Global Head of Centre of Excellence
7 days ago
Sheffield
Head of Centre of Excellence (CoE) Global Role | Manufacturing & Operational Excellence 📍Global role 🌍 Based out of the UK, France or Netherlands ✈️ 50% European travel to other client sites We are seeking an accomplished Head of Centre of Excellence (CoE) for a global food/ consumer goods manufacturing client. This role will lead and evolve a global function spanning Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), Operational Excellence (OPEX), Packaging, OT and Change Management Excellence. This is a senior, high-impact leadership role with global scope, responsible for shaping strategy, driving execution and delivering measurable value across manufacturing and supply chain operations. The Role: As Head of CoE, you will design and deliver the CoE strategy in line with divisional objectives, ensuring best‑in‑class practices, strong governance, and tangible business benefits. You will act as a key bridge between the CoEs and senior divisional leadership across Operations and Commercial teams. Leading a global organisation of approximately 12 direct reports, you will be accountable for optimising resources, managing budgets, steering strategic initiatives, and embedding continuous improvement at scale. Key Responsibilities: People Leadership • Lead, develop and inspire global and regional CoE leaders, • Build robust succession plans and talent pipelines in partnership with HR, • Own and manage the CoE expense budget, including planning, monitoring and optimisation, • Define and embed engineering, industrialisation and continuous improvement best practices, • Benchmark against industry standards and introduce innovative approaches, • Co-create and align a 3–5 year strategic roadmap covering investments, resources and value creation, • Expand the CoE value proposition and service catalogue, integrating cross-functional processes, • Represent the CoEs in senior governance forums and strategic discussions, • Steer execution of major strategic projects across global and divisional environments About You: Experience & Background • 20+ years’ experience in manufacturing operations and/or supply chain, • 8–12 years’ experience leading large, complex organisations, • Deep knowledge of World Class Manufacturing, LEAN and Six Sigma, • Strong understanding of product industrialisation and process/system redesign, • Solid financial acumen across CAPEX and OPEX, • Strategic and visionary mindset, • Strong results orientation and customer focus, • Ability to manage ambiguity and balance multiple stakeholders, • Inspires purpose, drives performance and builds alignment at senior levels