Operations Continuous Improvement Manager

The Operations Continuous Improvement Manager will lead, design and deliver continuous improvement initiatives across Costa’s retail operations, simplifying ways of working, improving efficiency and embedding sustainable, standardised processes that enhance both partner experience and customer outcome.

At Costa Coffee, we are what we craft. We’re reimagining coffee experiences in over 50 countries and counting, as a key part of the Coca-Cola System. Whether you get your coffee in a store, from a machine, at home, or on the go – we’ve got you covered.

Our teams make a difference. Whether that’s working on new tech for the perfect pour, helping our teams grow, creating award-winning campaigns, crunching the numbers, or developing the latest exciting menu item; together, we stir up success.

We may be a global brand, but we haven’t forgotten our roots. That’s where the Costa Foundation and our fantastic community agenda come in. Whatever your role, you can help us change lives in coffee growing communities and help your local community too.

We also want to help you grow in your career through amazing experiences, our apprenticeship scheme, and development programmes. At Costa, you can go beyond the day-to-day.

As our Continuous Improvement Manager, there’s never been a better time to make a difference,

So, why Costa?

We didn’t become a global coffee brand by sitting back. When you work here, you join a community that values passion, progression and integrity, with some pretty brilliant perks to sweeten the deal:

  • Own a piece of Costa’s success by becoming a share owner in Coca-Cola with our Share Investment Plan (SIP)
  • A smart pension that saves you money on tax and national insurance, and matches your contributions up to 10%
  • The Costa Financial Support Fund, supporting team members who find themselves in unexpected financial pressure
  • 50% discount in all Costa-owned stores, and 25% off in other participating stores
  • Private medical cover thanks to our Private Healthcare scheme
  • And that’s not all. Explore even more of our perks here: https://bit.ly/costaperks
We’re passionate about being a great place to work, where you can bring your unique self into our mix. We firmly support diversity, equity and inclusion, and continue to work with our teams to shape the future of our culture and values: Disciplined to Deliver, Passion for Progress, Win with Warmth, Courage to Challenge and Trusted Team Players.

What you’ll do

Being a Continuous Improvement Manager is about so much more than bringing our coffee to the world. It’s your chance to stir up real success - which means you’ll be:
  • Act as a subject matter expert in continuous improvement and lean thinking, to identify root causes of operational challenges and translate back into practical, scalable solutions.
  • Apply CI methodology and problem-solving tools to reduce waste, variation and complexity in retail operations.
  • Use data and insight to diagnose root causes, track impact and sustain improvements.
  • Connect CI outcomes directly to commercial outcomes including productivity, sales, waste, availability and customer experience.
  • Seek out and apply best practice from the retail and hospitality industry to allow you to lead change by influencing stakeholders across field, central and senior leadership teams.
  • Lead and develop a team of 2 direct reports, building capability, engagement and subject matter expertise across the team
Who you are It’s your unique ingredients we’re interested in:
  • Experienced in driving operational excellence and continuous improvement across retail and multi-site environments through process standardisation, transformation and lean methodologies.
  • Proven track record leading improvement teams and delivering sustainable change that enhances efficiency, consistency and operational performance.
  • Strong problem solver with the ability to turn data into actionable insight, communicate and influence effectively across all levels, and coach teams through change.
  • Highly organised and delivery-focused, with proven success leading end-to-end improvement initiatives and collaborating across complex matrix environments.
  • Proven track record delivering measurable operational improvement and commercial impact across complex, multi-site environments.
  • Experienced leading cross-functional teams, pilots and improvement programmes, while building capability and driving change at pace.
  • Ideally a formal Continuous Improvement/Lean qualification, with hospitality or QSR experience and a strong understanding of operational excellence best practice and emerging industry trends
  • Retail, hospitality or consumer-facing operational experience coupled with experience embedding CI capability in others
Where you’ll work: Field based with the expectation of 3 days out in the business.

For any reasonable adjustments and general queries, please get in touch with costa.recruitment@costacoffee.com

Back to blog

Other Jobs To Apply

No other job posts for this day.

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...