Manager Stafford Fulfilment Centre Salary - £65,000 - £72,000 dependent on experience Hours – 39hrs per week, Mon-Fri office hours but flexibility required to support 24/7 site Who are we? We're Pets at Home, and we're passionate about pets and the people who love them. Our Stafford Fulfilment Centre is at the heart of our operation, supplying products to stores, customers and veterinary practices across the UK. With around 1,500 colleagues on site, it's a fast-paced, high-volume environment where continuous improvement plays a critical role in helping us deliver exceptional service whilst creating a great place to work. We're now looking for a passionate and experienced Continuous Improvement Manager to lead and embed our lean and continuous improvement culture across the site. About the Role As our Continuous Improvement Manager, you'll own and drive the Lean and Continuous Improvement agenda across the Stafford Fulfilment Centre. This is a highly visible leadership role, responsible for developing a structured CI capability that delivers measurable improvements in productivity, cost, quality and colleague experience. This is not a desk-based role. You'll be highly visible across the operation, working closely with operational leaders and front-line colleagues to translate lean principles into practical, sustainable improvements that drive real business results. You'll create and deliver the site's continuous improvement strategy and roadmap, ensuring improvement activity is aligned to key operational and business objectives. Through coaching, challenge and collaboration, you'll help develop a culture where teams identify opportunities, solve problems and continuously improve the way we work. Key Responsibilities As Continuous Improvement Manager, you will: Develop and own the site's Continuous Improvement strategy, ensuring alignment to key operational and business KPIs including productivity, cost per unit, quality and safety. Lead the deployment of Lean methodologies across the fulfilment centre, including Value Stream Mapping, 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, Kaizen and structured problem-solving techniques such as A3 and DMAIC. Identify, prioritise and deliver a pipeline of improvement initiatives, tracking and reporting measurable productivity and cost-saving benefits. Build continuous improvement capability across operational leadership teams through coaching, training and structured problem-solving routines. Lead and embed effective daily management disciplines, including tiered meetings and shift brief processes. Own site performance reporting and data analysis, using operational data to identify waste, bottlenecks and improvement opportunities. Benchmark site performance against internal and external best practice, bringing new ideas and proven methodologies into the operation. Partner with Operations, Engineering, Health & Safety and IT/WMS teams to develop and implement process, system and layout improvements. Support change management activities, ensuring colleague engagement remains at the heart of any operational change. Report progress, project benefits and future improvement opportunities to the Site Leadership Team and wider business stakeholders. Contribute to creating a positive, inclusive and engaging culture across the fulfilment centre. Support the development of highly engaged teams, helping drive colleague retention, attendance and engagement. About You We're looking for a passionate improvement professional who can combine strong technical Lean expertise with excellent leadership and influencing skills. You'll have: Essential Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Level 7 Certificate in Managing Continuous Organisational Improvement, or Level 6/7 Improvement Leader qualification. Proven experience within a Continuous Improvement, Lean, Operational Excellence or Industrial Engineering role in a warehouse, logistics, distribution or manufacturing environment. Demonstrable experience applying Lean methodologies in operational environments, including 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Kaizen and Root Cause Analysis. A track record of delivering measurable productivity improvements and cost savings within high-volume operations. Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to challenge and engage leaders at all levels. Experience coaching and developing operational leaders and front-line teams in structured problem-solving techniques. Strong analytical capability, with experience using operational data, KPI reporting and warehouse management system information to drive decision making. Full UK Driving Licence, with willingness to travel to Support Office and other sites as required. Desirable Lean Six Sigma Black Belt accreditation. Experience within retail distribution, e-commerce fulfilment or FMCG supply chain environments. Experience working in a unionised or employee representative environment. Exposure to warehouse automation, material handling equipment (MHE) and process redesign projects. What You'll Bring A passion for continuous improvement and operational excellence. Strong leadership skills and the ability to inspire change. Excellent coaching, communication and influencing skills. A collaborative and pragmatic approach to problem solving. The ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on operational delivery. What's in it for you? As well as the opportunity to play a key role in driving the future success of one of the UK's leading pet care businesses, you'll enjoy a fantastic range of benefits including: Competitive salary Annual bonus opportunity Pension scheme Life assurance Colleague discount across Pets at Home, Vets for Pets and Groom Room Holiday allowance increasing with service Access to wellbeing support and colleague assistance programmes Excellent career development opportunities within a growing and evolving supply chain network Pets just see people. We take our inspiration from pets. At Pets at Home, we're committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and able to be their authentic self. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you're passionate about Lean, continuous improvement and developing high-performing teams, we'd love to hear from you.