Interim Operational Excellence Director (m/f) – Food manufacturing
Make improvements the organisation can sustain and develop after you leave.
The assignment and starting situation
A food manufacturing company in Lower Saxony wants a more systematic approach to operational improvement. It is seeking an Interim Operational Excellence Director who connects methods with practical delivery. You work with leaders and teams on real process problems and establish a clear focus. Not every issue requires a major programme. What matters is understanding causes, selecting effective actions and embedding better ways of working in daily operations.
Your brief
Your brief is a prioritised improvement programme with clear ownership and visible effects. You examine processes with teams, test assumptions and support implementation. Lean and structured problem-solving methods are used where they fit the task. You also develop the organisation’s ability to recognise deviations and continue making improvements independently.
Your responsibilities
- Analyse processes with stakeholders and define improvement opportunities clearly.
- Prioritise initiatives by impact, feasibility and dependencies.
- Help leaders and teams apply appropriate improvement methods.
- Connect actions with metrics to assess progress and unintended effects.
- Transfer working methods, knowledge and responsibilities so improvements can continue.
- Develop simple standards with teams and check after implementation whether they are used and solve the original problem.
Your experience
- Experience in operational excellence, lean management or comparable transformation work.
- A demonstrable track record of implementing process improvements in operational settings.
- Strong methodological skills and the ability to engage teams and leaders in change.
- Business-fluent German, good English.
Your scope of responsibility
You work within an explicitly agreed mandate. Leadership scope, budget responsibility and decision authority are defined in the briefing. The title alone does not grant unrestricted powers. What matters is taking ownership, making decisions transparent and involving the appropriate stakeholders promptly when priorities conflict.
What should remain after your assignment
The intended outcome is validated improvement, usable standards and leaders who maintain the agreed improvement cadence. Handover includes methods, responsibilities and open experiments. Results are compared with the starting position; short-term gains must not hide disadvantages for quality, safety or other process steps.
Assignment arrangements
- Industry: Food manufacturing
- Region: Lower Saxony
- Start: By agreement
- Planned duration: 6–9 months
- Commitment: 3–4 days per week
- Working arrangement: At least 3 days on site; remaining time by agreement
- Travel: Up to 20% travel within Germany
- Engagement model: independent interim assignment. Commercial terms and the specific engagement are agreed before starting.
Working with DP
Dümpelfeld Partners supports selection and the assignment through personal dialogue. The client remains anonymous in the public advert. Apply with your CV and, if you wish, add your availability and experience from comparable assignments. No cover letter or account is required. We share your full CV with the client only with your explicit consent for that disclosure. Joining the talent pool is optional and is not a condition of this application. Contact [email protected] with questions about the role.
Frequently asked questions
Is a specific Lean or Six Sigma certification mandatory?
No particular certification is stipulated. Strong methods and demonstrated implementation experience are what matter.
Does the role take line responsibility for production?
The focus is the improvement programme and building organisational capability. Additional line authority would need to be agreed explicitly.
Apply for this assignment
No account and no cover letter required. The role and reference number are included automatically.
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