Achieve Recruitment
Continuous Improvement, Health and Safety Lead
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Continuous Improvement, Health and Safety Lead
Continuous Improvement, Health & Safety & Purchasing Lead
£45,000–£55,000 DOE Workshop-based – Lowestoft, Suffolk Permanent, Full-Time
A long-established specialist manufacturer of high-value, bespoke vehicles is entering a period of operational transformation and is hiring a hands-on Continuous Improvement, Health & Safety & Purchasing Lead to drive change from the shop floor up.
This is a rare opportunity to take full ownership of Continuous Improvement (CI), Health & Safety (H&S) and Purchasing in a business that is ready for improvement, open to challenge, and committed to building sustainable operational discipline.
The Opportunity
This is not a consultancy or desk-based role. You will be on the shop floor daily, observing, mapping, improving, and coaching. You’ll report directly to the CEO and operate with autonomy, shaping how the business works and leaving behind lasting capability.
What You Will Do
Continuous Improvement
- Map current-state value streams and quantify waste across all build types
- Lead 5S implementation and run structured Kaizen events
- Improve production flow, takt time, sequencing, layout and scheduling
- Establish standard work and visual management across the workshop
- Coach teams in CI tools through live improvement activity
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Health & Safety
- Act as the compétent person for Health & Safety, owning:
- Risk assessments
- Work-at-height compliance
- COSHH assessments and incident investigations
- Conduct Health & Safety audits
- Maintain statutory documentation
- Lead toolbox talks
Purchasing
- Overhaul purchasing practices, including:
- Supplier performance
- Stock control
- Reduced lead times
- Alignment with build schedules
- Track KPIs across CI, H&S and purchasing, reporting directly to senior leadership
What You Will Bring
Essential
- Proven hands-on CI experience in manufacturing, ideally in low-volume or bespoke production
- Strong working knowledge of lean tools:
- Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
- 5S
- Kaizen
- Standard work
- Visual management
- Root cause analysis
- Practical H&S experience, including:
- Risk assessments
- PUWER
- COSHH
- Work at Height compliance
- Purchasing experience:
- Supplier negotiation
- Inventory control
- Aligning procurement with production flow
- Shop-floor mindset, credible with skilled craftspeople and comfortable in overalls
- Structured, data-driven thinking with the ability to baseline and measure improvement
- Strong coaching ability with a commitment to building capability, not dependency
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Desirable
- Six Sigma or Lean qualification
- Experience in Danaher/TPM-style environments
- CIPS or equivalent procurement experience
Benefits
- Salary: £45,000 – £55,000 (depending on experience)
- Direct influence over CI, H&S, and purchasing strategy
- High autonomy with direct access to senior leadership
- Opportunity to lead a two-year transformation programme with measurable impact
- Stable, long-established manufacturer with strong demand for its products
- Clear progression as operational maturity increases
What Success Looks Like
Within two years, you’ll deliver:
- Faster, more consistent build processes with reduced rework
- Full H&S compliance, including robust Work at Height and COSHH controls
- A purchasing function that supports production instead of constraining it
- A self-sustaining 5S standard maintained by the teams
- A trained group of CI practitioners able to run improvements independently
- A culture where problems are surfaced and solved, not worked around
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