Global Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Director at irca Group

Global Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Director

This Full time on site position offers great opportunities for career growth.

Who we are: IRCA Group, an Advent portfolio company, was founded in Italy in 1919, and it is a leading international B2B provider of high-quality semi-finished ingredients such as chocolate, decorations, creams, inclusions, nuts and pistachios, pastry mixes, gelato ingredients, and other essential solutions for industrial clients or other independent artisanal producers. With more than 2.400 employees, 19 production facilities worldwide, and €1.4 billion in revenues, IRCA Group has a solid track record of growth and international expansion.

What do we offer:

• A dynamic, multicultural, and inclusive environment with exposure to global projects and stakeholders
• The opportunity to shape and lead a transformational Continuous Improvement journey at a global scale
• International career development opportunities
• Exposure to senior leadership and the possibility to influence strategic business decisions

The role:

We are looking for an experienced and results-driven Global Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence Director to lead the design, deployment, and sustainability of IRCA Group's global Continuous Improvement (CI) strategy. Reporting to the Global COO, the successful candidate will define and drive the Group's CI roadmap, embedding a culture of operational excellence across manufacturing sites and supply chain operations. The role will be instrumental in delivering productivity improvements, cost savings, capability building, and cultural transformation throughout the organization. We are seeking a highly motivated CI leader with proven experience in implementing global Continuous Improvement programs within international manufacturing environments, ideally through TPM, IWS, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies. The selected candidate will lead the development and execution of the company's mid-to-long-term CI strategy across the end-to-end supply chain, while supporting the delivery of current performance improvement and savings initiatives. They will be accountable for the overall success of the CI program, ensuring that a continuous improvement mindset and culture become embedded in the daily operations of the organization. Working closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, R&D, HR, Finance, and Plant Leadership teams, the Global Continuous Improvement Director will drive sustainable performance improvement and support the achievement of IRCA Group's strategic objectives. The position is preferably based in Italy, at IRCA Group's Headquarters, with regular interaction and collaboration across the Group's international operations.

What will you do:

Continuous Improvement Strategy & Governance:

• Define and deploy the Group-wide Continuous Improvement strategy aligned with business goals and operational priorities
• Establish governance, standards, methodologies, and KPIs to ensure a consistent CI approach across all regions and manufacturing sites
• Drive the deployment of TPM/IWS, Lean Manufacturing, and Six Sigma methodologies across the organization
• Develop a multi-year CI roadmap supporting productivity, quality, safety, service, and cost excellence objectives

Operational Excellence & Performance Improvement:

• Identify, prioritize, and execute improvement initiatives that deliver measurable operational and financial results
• Own the CI savings pipeline and ensure achievement of productivity and cost-saving targets
• Monitor the performance of CI initiatives and ensure sustainability of implemented improvements
• Benchmark internal and external best practices to continuously enhance operational performance

Capability Building & Cultural Transformation:

• Develop and embed a culture of Continuous Improvement and servant leadership throughout the organization
• Coach, mentor, and develop leaders and frontline teams on Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, problem-solving, and change management methodologies
• Build organizational capabilities by creating training frameworks and CI development programs
• Drive employee engagement and ownership of improvement initiatives at all levels of the organization

Program Deployment & Leadership:

• Lead strategic pilot programs and lighthouse projects to demonstrate and scale best practices
• Partner with plant leadership teams to deploy TPM pillars and establish site-level improvement plans
• Support regional and local teams during implementation, ensuring alignment with global standards
• Act as a key change agent, influencing stakeholders and driving organizational transformation

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Collaborate closely with Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, R&D, HR, Finance, Quality, and Procurement teams to drive end-to-end performance improvements
• Support capital investment and automation initiatives by providing operational excellence expertise to become fully integrated into the core organizational functions and I suppose it’s best to put the content under relevant section titles rather than all in a single paragraph . This sentence is unclear for AI oversight . * strengthening the development of the in-house improvement network across countries . Finance DCN 13 Requirements: Education: * Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Industrial Management, or a related field * Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and/or TPM certification is considered a strong advantage Experience: * Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in manufacturing and operations leadership roles * Minimum 3-5 years in a global or regional Continuous Improvement leadership position within an international manufacturing environment * Demonstrated experience implementing TPM, IWS, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma or similar operational excellence frameworks * In focus NL 1 section. * (I pass optimisation / so I add Idea to...) High performance applications performance assessment. * dash category list March Enh file * To develop jobs each capital reality better. Frequent * Build menu Nelson will meet my value to core. State side or higher context av. * nick type interpret I is the main allowed. * Half income I outside URL * Units. * planning. * standard compliance d. * using more accessible being student. * Understanding a he as needed up. * I'm not the from target feel . and in that section . * Specifically you adapt of p opportunity. Drive digital proof scale. * All quality test, all test world . Even I guess in incompetent.\