Operational Excellence Lead (f/m/d)

Takeda · Oranienburg · €114,400–€157,300 (stated in the posting)

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Job Description

Make History. Change Futures.

Are you looking for a patient-oriented, innovation-driven company that inspires you and promotes your career? Then take your future in your hands and become part of Takeda as

Operational Excellence Lead (f/m/d)

with focus on Lean Manufacturing & Business Performance

As part of the Business Excellence team in Oranienburg, you will lead the site’s Lean transformation with a clear mandate: deliver measurable operational and financial improvements and build a culture where continuous improvement is embedded in daily work. You will guide a team of Operational Excellence Champions, partner with site leadership, and ensure that Lean initiatives directly support the site’s strategic priorities and COP (Core Operating Profit) targets.

How you will contribute:

Lead the Lean Transformation & Deliver Results

• Own the implementation and sustainability of Lean Manufacturing, ensuring every initiative is tied to clear business outcomes such as cost reduction, productivity gains, improved flow, and quality performance.
• Lead and develop a team of six Lean/Operational Excellence Champions, setting expectations for quantifiable impact and holding the team accountable for delivering results.
• Drive strong engagement with the Senior Leadership Team and site employees by clearly communicating how Lean activities contribute to operational performance and financial targets.
• Translate the Site Strategy into a Lean roadmap with measurable KPIs, milestones, and expected value creation.
• Ensure Lean projects are properly resourced and prioritized based on business impact.
• Deliver improvement waves (e.g., Kaizen events, value stream transformations, SMED workshops) that produce tangible, validated performance improvements.
• Strengthen KPI management: define meaningful targets, ensure data integrity, and drive regular performance reviews using Lean visual management and problem‑solving routines.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner closely with Quality to execute Lean projects that improve compliance, reduce deviations, and enhance right‑first‑time performance.
• Align Lean practices with regional and global standards, ensuring the site contributes to and benefits from shared best practices.
• Promote active participation in Lean Communities of Practice to accelerate learning and standardization.

Lean Roadmap & Strategy Deployment

• Co‑create a balanced, impact‑oriented Lean roadmap with site and functional leaders, ensuring alignment with annual business objectives.
• Integrate all Lean workstreams (problem solving, visual management, standard work, TPM, flow optimization) and highlight cross‑functional synergies.
• Support strategy deployment (Hoshin Kanri) to ensure improvement activities directly support site priorities and performance commitments.

Coaching & Capability Building

• Build Lean capabilities across the site through structured training, coaching, and on‑the‑floor support, ensuring teams can independently sustain improvements.
• Coach Lean leadership behaviors (Gemba, daily management, structured problem solving) to strengthen accountability and performance ownership.
• Foster a culture where employees proactively identify waste, solve problems, and contribute to measurable improvements.

What you bring to Takeda:

• Master’s degree in a technical field or business required.
• Deep, hands-on experience in project deployment, with demonstrated project results.
• Extensive experience in a Quality, Supply, Supply Chain, or Operations environment required; experience in the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, or life sciences industry is desirable.
• Demonstrated passion for challenging the status quo and a self-driven approach to improving the business.
• Courage of conviction and openness to critical feedback.
• A positive, resilient leader, comfortable networking and connecting with people.
• Strong program management capabilities.
• Exceptional coaching, teaching, presentation (oral and written), and facilitation skills.
• Courage to make difficult decisions and/or recommendations.
• Ability and confidence to provide coaching and feedback at all levels of the organization, including superiors.
• Excellent listening skills and emotional intelligence.
• A systematic thinker with strong knowledge of business processes.
• Flexible and learning-agile, with the ability to assimilate new knowledge and standards quickly.
• Advanced knowledge of lean management and problem-solving methodologies (Lean  Six Sigma…etc).
• Fluent written and spoken English, with strong presentation skills.
• German language is a plus but is not required to be successful in this role.

In this position you will report to the Head of Business Excellence.

What we offer you:

• Attractive and competitive salary
• Hybrid working model (depending on the position)
• 30 vacation days
• Company pension plan
• Further education and training
• Subsidized sports programs
• Subsidized canteen
• Trusted working hours (“Vertrauensarbeitszeit”)
• Employee discounts
• Performance-related bonus
• Long-term account with various possible uses
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Disability insurance
• Group accident insurance
• Deferred compensation as desired
• Global Wellbeing Program
• Employee Recognition Program
• Employee Referral Program
• Interactive online courses for employees' children
• Parent Child Office
• Open-minded and modern working environment

About Us:

Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines.

The Oranienburg manufacturing site in the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region is the Takeda site with the most employees for the production of solid dosage forms (capsules and tablets). The site also houses a pilot production facility for clinical development projects. Pharmaceutical manufacturing in Oranienburg can look back on a tradition of more than 135 years. Today, we supply over 65 countries with high-quality medicines from Oranienburg. Takeda Oranienburg is a regionally significant employer and has recently been awarded the independent Great Place to Work certificate. The site is characterized by its long company history and excellent opportunities for further development.

How we will support you:

Takeda is proud of its commitment to create a diverse workforce and to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship status, genetic information or characteristics, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you are living with disabilities, chronic illness, or neurodiversity, please feel free to let us know so that we can provide you with appropriate support during the application process.

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Base Salary Range:

The estimated salary range reflects an anticipated range for this position. The actual base salary offered may depend on a variety of factors, including the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, specific and unique skills, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.

For information about our benefits, please click here.

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