Process Optimisation Lead

Let’s be unstoppable together!

At Circana, we are fuelled by our passion for continuous learning and growth, we seek and share feedback freely, and we celebrate victories both big and small in an environment that is flexible and accommodating to our work and personal lives. We have a global commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as we believe in the undeniable strength that diversity brings to our business, employees, clients, and communities. With us, you can always bring your full self to work. Join our inclusive, committed team to be a challenger, own outcomes, and stay curious together.

Circana is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work®. This prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Circana.

Learn more at www.circana.com.

So, why Circana?

We’re progressive, inclusive and people focused. We seek to create a down-to-earth culture which balances work and home life and enables our team to be the best that it can be. Our people are important to us, and we offer a number of fantastic benefits including;

• Flexible and hybrid working
• Up to 5 weeks annual leave and holiday buy back scheme
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• Birthday leave
• Summer half days
• Circana “Me” Days (4 per year!)
• Cultural swap days

What will you be doing?

You will be responsible for leading, prioritising, and delivering improvements and optimisations across automation, AI enablement, process redesign, and advanced scripting. Working collaboratively with internal departments, you will translate great ideas into measurable, repeatable results in rapid 4-6 week cycles.

The role also involves leading and coaching a direct report, who will drive day to day execution, making sure each initiative moves forward with clarity, speed, and precision.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the implementation roadmap for all efficiency initiatives across Operations, ensuring a holistic view of the end-to-end value chain across all departments
• Develop prioritisation frameworks to identify the highest ROI opportunities across automation, AI, ML, workflow redesign, and tooling
• Partner with senior leaders to shape an end-to-end view of business efficiency, from Delivery through to Commercial teams
• Establish clear governance, reporting, and communication rhythms for efficiency workstreams
• Lead a matrixed team across Operations to deliver efficiency improvements at pace
• Collaborate with vertical leads, data teams, and platform teams to ensure solutions are scalable, embedded, and sustainable
• Provide hands on analytical, process, and strategic support as needed to accelerate delivery
• Guide and oversee technical execution done by the Process Optimisation Specialist and other contributors (Python, Power Automate, Copilot Agents, API automation, workflow engineering, etc.)
• Assess feasibility, risk, and implementation effort for technical solutions
• Ensure all deployments follow best practice for automation, testing, documentation, and change management
• Quantify baseline, savings, productivity uplift, or risk reduction for every initiative
• Track and report cumulative benefits of the efficiency program
• Ensure all projects deliver measurable value within 4–6 weeks
• Chair the Micro Efficiency & AI Implementation Working Groups, bringing together subject matter experts and operational leaders.
• Build a culture of continuous improvement, experimentation, and responsible use of AI and automation

Requirements

• Strong experience (5+ years) in operations optimisation, process improvement, automation, or transformation
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross functional teams and drive change without direct authority
• Proven ability to prioritise initiatives based on business value, impact, and effort
• Excellent problem solving, analytical thinking, and structured, clear communication
• Comfortable working with technical concepts across Python, automation tools, AI/LLMs, workflow engineering, or data pipelines

Desirable

• Experience in AI/ML implementation, low code automation, and agent-based workflows.
• Exposure to continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile)
• Background in a high growth, complex operations environment
• Prior leadership, mentoring, or coaching experience

Circana Behaviours

As well as the technical skills, experience and attributes that are required for the role, our shared behaviours sit at the core of our organization. Therefore, we always look for people who can continuously champion these behaviours throughout the business within their day-to-day role:

• Stay Curious: Being hungry to learn and grow, always asking the big questions
• Seek Clarity: Embracing complexity to create clarity and inspire action
• Own the Outcome: Being accountable for decisions and taking ownership of our choices
• Centre on the Client: Relentlessly adding value for our customers
• Be a Challenger: Never complacent, always striving for continuous improvement
• Champion Inclusivity: Fostering trust in relationships engaging with empathy, respect and integrity
•  Commit to each other: Contributing to making Circana a great place to work for everyone

Ready to make an impact?

If you're passionate about data, thrive in a collaborative environment, and want to be part of a company that values your growth—we’d love to hear from you!

Apply now and let’s build something great together.

If you require accessibility support or would like to request reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to reach out to us at [email protected]

Prospective candidates may be asked to consent to background checks (in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice). Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission.