Continuous Improvement Specialist

Continuous Improvement Specialist

Salary: £40,000 Benefits
Location: Greater Manchester
Job Type: Permanent | Full Time | Monday to Friday

Drive Operational Excellence with a Leading UK Manufacturer

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Continuous Improvement Specialist to join a well-established and growing UK manufacturing business. This is a hands-on role where you'll play a key part in improving manufacturing performance, driving Lean initiatives, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement across the site.

Working closely with Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance and Supply Chain teams, you'll identify opportunities to improve safety, quality, productivity and efficiency while delivering sustainable operational improvements.

The Role

As the Continuous Improvement Specialist, you will:

• Lead Continuous Improvement projects across manufacturing operations.
• Analyse production data to identify opportunities to reduce waste, downtime, scrap and rework.
• Deliver measurable improvements in productivity, throughput and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
• Facilitate Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping workshops and structured problem-solving activities.
• Implement and sustain Lean Manufacturing tools including 5S, Standard Work, Visual Management, TPM, SMED, Poka-Yoke and PDCA.
• Work alongside Production, Quality and Maintenance teams to improve manufacturing performance and equipment reliability.
• Develop KPI dashboards and reports to monitor operational improvements.
• Support new process, equipment and automation projects.
• Coach and train production teams on Lean principles and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Promote a positive culture of operational excellence, employee engagement and accountability.
• Champion high standards of health, safety and housekeeping across the manufacturing facility.

About You

We're looking for someone who has:

• 3-5 years' experience in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Manufacturing Engineering or Process Improvement within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing and structured problem-solving techniques.
• Experience delivering measurable improvements in productivity, efficiency and waste reduction.
• Excellent analytical, project management and organisational skills.
• The confidence to influence and engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong communication skills and a hands-on approach with a visible shop-floor presence.
• Experience using manufacturing KPIs and digital reporting tools, with Power BI or similar software being advantageous.

Desirable Experience

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (or above).
• Experience within fabrication, steel, tube, pipe or other heavy manufacturing environments.
• Knowledge of welding, coating, fabrication or automated manufacturing processes.
• Experience improving OEE, reducing manufacturing costs and supporting automation projects.

What's on Offer?

• Competitive salary dependent on experience.
• Permanent position with a successful and growing manufacturing business.
• Opportunity to lead site-wide Continuous Improvement initiatives.
• Ongoing professional development and training.
• Company pension.
• Enhanced annual leave.
• Health and wellbeing programme.
• Employee referral scheme.
• Free on-site parking.
• Genuine long-term career progression.

If you're passionate about Lean Manufacturing, enjoy solving complex operational challenges and want to make a real impact within a progressive manufacturing environment, we'd love to hear from you.

About Cast UK

Cast UK is a leading executive consultancy, providing national recruitment solutions to both clients and candidates. Specialising in Business Change & Transformation, HR, Procurement, Buying, Supply Chain, and Logistics, each member of our specialist team has a professional background specific to their recruiting sector. With this unique insight and knowledge, our consultants are able to place individuals from trainee through to main board. For more information on Cast UK and a complete list of all of our current vacancies, please visit www.castuk.com

Apply now