WE Soda
Lead, Operational Transformation & Portfolio Management
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The Lead, Operational Transformation & Portfolio Management
The Lead, Operational Transformation & Portfolio Management will establish and run the portfolio management framework for Operations, bringing together operational improvement initiatives, capital projects and strategic programmes, and ensuring they are prioritised, governed and delivered in line with WE Soda’s operational strategy. AI-enabled working is central to the role: it applies agentic, multi-step AI workflows to research, analysis and execution as a core part of how the work is delivered.
Reporting directly to the COO and working in close partnership with the CEO’s Chief of Staff, the role establishes portfolio governance, project management standards and delivery disciplines across Operations, Engineering, Sustainability, Maintenance, Technical Services and R&D. The role leads transformation initiatives across all WE Soda operations. The framework established will form the foundation for an enterprise-wide transformation and portfolio capability as WE Soda grows. The role suits an individual contributor with a Chief of Staff-type profile: a trusted, high-judgement partner to senior leadership, motivated by shaping how the business operates and by delivering through influence.
Based in London, the role works in close functional partnership with the Operational Transformation & Portfolio Managers in Türkiye and the US, who report locally to their site leadership. It brings these regional portfolios together into a single, consolidated view and works directly with the COO to manage the global portfolio as one.
What you’ll do
- Lead transformation across all WE Soda operations, driving Lean, continuous improvement and operational excellence across manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, technical services and R&D, and delivering measurable gains in productivity, asset reliability and cost.
- Establish and operate the Operations portfolio framework, including governance for prioritisation, approval, resource allocation and decision-making.
- Lead regular portfolio reviews reporting on progress, risks, budgets and outcomes, and recommend priorities to the COO.
- Maintain close functional partnership with the Operational Transformation & Portfolio Managers in Türkiye and the US to ensure consistent methodology and standards, and consolidate regional portfolios into a single global view for the COO covering priorities, risks, budgets and progress.
- Set project management standards, methodologies and stage-gate processes, and coach project managers and programme leads in applying them.
- Oversee capital investment, sustainability and innovation projects, monitoring delivery against approved business cases.
- Collaborate with IT, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement and Commercial on cross-functional initiatives.
- Partner with the COO on priorities, workload and follow-through, and with the CEO’s Chief of Staff to maintain a shared working methodology across the two offices.
- Apply AI-enabled working methods, including agentic, multi-step AI workflows for research, analysis and execution, across portfolio management, transformation and the COO’s workload.
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What you’ll bring
- Significant experience in manufacturing, chemicals, mining, industrial processing, energy or similarly complex industries.
- A track record of leading capital programmes, strategic projects and operational transformation, with experience of building capability as well as running it.
- Strong commercial and financial judgement, and the credibility to influence and challenge senior executives.
- Demonstrated fluency with AI-driven tools and agentic working methods as a core part of how you work, not a supplementary tool.
- International experience across multiple geographies and stakeholder groups; fluency in English.
- A degree in engineering, science, business or a related discipline.
- Desirable: an MBA or equivalent; experience establishing or scaling a PMO or Enterprise PMO; Turkish language skills.
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How you will be qualified
The role is an individual contributor at Senior Manager level. Applicants should demonstrate how they meet the following competencies, citing specific examples in their application:
- Business Impact: Develops and implements new processes, standards and operational plans that affect functional results, working from broadly defined outcomes with limited oversight.
- Communication: Influences others across the organisation to accept new concepts and practices, and briefs senior leaders, including the CEO, COO and all executive team members.
- Innovation & Change: Makes significant improvements to processes and systems, and solves difficult problems that require a broader understanding of multiple areas.
- Knowledge & Expertise: A recognised master of portfolio management and operational transformation, built through advanced education and work experience.
- People Management: No formal people management; coaches, reviews and delegates work to others, including project managers and programme leads.
- Scope: Leads projects and portfolios at the scale and complexity of a Senior Manager’s team scope. Maintains a functional (dotted-line) relationship with the Türkiye and US Operational Transformation & Portfolio Managers, who report locally to site leadership.
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