Director of Operational Excellence

*This is a relocation opportunity requiring onsite work in Malta.*
This is a high-impact leadership role created to support the company's transformation from a smaller business into a large, internationally structured organisation.
The Director of Operational Excellence & Transformation will establish and lead the company-wide Operational Excellence strategy, introduce global best practices, and standardise processes across multiple business units, countries, and functions. The scope includes operational and corporate functions such as operations, sales, digital, finance, and other support areas.
The successful candidate will have already led large-scale, company-wide transformation programmes within a well-established global organisation and delivered measurable improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality, and profitability.
The role will build an Operational Excellence team focused on execution and implementation and will also oversee the existing FP&A team, which will support financial analysis and impact measurement. As the function is being established, the Director will need to be strategic while remaining hands‐on during the initial stage.
Responsibilities

Define and lead the company-wide Operational Excellence and transformation strategy across multiple functions, countries, and business entities
Introduce global best practices and standardise processes, KPIs, governance, and ways of working across the organisation
Lead enterprise-wide operational and digital transformation programmes from strategy through implementation
Build and lead the Operational Excellence team, initially working hands‐on to establish the function and accelerate execution
Oversee and develop the existing FP&A team, using financial analysis to measure and validate the business impact of transformation initiatives
Analyse processes, workflows, and performance data to identify opportunities for improvement across both operational and corporate functions
Define company-wide KPIs and work plans covering efficiency, productivity, quality, cost, profitability, and service performance
Lead cross-functional process optimisation, automation, cost reduction, and productivity initiatives
Work with functional and business leaders to implement changes and ensure successful adoption across the organisation
Establish governance and performance-monitoring frameworks to ensure improvements deliver measurable and sustainable results
Prepare executive-level reports and dashboards that provide actionable insights and track transformation progress

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Operations Management, Engineering, Finance, Business, or a related field
6+ years of experience in Operational Excellence, business transformation, or continuous improvement
10+ years of people‐management experience, including at least 3 years at Director level
Proven experience building, leading, or restructuring teams and Operational Excellence capabilities
Demonstrated success leading company-wide transformation programmes from strategy through execution, with measurable outcomes
Experience gained within a large, mature global organisation with established international processes and best practices
Operational Excellence experience covering multiple functions/industries (not limited to a production or manufacturing site)
Experience standardising processes across multiple countries, sites, business units, or legal entities
Experience in digital transformation, process automation, or technology-enabled operational improvement
Background in an operationally complex industry such as logistics, transportation, FMCG, manufacturing, industrial products, or technology hardware
Experience in banking, insurance, consulting, or other predominantly service‐based industries alone will not be considered sufficient
A dynamic, proactive, assertive, and execution‐focused leadership style
Willingness and ability to relocate to Malta

What the company offers
This is an opportunity to build an Operational Excellence function from the ground up, define the transformation strategy of a growing international organisation, and work directly with executive leadership. The role offers significant influence over how the company operates, scales, and measures performance across the group.
No sponsorship at the moment. Onsite work. Permanent role.