Continuous Improvement Manager in Widnes

As our Continuous Improvement Manager, you will play a key role in driving a culture of continuous optimisation across the business. You’ll lead a small team of Project Managers and Business Analysts, guiding the delivery of impactful improvement initiatives and ensuring best-in-class project and analysis standards. You’ll focus on enhancing the experience for our internal customers while identifying opportunities to reduce operational costs and streamline processes. By leveraging automation and eliminating unnecessary steps, you’ll help deliver smarter, more efficient ways of working. Championing continuous improvement principles, you’ll drive sustainable change and deliver measurable results across the organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership of the Continuous Improvement (CI) function, setting the direction, standards, and governance framework to deliver measurable business impact.
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team of Project Managers and Business Analysts, ensuring consistent delivery excellence and capability growth.
• Partner with senior leadership to shape and prioritise the CI roadmap, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy and key business objectives.
• Drive the end-to-end delivery of complex improvement programmes, ensuring pace, quality, and tangible value realisation.
• Establish and embed scalable CI frameworks, methodologies, and tools that enable sustainable, organisation-wide adoption.
• Act as a key escalation point, proactively removing barriers and making informed decisions to maintain delivery momentum.
• Champion simplification and standardisation across processes and systems to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and enhance stakeholder experience.
• Promote a strong continuous improvement culture through leadership, coaching, and visible role modelling of best practice.
• Ensure seamless alignment between business, IT, and wider transformation initiatives to drive integrated and effective delivery.
• Oversee strategic supplier and partner relationships, driving accountability, performance, and innovation.
• Leverage data, insight, and performance metrics to inform decision-making, track benefits realisation, and continuously improve outcomes.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Essential

• Leadership & Team Development – Proven experience leading and developing high-performing teams, with the ability to coach, inspire, and drive a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Continuous Improvement Expertise – Demonstrated success delivering and embedding CI initiatives that drive measurable business value.
• Governance & Delivery Oversight – Strong understanding of governance frameworks, with the ability to set controls and oversee complex programme delivery.
• Senior Stakeholder Engagement – Confident influencing and partnering with senior leaders to drive alignment, manage expectations, and deliver results.
• Project & Programme Delivery – Solid experience delivering projects and programmes using recognised methodologies (e.g. Agile, Prince2, Lean).
• Process Optimisation – Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify inefficiencies, simplify processes, and enhance operational performance.
• Data-Driven Decision Making – Experience using data, insights, and performance metrics to inform decisions and drive continuous improvement.
• Supplier & Partner Management – Experience managing third-party vendors, holding them accountable for performance, and driving continuous value.

Desirable

• SDLC Knowledge – Good understanding and practical exposure to the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC), supporting effective collaboration with IT and digital teams.

Benefits

• Health cash plan & virtual GP access.
• Pension scheme & life assurance.
• Employee referral scheme.
• High street discounts.
• Driver representatives & employee forum.
• Personal development opportunities.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Free eye tests.