Norton Motorcycles
Operational Excellence Champion
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We’re not just another bike brand - we're an iconic, British motorcycle brand with over 120 years of history behind us. Our new state-of-the-art facilities in Solihull, West Midlands are home to a tight-knit, but ever-expanding team that's passionate about delivering exquisite riding experiences to our customers.
Under new ownership and proud to be part of the TVS Motor family, we're entering a new era of global success. And we want you to be a part of it!
At Norton, we value respect, trust, and responsibility. We trust our employees to execute their roles exceptionally and professionally, and we value personal development, teaching, and learning. When you join our team, you'll have the opportunity to grow and learn alongside some of the most talented and dedicated people in the business.
So if you're passionate about motorcycles and looking to join a team that's shaping the future of this legendary brand, we'd love to hear from you!
The Role
The Operational Excellence Champion is responsible for driving a culture of continuous improvement, Total Quality Management (TQM), and operational excellence across the organisation. This role serves as a catalyst for transforming business processes, improving productivity, enhancing quality, reducing waste, and embedding a customer-first mindset throughout the value chain.
The incumbent will lead cross-functional improvement initiatives, coach teams on Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, establish operational standards, and ensure sustainable improvements aligned
Duties/Responsibilities:
- Lead Norton's Operational Excellence strategy and deployment roadmap
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives across manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, quality, maintenance, and support functions
- Identify improvement opportunities through structured data analysis, process assessments, and value stream mapping
- Facilitate cross-functional teams to deliver measurable improvements in Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Productivity, and Morale (SQCDPM)
- Establish governance mechanisms to monitor improvement projects and ensure sustainability
- Champion a company-wide quality culture by embedding TQM principles into daily operations
- Facilitate structured problem-solving using PDCA, A3, 8D, Root Cause Analysis, and CAPA
- Promote process ownership and accountability
- Support deployment of quality standards and management systems
- Drive Zero Defect and Right First Time initiatives
- Encourage fact-based decision making using quality metrics
- Strengthen supplier and internal quality improvement collaboration
- Promote standardisation and process discipline
- Lead Lean transformation initiatives across the organisation
- Deploy Lean tools including; 5S Workplace Organisation, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) etc.
- Facilitate Kaizen workshops and improvement events
- Establish continuous improvement pipelines
- Coach employees on Lean thinking and problem-solving methodologies
- Lead DMAIC projects to improve business performance
- Utilise statistical analysis to identify process variation
- Improve process capability and reduce defects
- Develop KPIs and dashboards for operational performance
- Drive productivity improvement and cost optimisation projects
- Map, analyse, redesign, and optimise business processes
- Remove bottlenecks and non-value-added activities
- Develop standardised operating procedures
- Support digitalisation and automation initiatives
- Ensure process sustainability through documentation and audits
- Drive manufacturing excellence by promoting; Zero Loss mindset; Operational discipline; Stable and capable processes etc.
- Support implementation of world-class manufacturing practices while ensuring operational stability
- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
- Encourage employee participation through suggestion schemes and Kaizen programs
- Build problem-solving capability at all organisational levels
- Coach leaders in servant leadership and continuous improvement behaviours
- Recognise and celebrate improvement achievements
- Monitor and improve performance through; OEE; Productivity; First Pass Yield; Right First Time etc.
- Develop dashboards for management review and decision-making
- Lead organisational transformation initiatives
- Manage change using structured change management methodologies
- Ensure adoption and sustainability of improvement initiatives
- Coach leaders through transformation journeys
- Develop Operational Excellence competency frameworks
- Conduct training on Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, Quality Tools, and Continuous Improvement
- Mentor Green Belts, Yellow Belts, and improvement champions
- Build internal capability for sustainable improvement
- Ensure adherence to operational standards
- Support internal and external audits
- Maintain compliance with applicable quality, environmental, and safety management systems
- Establish operational excellence review mechanisms
- Drive risk-based thinking and preventive actions
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Qualifications & Desired Experience:
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- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Production Engineering, Operations Management, or a related discipline
- Master's degree or MBA is desirable
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt required; Black Belt preferred
- Certification in Lean Manufacturing, TQM, Operational Excellence, or Continuous Improvement is an advantage
- 8 plus years of experience in manufacturing, operations, quality, or industrial engineering
- Minimum 5 years leading Operational Excellence, Lean, Continuous Improvement, or Manufacturing Excellence initiatives in OEMs
- Experience in automotive, engineering, industrial manufacturing, or other high-volume manufacturing environments
Rewards of working for Norton:
We like to take care of our Nortoneers and we think we offer some pretty decent rewards. Here's what you'll get when you join the team:
- Competitive salary package that recognises your skills and experience
- 33 days of holiday (inc. Bank Hols) to relax and recharge
- Generous pension scheme that sets you up for the future, with access to personalised advice.
- Private Medical Insurance and a Cash Back Programme to keep you feeling your best
- Life insurance (4x salary) because we've got your back no matter what
- FREE fruit, got to have your five-a-day!
- WeCare Employee Assistance Programme, which includes access to online GP services, dietary advice, mental health support, bereavement counselling, and a fitness programme
- Experience the thrill of an entrepreneurial environment within a larger, well-funded company with ambitious long-term goals.
- Elevate your career with our Ideas for Excellence scheme, where every brilliant idea is not just valued, but also rewarded!
- A diverse and international team that brings together different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
- Join the fun with our twice-yearly employee events, payday socials, and loads of exciting activities in between!
- Want to go green? You can enjoy free electric bicycle hire
- Plus, no need to stress about finding a parking spot - we've got on-site free parking covered and FREE electric charge points.
- We know how important it is to take care of our team, and we're committed to continually improving our reward offering in line with the business growth plan.
Join us and see for yourself!
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT ACCEPT AGENCY APPLICATIONS
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