Europe & ANZ Manufacturing Excellence (ManEx) Manager

Careers

Life tastes better with ice cream

With 19,000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry.

What truly sets us apart is how we work.

We move fast and keep things simple. We turn ideas into action, trust people to take ownership, and work as one team to win together with integrity. Our culture is high-performance, collaborative and focused on getting things done.

We’re curious and ready for what’s next. We embrace digital, use data to make better decisions, and keep learning, including how AI can help us work smarter and serve consumers better.

The role

The Europe & ANZ Manufacturing Excellence (ManEx) Manager is responsible for driving the end-to-end continuous improvement agenda across the Europe & ANZ Ice Cream manufacturing network.

This role plays a critical leadership position in delivering step-change performance improvements across safety, quality, cost, service, equipment effectiveness, and manufacturing waste, while embedding a zero-loss mindset and a high-performance culture across factories.

As a senior leader, this role partners closely with Supply Chain Leadership Teams to deploy the Manufacturing Excellence strategy, build capabilities, and deliver sustainable results through structured continuous improvement programmes and digital enablement.

What you’ll be responsible for

• Lead the deployment and execution of the Manufacturing Excellence (ManEx) strategy across Europe & ANZ factories, ensuring alignment with business priorities and measurable performance impact.
• Own and drive the end-to-end continuous improvement programme, including gap assessments, roadmap definition, and delivery of results.
• Drive improvements in key manufacturing KPIs such as OEE, waste, cost, reliability, and labour productivity through structured loss elimination and performance management.
• Coach and influence Factory Directors and leadership teams to embed a zero-loss mindset and strengthen daily management systems and governance.
• Build and scale capabilities across sites through training, coaching, and development of ManEx and pillar leaders.
• Identify, prioritise, and deliver a robust pipeline of savings and productivity improvement initiatives.
• Drive standardisation and best practice sharing across the network, ensuring consistent application of tools, methods, and governance.
• Support the development and execution of factory masterplans, integrating continuous improvement, digital, and engineering roadmaps.
• Lead the digital manufacturing agenda at site level (e.g., deployment of digital tools and data-driven decision-making) to accelerate performance.
• Ensure strong integration of Early Equipment Management (EEM) principles to de-risk projects and enable vertical start-up.
• Demonstrate hands-on expertise by applying tools and methods on the shopfloor and working together with manufacturing teams for structured problem solving for chronic losses.

We’re looking for someone who

• Has significant experience leading large-scale continuous improvement programmes in a manufacturing environment, with a strong track record of delivering measurable results.
• Brings strong hands-on experience in shopfloor problem solving, working directly with operators and technicians to resolve chronic issues and execute continuous improvement programmes.
• Has operated at a management level or above, with proven experience influencing senior stakeholders such as Factory Directors and leadership teams.
• Brings deep expertise in Lean / TPM / WCM / Six Sigma or equivalent manufacturing excellence systems.
• Demonstrates strong leadership capability, with the ability to coach, challenge, and build high-performing teams across multiple sites.
• Is highly analytical and data-driven, with a structured approach to problem solving and performance management.
• Has excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to drive alignment across functions (Operations, Engineering, Finance, Digital, HR).
• Has strong experience in capability building, including designing and delivering training and coaching programmes.
• Is comfortable operating in a complex, multi-site, international environment, with the ability to manage ambiguity and drive change.
• Has experience in industries with strong continuous improvement maturity, such as automotive, FMCG, food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, or advanced manufacturing.

What you'll get

Alongside meaningful work and strong development, we offer a reward package that typically includes:

• Market-competitive pay and performance related rewards.
• Flexible ways of working.
• Support for health, wellbeing and life outside of work.
• Time off to rest and recharge.
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities.
• Specific benefits vary by location.

Why join us?

This is a place for people who are passionate about ice cream and are growth obsessed - both for the business and for themselves. People who act like an owner and drive our business end-to-end. People who are driven by success to deliver more than we ever thought we could.

You’ll thrive here if you value an inclusive culture, with low ego and hierarchy - and if you’re excited to continuously learn and challenge how we work, using digital, data, and new thinking to push us forward.

• Roles with real accountability and visible impact.
• Free to move fast, experiment and challenge how things are done.
• Continuous learning and development as the business grows.
• Reward linked to performance and contribution.

Your career here is shaped by what you deliver, as you work across functions and markets and grow with the business.