Operational Excellence Director at GSK · Suzhou

Welcome to Haleon. We’re a purpose-driven, world-class consumer company putting everyday health in the hands of millions. In just three years since our launch, we’ve grown, evolved and are now entering an exciting new chapter – one filled with bold ambitions and enormous opportunity.

Our trusted portfolio of brands – including Sensodyne®, Panadol®, Advil®, Voltaren®, Theraflu®, Otrivin®, and Centrum® – lead in resilient and growing categories. What sets us apart is our unique blend of deep human understanding and trusted science.

Now it’s time to fully realise the full potential of our business and our people. We do this through our Win as One strategy. It puts our purpose – to deliver better everyday health with humanity – at the heart of everything we do. It unites us, inspires us, and challenges us to be better every day, driven by our agile, performance-focused culture.

The Operational Excellence (OpEx) Director role is a critical role as member of Site Leadership Team (SLT) at a Haleon Manufacturing Site, who is responsible for the definition and execution of the site’s continuous improvement strategy, support site director to rationalize and prioritize project and Kaizen, facilitate and coach cross-function CI activities through to benefit realization. It’s a fundamental role in leading the Continuous Improvement efforts for the site to achieve its growth and profitability objectives and the broader Haleon Value of to ‘Go Beyond’.

Role Description

This individual will help drive performance improvement through HAPS (Haleon Performance System) as an Expert on HAPS, Operational Excellence tools and Lean/Six Sigma methodology. The role is responsible and accountable for the deployment and implementation of HAPS as per the deployment plan and building the effectiveness and maturity of the system.

The Operational Excellence Director will deploy and embed the HAPS principles at the site to problem solving, standardization, continuous improvement and deliver the Business Strategy, and is expected to provide leadership and expertise with focus on business performance (Safety, Quality, Service, & Cost), by using a data-driven approach.

This role will also play a key role in Project Management and execution of Productivity initiatives that align with the Site goals.

Key responsibilities:

• Facilitate the design of annual site strategy and its deployment and reviewing process.
• Implement and maintain visual management and control.
• Lead a team of OpEx/Continuous improvement (CI) professionals for both CI projects and daily Operations support.
• Lead Site implementation efforts of the Haleon Performance System (HAPS), which includes Digital 4.0 tools.
• Lead weekly/monthly efficiency & waste gap plan meetings, identify, execute, and prioritize efforts for the Site.
• Be the primary Liaison with Regional and Global OPEX Teams to support Above-Site/Corporate OpEx initiatives.
• Provide savings justification for CAPEX savings projects related to Operational productivity and waste reduction.
• Building capabilities of Site FLL and hourly workforce via LSW, SOPS, and CI training.
• Daily GEMBA walks to identify safety, quality, efficiency, and waste opportunities, develop Gemba Kaizen practitioners.
• Coach Site team leaders and operators to have a continuous improvement mindset & behaviour.
• F4G Program Manager
• Site Strategy/PMO process
• Must be willing to travel approximately 10% for benchmarking visits, conferences, and offsites.
• Networking with Haleon global and industry. Best practice sharing/learning within site and across site.

Complexity/Scope

• Span of Control = Team size > 7

Qualifications and skills

Essential

• Educated to degree level in Manufacturing, Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering or related technical/business discipline or 12+ years of experience in Manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years of experience in FMCG, working knowledge of process, Technical, Quality and Supply Chain.
• Project Management Skills
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate multiple projects and Kaizen events.
• Six Sigma Green Belt Training and/or certification from an accredited external Quality program.
• OpEx SME - The candidate must have experience in Operational Excellence Systems execution, working knowledge of multiple lean Tools such as TPM, WCM, Lean, or Six Sigma project management, VSM, PPS, Kaizen Blitz, Standard work etc.
• Working knowledge of statistical process control concepts, data analysis, diagnostic tools and techniques.
• Business Orientated/External perspective - The candidate will must have a Supply Chain background and the ideal incumbent would have senior Site (SLT level) or functional leadership experience. Recent experience in FMCG Operations/OpEx type roles would be desirable.
• Interpersonal: Ability to collaborate and relate to multiple Levels in the organization, from the shop-floor workforce to Corporate VPs.
• Communication: Excellent oral, written, and presentation skills

Preferred

• Influence and Vision – The candidate must have demonstrated confidence in challenging stakeholders and influencing senior leaders creating a commanding vision of future state and ‘what good looks like’.
• Business Partner – The Candidate must have excellent interpersonal and networking skills to enable effective and influential internal and external communication. Maintain collaborative relationships and contribute to positive morale.
• Self-Directed and Entrepreneurial – while working as part of a global team the candidate must be able to work autonomously and set their own direction aligned with Global OpEx team goals. Acts Decisively, drive Performance, result oriented, deliver on commitments and monitor performance.
• Strong Leadership capability
• IT Skills: MS Office, SAP, Power BI, OEE % data collection systems

Job Posting End Date

2026-10-27

Equal Opportunities

Haleon are committed to mobilising our purpose in a way that represents the diverse consumers and communities who rely on our brands every day. It guides us in creating an inclusive culture, where different backgrounds and views are valued and respected – all in support of understanding and best serving the needs of our consumers and unleashing the full potential of our people. It’s important to us that Haleon is a place where all our employees feel they truly belong.

During the application process, we may ask you to share some personal information, which is entirely voluntary. This information ensures we meet certain regulatory and reporting obligations and supports the development, refinement, and execution of our inclusion and belonging programmes that are open to all Haleon employees.

The personal information you provide will be kept confidential, used only for legitimate business purposes, and will never be used in making any employment decisions, including hiring decisions.

Adjustment or Accommodations Request

If you require a reasonable adjustment or accommodation or other assistance to apply for a job at Haleon at any stage of the application process, please let your recruiter know by providing them with a description of specific adjustments you are requesting. We’ll provide all reasonable adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process and treat all information you provide us in confidence.

Note to candidates

The Haleon recruitment team will contact you using a Haleon email account (@haleon.com). If you are not sure whether the email you received is from Haleon, please get in touch.