Job Description

Location : Cookstown
Job Ref: UDF/2025/487
Employment : Full-Time Permanent
Closing Date : 31 August 2025 05:00 pm

Dale Farm Cooperative is a UK dairy farmer co-operative owned by over 1200 dairy farmers who supply us with fresh milk. Dale Farm has operations throughout the UK and Ireland producing and distributing a wide range of dairy products which it sells across the UK and Ireland as well as exporting to over 45 countries worldwide.


At Dale Farm virtually every career discipline is represented in our workforce, from production, engineering and distribution, to sales & marketing and food technology/quality assurance, to Finance, HR and IT through to general management. Our standards are high and when we recruit we are looking for those with energy and drive, who are keen for responsibility and motivated to succeed with a record of achievement and with the potential to develop as the company grows.

Culture

Our culture is based on setting best in class standards, working to-wards and delivering on committed objectives, striving for constant improvement and involving everyone in the company. We strive to develop our people and harness everyone's contribution to deliver a winning team.

Equal Opportunities

The company is an Equal Opportunities employer and is committed to a safe, inclusive and relationship based workspace.

Benefits

In return, we offer a high degree of responsibility, plenty of challenge, good opportunities for learning and personal development and rewarding benefit packages, all within a fast moving and results oriented environment.

Business Improvement Site Lead - Dunman

Are you an analytical thinker with a passion for process improvement and a knack for turning complex data into clear solutions? We're looking for a

Business Improvement Site-Lead

to join our team at the Dale Farm site in Dunman.

About the Role

Reporting to the Business Improvement Manager, within the Group Supply Chain function, this role is a unique opportunity to become a key player in our site's digital transformation. You'll start by immersing yourself in our core operations -- from milk intake through bulk cheese production to retail cheese cutting and despatch. Gaining understanding of or processes and taking ownership of our existing Excel solutions. This hands-on experience will give you a detailed working understanding of our processes, embedding you as onsite support and setting you up for success in the next phase of your journey with us.


As you grow into the role, you'll transition into a lead position on our digitalisation project. You will use your newfound operational knowledge to help Dale Farm shape and implement future-state automation, moving us away from paper and Excel solutions, towards a streamlined, integrated, data-driven environment. Your insights will be crucial in defining the next stage of our digitalisation efforts, with the ultimate goal of scaling these improvements across all of Dale Farm sites.

Your responsibilities will include:

Improving & maintaining Excel solutions

to provide site teams with effective and usable data, to aid decision making.

Collaborating with onsite teams

to identify their information needs and clarify requirements.

Automating data collection and reporting

by working with site, IT, OT, and the business improvement team.

Coordinating and supporting detailed process mapping

of all operations, focusing on current practices, information flows, system gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

Developing and mapping next-generation processes

in collaboration with stakeholders across the business.

Supporting the testing and training

of site teams on new systems to ensure successful adoption.

Reviewing new systems

to ensure they are fully embedded and delivering value.

Streamlining workflows

from the site throughout the rest of the business.

About You

The Essential

Education/Experience

The successful candidate should be educated to degree level and will have 2+ years' relevant experience within a manufacturing or process improvement-based role. Alternatively, in the absence of a degree, the successful candidate will have obtained 3+ years' experience within a manufacturing business, focusing on process improvement through implementing system-based solutions.

Key Skills

Strong teamwork, interpersonal and communication skills. Proven project management and organisational skills. A methodical and proactive approach to problem-solving. A keen desire to learn about production systems and processes. The drive to challenge existing processes and find better ways of working. Exceptional IT skills, especially with Excel, including the ability to create, update, and improve complex spreadsheets. An analytical mindset with the capability to manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.

Desirable

The following criteria is not essential, but would be advantageous:

At least 2 years of relevant operational experience in an FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) environment. Working knowledge of Microsoft NAV, Business Central, Principal Index WMS, Power BI, Azure DevOps and Power Automate. Experience with Lean tools such as Six Sigma and DMAIC.

If you're ready to take on a dynamic role that will shape the future of our operations, we'd love to hear from you.





We promote an open and supportive culture which is based on our core values

Teamwork | Positivity | Resolve | Ambition | Curiosity | Accountability

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Sunday 31st August 2025

.

Please apply

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer