Description:

Company Description:

J. Barbour & Sons Ltd founded in 1894 is a British lifestyle brand, home to the iconic wax jacket we design, manufacture and market stylish functional clothing and footwear for men, women and children inspired by the unique values of the British countryside. We are the proud holder of Royal warrants and remain true to our core values as a fifth-generation family business. Barbour is sold in over 40 countries worldwide, including Europe, the US and Japan but we have our headquarters and roots firmly located in the North East of England.



Position Overview:

We are currently looking for a Head of Continuous Improvement to lead and drive business wide projects to deliver sustainable change and support business performance. You will partner with the Senior Leadership Team and play a vital role in identifying and delivering service improvement activities. You will utilise process improvement methodologies and innovative thinking to drive a culture of continuous improvement throughout the CI team and organisation.



Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Driving continuous improvement across strategy, projects and ways of working.
Partnering with the Senior Leadership team to lead on scoping and delivering projects or initiatives.
Identifying and raising key business areas of risk, providing recommendations to leadership
Management of multiple stakeholders and day to day problem solving.
Bringing teams together – reducing silos between departments and delivering organisation wide initiatives.
Coaching and mentoring within the business, bringing new techniques and influencing change.
Challenge thinking - bringing in industry best practise.
Managing external suppliers including contracting, commercials, performance


Skills and Experience:

Degree Level of Education - Preferably in a Business Management Diploma or similar
Strong relationship & stakeholder management skills - experience in working as trusted advisor at senior business leader level on critical, complex challenges
Consultancy and / or project management experience
Experience working in operations and transactional environments, understanding of business structures and key functions
Strong presentation skills in front of a wide range of audiences
Courage and determination to challenge current practices, confident at navigating conflict and using negotiation skills
Ability to narrow in on problems quickly and present mitigating actions in a succinct manner
Extensive people management experience, managing a broad team of various levels and capabilities
Understanding of continuous improvement techniques and tools
Catalyst for teams’ continual improvement – ideally previous experience or qualifications in Lean thinking
Understanding of financials – cost benefits analyses
Understanding of commercials and management of suppliers


Benefits:

Discretionary Company bonus scheme
Staff discount
Staff shop
Healthcare cash plan
25 days holiday as standard increasing with length of service plus bank holidays
Free onsite parking
Subsidised canteen


Note: In the event that a sufficient volume of suitable applications are received, the post may close prior to the specified closing date. Please apply as soon as possible if interested.

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