Manager Operational Excellence & Process Optimization (m/f/d) | Region: Eastern Switzerland

A manufacturing company in Eastern Switzerland is laying a new foundation for its operational performance – and is looking for the first person to establish and expand OPEX in the plant. The role is newly created and reports directly to C-level.

Tasks

What it's about

• You gain a precise picture of where performance and efficiency are lost in the plant – in production as well as in upstream and downstream areas – and derive a robust roadmap from this.
• You will drive improvement initiatives independently: from analysis through implementation to permanent, measurable anchoring in daily business.
• As a liaison between production, engineering, quality, and supply chain, you ensure that processes are not thought of and improved in silos, but across the entire chain.
• Directly on the line, you are a sparring partner for the teams: you stabilize processes, remove recurring disturbances, and ensure a reliable pace.
• You define the key performance indicators (KPIs) from which operational performance can be read, and shape them into a management tool that makes decisions faster and fact-based.
• Through training, coaching, and leading by example, you bring Lean thinking and structured problem-solving into the company – so that improvement does not remain your individual project, but becomes the organization's attitude.

Qualification

What you bring

• A technical or economic-technical background – such as a degree in engineering, industrial engineering, or an equivalent qualification.
• Several years of responsibility for Operational Excellence or continuous improvement in production – ideally in food manufacturing, alternatively in a similarly regulated environment such as pharma or FMCG.
• Lean, TPM, and KVP are not just vocabulary to you, but tools – Six Sigma certification is welcome, a Black Belt is a clear plus.
• You manage with numbers, but you are at home on the shop floor: you know the daily reality on the line and translate it into meaningful KPIs.
• You lead projects and change processes confidently – even where you need to win over people without disciplinary authority for new initiatives.
• Your working method is structured, analytical, and solution-oriented, your nature is hands-on – you don't stay at your desk, but go where value is created.
• You communicate clearly, present yourself convincingly, and have the talent to win people over and bring them along for change.

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