At Valeo Foods UK we bring together a family of much-loved UK food brands supported by the scale and ambition of a global investment partner. From Kettle’s bold crunch to Rowse’s natural sweetness, through to Matthew Walker and Barratt Sweets, our portfolio blends heritage, craft and category-leading innovation.
Alongside our branded portfolio, we are also one of the UK’s largest suppliers of private label products, partnering with major retailers to deliver quality and category expertise that meets the needs of millions of households every week.
As a business, we’re on a journey of transformation. We’re strengthening our operations, driving quality and investing in our people. It’s an exciting, fast-moving environment where heritage meets new thinking, and where every colleague contributes to shaping the future of food across the UK.
Join us and play your part in building the next chapter of some of Britain’s most loved brands.
Job DescriptionValeo Food UK are looking for CI Lead for our manufacturing site in Gateshead.
The successful candidates would be required to drive the Continuous Improvement culture alongside our CI Managers, Responsible for the delivery and coaching of improvement activity within an area of responsibility often associated with Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
You would work as a member of the operational team to resolve problems - preventing re-occurrence, engaging others in issues affecting them and to support the improvement of performance.
Engaging with team members in the identification of improvement opportunities and relevant countermeasures and controls.
Initiating and facilitating improvement activities through to confirmed resolution and reporting back to stakeholders on improvements made.
Providing local expertise in business improvement methods and provision of basic tools to the team.
Ensuring that site KPI’s are achieved and exceeded while maintaining and complying with Health and Safety ethical and agreed technical standards.
Role Description
• Driving a Continuous Improvement culture with pace through the application of Lean / Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Develop, configure, and optimize manufacturing processes from inception through to start up and certification
• Develop best practices, routines, and innovative solutions to improve production rates and quality of output.
• Challenging and reviewing existing processes to generate sustained and tangible improvements, utilising appropriate improvement methodologies, whilst utilising people engagement and empowerment in the change process.
• Handle multiple site projects, moving at varying pace, with clear and visible performance and financial data tracking.
• Ability to respond to the level of maturity required for the Continuous Improvement journey when working with others. Adopting a driver, facilitator or supporter stance depending on the given situation or level of understanding.
• Able to deliver the appropriate training and coaching to others in Continuous Improvement methodologies within operations to gain sustained improvement.
• Ability to apply the right elements of Lean and other Continuous Improvement methodologies according to business needs. Using the right control measures required for sustained improvement.
Qualifications
• Proven ability to improve performance through change
• Practical or Working knowledge of Lean and/or Six Sigma
• NVQ level 3 equivalent or above in manufacturing / operations (desirable)
• Training in CI methodology
• Project Management experience
• Proven experience of leading CI within a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) environment
• Train the Trainer qualification, (desirable but not essential)
Top Skills
What We Do
We are a leading producer and innovator of high quality, category-defining branded food products that have a proud history that dates back to 1845.
At Valeo Foods, we are passionate about food and our portfolio of over 20 iconic food brands, which includes Jacobs, Batchelors, Kettle, Rowse Honey, Balconi, Schluckwerder, are tried and trusted by consumers across Ireland, UK and Europe for their quality, wholesomeness, nutrition and fun.
We are a diverse business that combines food production, brand development and innovation, distribution and sales. We are Ireland’s largest ambient food supplier to the grocery trade, a major supplier to the food service market through Valeo Professional, and an increasingly prominent supplier to the UK market and a range of European Markets now.
We are focused on the continued development of our excellent portfolio of category defining food brands as we look to expand our footprint across Ireland, UK, Europe and beyond with our latest acquisition in North America. We are committed to delivering quality food products through continued innovation and excellence in manufacturing. This commitment ensures that our brands retain a market leading position in each of their respective categories.
We continue to recruit people with the best skills and expertise across a range of areas including manufacturing, food science, research and development, nutrition, distribution, sales, operations, marketing, human resources and finance, and aspire to be a best in class employer, focused on developing and empowering our people.
