Operational Continuous Improvement Lead in St Albans

The Operations Continuous Improvement Lead is responsible for supporting the delivery of Costa’s operational continuous improvement agenda through the testing, validation, implementation and optimisation of operational processes, systems and standards across the UK&I business.

At Costa Coffee, we are what we craft. We’re reimagining coffee experiences in over 50 countries and counting, as a key part of the Coca-Cola System. Our teams make a difference, whether that’s working on new tech for the perfect pour, helping our teams grow, creating award-winning campaigns, crunching the numbers, or developing the latest exciting menu item; together, we stir up success.

We may be a global brand, but we haven’t forgotten our roots. That’s where the Costa Foundation and our fantastic community agenda come in. Whatever your role, you can help us change lives in coffee growing communities and help your local community too. We also want to help you grow in your career through amazing experiences, our apprenticeship scheme, and development programmes.

As one of our Continuous Improvement Leads, there’s never been a better time to make a difference. We didn’t become a global coffee brand by sitting back. When you work here, you join a community that values passion, progression and integrity, with some pretty brilliant perks to sweeten the deal:

• Own a piece of Costa’s success by becoming a share owner in Coca-Cola with our Share Investment Plan (SIP).
• A smart pension that saves you money on tax and national insurance, and matches your contributions up to 10%.
• The Costa Financial Support Fund, supporting team members who find themselves in unexpected financial pressure.
• 50% discount in all Costa-owned stores, and 25% off in other participating stores.
• Private medical cover thanks to our Private Healthcare scheme.

We’re passionate about being a great place to work, where you can bring your unique self into our mix. We firmly support diversity, equity and inclusion, and continue to work with our teams to shape the future of our culture and values: Disciplined to Deliver, Passion for Progress, Win with Warmth, Courage to Challenge and Trusted Team Players.

What you’ll do:

Being an Operational Continuous Improvement Lead is about so much more than bringing our coffee to the world. It’s your chance to stir up real success - which means you’ll be:

• Supporting delivery of the Operational Continuous Improvement roadmap, leading field-based testing and validation of improvements to ensure solutions are practical, scalable and deliver measurable operational benefit.
• Applying Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to review processes, identify opportunities for simplification and standardisation, and develop robust business cases that support successful execution across operational environments.
• Designing and leading operational pilots to test, evaluate and refine process, system and standard changes, using operational feedback and performance data to inform decisions.
• Assessing implementation readiness and risk, providing evidence-based recommendations to support successful rollout and adoption across operational environments.
• Coaching and supporting operational leaders to identify improvement opportunities, facilitate problem-solving and embed a culture of continuous improvement across the operational network.
• Analysing operational data and root causes to identify improvement opportunities, develop action plans and validate benefits against agreed success measures.
• Analysing operational performance, identifying root causes and improvement opportunities, and measuring the impact of solutions against agreed business outcomes.

Who you are:

It’s your unique ingredients we’re interested in:

• Expert in Continuous Improvement methodologies, retail/hospitality operations, process optimisation, KPI-driven performance improvement and change management.
• Lean Six Sigma certified professional with strong facilitation, process improvement, root cause analysis and stakeholder influencing expertise.
• Analytical and highly effective communicator, capable of leading workshops, driving change and working independently across multiple operational locations.
• Proven track record delivering continuous improvement programmes, operational pilots and measurable business benefits through Lean methodologies, stakeholder influencing and cross-functional collaboration.
• Ideally knowledge of operational systems, technology platforms, labour and productivity drivers, with an understanding of project management methodologies and operational performance improvement.
• Ideally advanced data analysis skills, project management expertise and experience using operational improvement tools to drive performance and continuous improvement.
• Ideally experience in retail, hospitality or service operations, supporting large-scale transformation programmes across operational and support centre environments, with advanced Continuous Improvement expertise (Black Belt or equivalent).

Where you’ll work: Field based with the expectation of 3 days out in the business.