At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive continuous improvement in warehousing and distribution operations with data analysis and project support.
- Company: Join apetito, the UK's leading food supplier dedicated to health and social care.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, 33 days holiday, free meals, and a bonus scheme.
- Other info: Dynamic work environment with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by enhancing operational performance and supporting vulnerable communities.
- Qualifications: Strong analytical skills, experience in data analysis, and passion for process improvement.
The predicted salary is between 30000 - 40000 £ per year.
- Overview
- We are looking for a
Continuous Improvement Analyst to join our CS&D team based at our National Distribution Centre in Portbury, Bristol.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in driving continuous improvement across our warehousing and distribution operations, supporting both day-to-day operational performance and longer-term strategic initiatives.
You will support the delivery of continuous improvement projects alongside the Continuous Improvement Manager, helping to identify opportunities, analyse operational data, engage stakeholders and turn improvement ideas into measurable business benefits.
The role will be central to embedding a strong continuous improvement culture across CS&D through structured project support, focus groups, project tracking and effective communication.
You’ll be instrumental in helping teams understand performance, identify root causes and deliver sustainable improvements across service, productivity, quality, cost and colleague engagement.
This will include maintaining improvement trackers, supporting savings delivery, following up on agreed actions and helping operational teams prioritise the areas that will make the biggest difference.
You will have a track record in combining strong analytical skills with excellent communication, enabling you to work collaboratively with operational stakeholders and present insight in a clear, practical and action-focused way.
You’ll ideally have experience in a warehousing, distribution, supply chain or manufacturing environment, with a strong interest in process improvement, problem solving and using data to influence operational decisions.
This role is based on site at least 3 days per week. Due to the location, a driving licence and access to your own transport are essential.
Who we are apetito is the UK’s leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.
Our meals are expertly crafted by our dieticians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness.
Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK’s largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK
Responsibilities
Analyse
Produce actionable, accurate and timely insight that helps the business identify improvement opportunities and focus on the areas that will have the greatest operational impact.
- Analyse operational data and performance metrics to identify trends, variances, inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
- Support the identification and prioritisation of continuous improvement opportunities across CS&D.
- Translate data into clear conclusions, recommendations and actions for operational teams.
- Support ad-hoc analysis linked to improvement projects, operational challenges and strategic priorities.
- Improve
Support the delivery of continuous improvement projects that create measurable benefits across the CS&D operation.
- Work alongside the Continuous Improvement Manager to deliver improvement projects from idea generation through to implementation and benefit tracking.
- Support quarterly CI focus groups, encouraging idea generation and ensuring improvement suggestions are followed up effectively.
- Help maintain a visible continuous improvement culture through tools such as suggestion forms, focus groups, “you said, we did” updates and colleague engagement channels.
- Support process reviews, root cause analysis and operational problem solving to identify practical and sustainable solutions.
- Continue to support major operational projects, including involvement in the Portbury Masterplan project team where required.
- Track
Maintain clear visibility of continuous improvement activity, ownership, actions and savings delivery.
- Own and maintain the CS&D savings tracker, ensuring projects, actions, owners and expected benefits are clearly captured.
- Assign ownership and support delivery of improvement initiatives by working closely with operational stakeholders.
- Monitor progress against agreed actions, escalating risks or delays where appropriate.
- Ensure benefits from improvement projects are captured, understood and communicated in a consistent way.
- Collaborate
Develop effective working relationships with a wide range of teams across the business, using insight, communication and challenge to support better operational decisions.
- Work closely with Warehouse, Distribution, Commercial Finance and wider CS&D stakeholders to understand priorities and support improvement activity.
- Facilitate and support weekly CI meetings, ensuring project updates are clear, actions are followed up and stakeholders remain engaged.
- Engage colleagues at different levels of the operation to encourage ideas, understand challenges and support practical solutions.
- Provide independent and thoughtful challenge to operational teams, using data and evidence to support recommendations.
- Communicate improvement activity in a clear, accessible and engaging way, helping teams understand progress and the impact of changes made.
Qualifications
Essential
- Proven experience in data analysis, process improvement, operational support or a similar analytical role.
- Strong analytical skills with a methodical approach to understanding problems and identifying improvement opportunities.
- Advanced Excel skills, with the ability to work confidently with large datasets.
- Experience building, maintaining or using dashboards and reporting tools such as Power BI, Tableau or similar.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to present insight, actions and recommendations to non-technical stakeholders.
- Highly inquisitive with a passion for problem solving and continuous improvement.
- Excellent attention to detail, ensuring reporting, trackers and project updates are accurate and reliable.
- Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage several priorities and follow actions through to completion.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team, building strong relationships across operational and support functions.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced warehousing, distribution, supply chain or operational environment.
Desirable
- Experience supporting continuous improvement projects or structured problem-solving activity.
- Understanding of operational performance measures such as productivity, service level, replenishment, picking accuracy, right-first-time performance and cost efficiency.
- Experience supporting savings trackers, project action logs or benefit reporting.
- Confidence facilitating meetings, workshops or colleague engagement sessions.
- Ability to turn colleague ideas and operational feedback into structured improvement opportunities.
- Company Benefits
- Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer
- 33 days holiday per year, including bank holidays (which are considered a normal working day)
- Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year
- Discretionary annual bonus scheme
- Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%
- Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary
- Free meals, snacks and beverages on site
- Free parking
- Free turkey or voucher at Christmas
- apetito perks scheme including salary sacrifice options and retail discounts
Our Values
As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.
We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.
We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK’s most vulnerable people.
We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.
Our ethical standards are recognised by the
ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer. Learn more about apetito’s commitment to a more sustainable future .
We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.
Continuous Improvement Analyst employer: apetito
At apetito, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. Located near Bristol, our team enjoys competitive day rates, comprehensive benefits, and ample opportunities for professional growth within the exciting field of coldstore automation. Join us to make a meaningful impact in a supportive environment where your expertise is valued.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Continuous Improvement Analyst
✨Join Supply Chain Meetups
Get yourself out there by attending supply chain meetups and industry events. It's a great way to meet fellow professionals, learn about trends, and maybe even hear about job openings before they’re posted online.
✨Show Off Your Skills on LinkedIn
Don’t just sit back and wait for opportunities! Post insights or articles on LinkedIn about supply chain challenges or solutions you’re passionate about. This not only showcases your expertise but can catch the eye of recruiters looking for someone like you.
✨Engage with Supply Chain Communities
Dive into online communities related to supply chain operations like forums or groups on Reddit and LinkedIn. Engaging in discussions can help you network, get advice, and you might even stumble upon some hidden job opportunities.
✨Apply through Our Website
When you spot a position at apetito, make sure to apply through our website directly. It's often the quickest way to get your application in front of the right people and show that you’re genuinely interested in the role of Continuous Improvement Analyst.
We think you need these skills to ace Continuous Improvement Analyst
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Supply Chain Savvy:Make sure to highlight your relevant experience in supply chain operations. Whether it’s managing logistics or coordinating with suppliers, we want to see examples of how you've navigated the complexities of the supply chain. Concrete achievements, like reducing costs or improving delivery times, will definitely catch our eye!
Quantify Your Impact:When listing your previous roles on your CV, go for numbers! Mention percentages or actual figures where possible—like how much you've improved efficiency or reduced waste. It's all about showing us the tangible impact you've made in your past positions in supply chain operations.
Tailor Your Cover Letter:In your cover letter, don’t just regurgitate your CV. Instead, connect your experiences specifically to the role at apetito. Share why you're passionate about supply chain operations and how this full-time role aligns with your career goals—I mean, who wouldn’t want to hear that!
Research and Reflect:Before you apply, take some time to research apetito and its supply chain operations. Reflect on how your skills and experiences can fit into their operations. Being able to discuss their challenges and how you can contribute to solving them in your application will really make you stand out!
How to prepare for a job interview at apetito
✨Know Your Basics in Supply Chain Management
Make sure you've got a solid grasp of key supply chain concepts like demand forecasting, inventory management, and logistics. We could be quizzed on these during technical rounds, so brush up on any software tools commonly used in the industry like SAP or Oracle. This knowledge will help us show we can hit the ground running!
✨Show Off Your Analytical Skills
Prepare to discuss real-world scenarios where you've used data analysis to solve supply chain challenges. If you've got experience with tools like Excel or Tableau, get ready to talk about how you've used these to optimise processes or improve efficiencies. Employers love seeing that we can turn data into actionable insights!
✨Highlight Your Teamwork and Project Management Skills
In a full-time role, collaboration is key. Think of examples where you've worked on cross-functional teams or managed projects. Sharing how you navigated challenges while working with diverse groups will show that we can thrive in a dynamic environment like at apetito.
✨Research Specific Challenges Faced by apetito
Look into any unique supply chain challenges apetito might be facing, whether it's sustainability, supplier relationships, or global disruptions. Being prepared to discuss these topics shows that we're not only informed but also genuinely interested in how we can contribute to their success. That’s a big plus in any interview!
