Operational Excellence Specialist - Corporate

Hovione is an independent family owned international group of companies. From the beginning, we have set ourselves above and apart through our innovative technological and productive capabilities, reaching a top spot in the world market as an integrated Contract Development and Manufacturing Company dedicated to helping Pharmaceutical Customers bring new and off-patent drugs to market.

Our people are the main asset for our continued success. Reaching over 1950 team members, from 36 different nationalities, that are located across Asia, Europe and North America (Portugal, US, Macao, Ireland, China, Hong Kong, Japan, India, and Switzerland), including 4 production sites.

Working at Hovione means reaching for innovation and excellence in everything we do: for our clients, our partners and, above all, our patients. That is why we are In it for life.

• Establish annual plans for improvement in accordance with past performance and company strategic goals;
• Define long term targets for Business Transformation Implementation;
• Mentor and facilitate teams that are implementing projects and problem solving;
• Coach functional area teams in their daily communication meetings, ensuring that defined methods are properly used in all areas;
• Coach Lean Leaders and/or Six Sigma Green Belts;
• Develop Operational Excellence Training Program and run training sessions across all levels of the company;
• Develop a Continuous Improvement (CI) process in the plant that is visible to all e.g. through indicators, working methods and visual management;
• Lead projects that result in major business process improvements for the company;
• Track and report project results to management, internally and externally;
• Work closely with Project Sponsor and Operational Excellence Director to continuously review process and to eliminate barriers in projects;
• Ensure that process improvements stay in place over time and assure their sustainability;
• Develop site culture initiatives to establish and maintain the operational excellence culture;
• Support the execution of Operational Excellence Maturity Assessment and other benchmarking exercises;
• Manage complex projects with significant impact on business;
• Make quality and timely decisions based on multiple sources of data.

• University, or equivalent, qualification in a field of Science or Engineering or similar scientific field (mandatory);
• Lean and 6 Sigma training equivalent to Lean Expert level and/or Six Sigma Black Belt;
• Project Management qualification (preferred);
• Typically requires 4-5 years of relevant experience in Industry related Continuous Improvement Initiatives and in the application of cGMP´s, ICH/CFR guidelines, ISO Norms and Industrial Safety guidelines;
• Preferably with experience in:
  • Lean tools and techniques (5s, Standardized Work, problem solving, kaizen, process mapping, Poka Yoke, debottlenecking, SMED);
  • Facilitation in Continuous Improvement Methodologies like PDCA, DMAIC or similarStatistical analysis;
  • Defining and Managing Metrics and KPIs;
  • Defining and Managing Governance Models;
  • Process Plant Support.
• Lead improvement projects across different areas of the organization;
• Advanced knowledge of Quality, Process Optimization, GMP´s, ICH/CFR guidelines, ISO Norms and Industrial Safety guidelines and Regulatory Affairs with the ability to solve complex problems;
• Knowledge and application of statistical tools;
• Strong trainer skills;
• Fluency in English is a requirement;
• Computer literate with good working knowledge of the MS Office package.

Hovione is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer

Inclusion and diversity are key to us. At Hovione, that means a work environment where differences are valued, and everyone is treated with fairness and respect. We want all our team members worldwide to feel supported, respected, and have the opportunity to achieve their full potential, regardless of their age, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.