Senior Professional Operational Excellence

About Umicore

Powering the cars of today and tomorrow. Reducing harmful emissions. Giving unique properties to high-end applications. Giving new life to used metals. As a global advanced materials and recycling group, we develop, produce, and recycle materials for a better life.

About Precious Metals Refining

The world’s resources are scarce. Umicore’s refining and recycling technology gives used metals a new lease of life. We are experts in treating the most complex materials from around the world. Our processes help bring value to the circular economy and reduce environmental impacts. To recover more metal from different types of material we cannot stand still. We need to find new ways to do things, discover new solutions and develop new processes. Which is where you come in.

As a Senior Professional Operational Excellence (previously known as PIM, Process Improvement Manager), you drive and structure improvements of operational performance through advanced data analysis and process optimization, focusing on scalable and sustainable business impact beyond local initiatives. You analyze and optimize end-to-end processes, leveraging data to identify structural inefficiencies, quantify improvement potential, and support fact-based decision making. You translate insights into concrete actions that  enhance performance, quality, and cost efficiency. You apply structured Operational Excellence methodologies to solve complex, multi-dimensional operational challenges, combining analytical rigor with a pragmatic implementation mindset.

Your Key Accountabilities

• Analyze operational and process performance, identifying trends, root causes, and improvement potential
• Ensure data quality and consistency, enabling reliable analysis and decision making
• Structure and solve complex problems by defining hypotheses, analytical approaches, and conclusions
• Develop and apply performance metrics and KPIs to support monitoring and optimization
• Translate insights into actionable process improvements, linking analysis to operational execution to realize measurable and sustainable business impact
• Standardize and scale improvements into repeatable practices and methodologies
• Support the deployment of Continuous Improvement practices within the organization by proactively initiating, structuring, and improving continuous improvement initiatives
• Act as a reference point for Operational Excellence, raising capability standards within the team

Who we are looking for

• You hold a master’s degree in engineering, Applied/Industrial Sciences, or a related field
• You have several years of experience in operational or industrial environments – preferably in a metallurgical context, with a strong focus on data-driven process improvement
• You have a solid understanding of Operational Excellence frameworks and tools (Lean, Six Sigma, continuous improvement)
• You have experience with process mapping, process design, and KPI development to optimize processes and evaluate performance
• You can structure complex problems independently and translate them into analytical approaches and solutions
• You demonstrate advanced analytical skills and can interpret complex datasets, test hypotheses, and derive actionable insights to generate operational impact
• You contribute to knowledge sharing & mentoring, raising standards within the team
• You are fluent in English (Dutch is a strong asset)

You are an experienced Operational Excellence Professional with a strong focus on data-driven decision making and structured problem solving. You go beyond executing improvements by translating analysis into action and measurable performance impact at BU level. Your analytical depth, combined with a pragmatic mindset, enables you to tackle complex challenges and deliver sustainable improvements across operations.

What we offer

We aim to lead the way. Not just for our customers, but for our employees too. That is why we strive to create a collaborative environment in which we can all succeed, and a culture through which we can all share ideas, develop our expertise and advance our careers. We engage in building an inclusive work culture that offers equal opportunities for all employees irrespective of their diverse backgrounds. As you would expect from a world-leading organisation, we will also reward your contribution with a competitive salary and benefits. With all this and more, imagine what you could do?