Operations Analyst in Birmingham

About Xeal

Xeal Pharma is a Birmingham-based pharmaceutical manufacturer.

We manufacture human and veterinary Specials and Cannabis-Based Products for Medicinal Use (CBPMs) for patients and animals whose needs cannot be met by standard licensed medicines.

We work in a regulated environment where quality, accuracy and speed matter.

About the role

We’re looking for an Operations Analyst to build a clear, evidence-based view of how Xeal operates and turn it into better day-to-day execution.

Xeal is going through a period of evolution, so we are looking for someone who can work through ambiguity, get stuck in and solve practical problems as they arise.

You’ll work directly with Commercial, Customer Services, Supply Chain, Warehouse, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance, People and Technology teams.

You will map how work is currently performed, identify delays, errors, duplicate effort and control gaps, design practical workflows and take improvements through to implementation.

This is a hands-on strategy and operations role.

You will use data, systems and practical problem-solving to improve how work gets done, working directly with operational teams and the appropriate internal or external specialists where needed.

On the same day, you might observe a goods-in process, analyse a stock reconciliation, map a QA exception workflow and present an implementation decision to leadership.

• What you’ll be doing Process discovery and workflow improvement
• Building and maintaining a company-wide inventory of Xeal’s operational processes.
• Mapping each process as it actually operates, including its purpose, trigger, inputs, outputs, owner, roles, systems, data, hand-offs, approvals and controls.
• Capturing exceptions, workarounds, rework, queues, failure modes and undocumented steps, including anything missing from the written procedure.
• Working with the people who perform and supervise the work, observing processes where practical and validating maps against real examples.
• Mapping complete cross-functional journeys such as enquiry-to-order, order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, plan-to-produce, goods-in-to-release, inventory-to-dispatch, complaint-to-resolution and joiner-to-access.
• Designing simpler future workflows with clear ownership, business rules, system responsibilities, controls, exception paths, service levels and measurable outcomes.
• Converting agreed designs into requirements, implementation tasks, acceptance criteria, training needs, procedure changes and accountable owners.
• Data, systems and process improvement
• Using data, automation, reporting and workflow tools to improve operational processes and remove repetitive manual work.
• Analysing and reconciling operational data across orders, stock, purchasing, manufacturing, quality and finance.
• Working with technical colleagues, system suppliers and other specialists to define requirements, test solutions and implement improvements.
• Contributing to system integrations and data-migration work by defining business rules, validating outputs and managing operational risks.
• Building reliable datasets, dashboards, alerts and operational metrics that can be traced back to defined source data.
• Assessing whether a proposed change is safe and valuable before implementation, particularly where it affects Gx P records, patient supply, stock status, release decisions or financial control.
• Delivery and commercial ownership
• Prioritising problems by patient or compliance risk, operational impact, cost, effort and speed to value.
• Taking improvements from problem definition through design, build, testing, training, implementation and measurement.
• Supporting the selection and implementation of ERP/MRP, quality-management, reporting and workflow systems.
• Managing important technology and service vendors, setting performance measures, challenging delivery and negotiating commercial terms where required.
• Establishing useful KPIs, risk indicators and review routines so that teams can identify problems early and act on evidence.
• Escalating access, data-quality, resource or decision blockers early rather than allowing work to stall silently.
• Analytical and technical capability

You do need practical coding skills and must be comfortable using data and technology to solve operational problems, and working effectively with technical specialists when deeper development or integration support is required.

You should be able to demonstrate

• *Data and analysis:* confidence working with operational data and using tools such as SQL, Python, R, or similar to investigate problems and support decisions.
• *Process improvement:* the ability to design practical workflows, define requirements and evaluate whether a change has delivered the intended outcome.
• *Systems and automation:* an understanding of how automation, integrations and reporting can improve operations, including the importance of validation, controls and clear ownership.
• *Communication:* the ability to explain a problem, recommendation, risk and business outcome to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• What you’ll need
• At least two years’ experience in operations, strategy, consulting, business improvement, product operations or another analytical role in a fast-paced environment.
• A strong record of owning complex, cross-functional work from an unclear problem through implementation and measurable result.
• Practical process-discovery and workflow-design experience, including exceptions, controls and root-cause analysis.
• Strong analytical judgement and confidence working with incomplete, inconsistent or poor-quality operational data.
• The ability to break complex problems into smaller deliverables and prioritise by impact, risk, dependency and effort.
• Confidence working directly with warehouse, manufacturing, quality, finance, commercial and leadership teams.
• Clear written and verbal communication, attention to detail, curiosity and personal accountability.
• A strong academic record or equivalent evidence of analytical ability.
• Nice to have
• Experience in pharmaceuticals, life sciences, medical devices, food, aerospace, financial services or another regulated industry.
• An understanding of GMP, Gx P, data integrity, audit trails, validation and controlled change.
• Experience selecting or implementing ERP, MRP, e QMS, document-management or reporting systems.
• Experience with BPMN, SIPOC, value-stream mapping, RACI, Lean, Six Sigma or similar methods.
• Experience with Jira, Confluence, dashboard platforms and integration or workflow tools.
• Vendor performance management and commercial negotiation experience.
• What good looks like

You give Xeal a reliable view of how work moves across the company, including the systems, data, controls and people involved.

Teams have clear workflows and ownership.

Recurring reconciliations and reports are automated.

Operational data is trusted.

Problems are identified earlier.

Improvements move beyond recommendations and become working changes with measurable results.

Hiring process

The relevant operational, process, analytical and technical knowledge and practical skills required for the role will be assessed during the hiring process.

_Xeal Pharma is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences._

_Please note no sponsorship will be provided for this role._

Benefits: * Free parking * On-site parking

Work Location: In person