Established in 1997 as the first manufacturer of sushi for the UK supermarket industry, Taiko has evolved into the most innovative manufacturer of Sushi, Food To Go, Prepared Meals and Snacking products in the UK, supplying Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s to name a few. Over the past 25 years Taiko has launched more first to market Sushi and Food to Go products than any other sushi manufacturer in the UK.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Transformation Manager to lead and oversee the transformation initiatives within our high care ready-to-eat food manufacturing company.
The successful candidate will be responsible for driving continuous improvement initiatives, optimizing processes, without compromise to the required high standards of food safety and quality.
This role requires a strategic thinker with a strong background in food manufacturing, Lean/ Six Sigma, end-to-end cost savings (labour, material cost and overheads), project management, and change management.
The role will involve challenging ways of working and driving sustainable improvement across the supply chain which deliver tangible results.

• Lead process improvements, conduct lean training, and facilitate kaizen events – driving continuous improvement projects and activities.
• Lead and drive cross-functional teams in delivering cost outs (waste, yield, labour costs and overheads), delivering efficiency improvements, processes simplification, as well as standardising and facilitating efficiency for lean optimisation.
• Work with Engineering in coordinating cost reduction-based capital investment projects.
• Train team members on problem solving and Continuous Improvement tools and techniques.
• Coordinate NPD/ EPD meetings activities and actions to deliver successful launches.
To work with all key stakeholders to develop and maintain a positive Continuous Improvement culture
• You’ll be joining a business with exciting growth plans
• You’ll work in a fast-paced environment, with a fantastic team culture
• Staff discount for the Factory products as well as 50% staff discount across all Yo! Restaurants.

Preferred Experience

1. Proven experience in leading business transformation initiatives and Continuous Improvement strategies within FMCG environment.
2. Be passionate about and experienced in identifying and driving continuous improvement and work in partnership with our manufacturing and site teams,
3. Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage and influence stakeholders at all organisational levels.
4. Have in-depth knowledge of multiple Lean / CI / OPEX tools and methodologies.
5. Track record of project managing performance improvement in fast moving, demand volatile, operational environments
6. Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a data-driven approach to decision-making and performance optimization.
7. Proficiency in technology integration and change management methodologies.
8. Experience in end-to-end cost-out (value engineering and value analysis) initiatives.
9. Experience in coordinating and facilitating the NPD and EPD process with cross-functional teams to their successful launch.

Working Conditions:

1. This role may require occasional travel to other manufacturin