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Lead Business Improvement Analyst

Manchester

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Job ID 1060147 Job Category Change Management and Continuous Improvement Hours per Week 37.5 Salary WL5

Date posted 10/16/2025

Please note this is an OD vacancy. This means that only impacted at risk colleagues will be considered in the recruitment process, please therefore ensure you answer yes when asked this screening question. Anyone who applies that is not at risk will either have their application declined, or if the vacancy remains unfilled, will be considered following a round of internal and external advertising.

Purpose	Leads business improvement analysis across Co-op’s transformation and operational change activity, ensuring data-driven insight and process excellence are at the heart of how we improve. Shapes, plans, and delivers high-quality analytical and process improvement work to drive performance, efficiency, and member value. Provides leadership, direction, and support to Business Improvement Analysts, ensuring that insight and analysis contribute effectively to our strategic priorities and transformation outcomes.
Reports to	Lead Business Improvement Analyst	Line Manager of	Business Improvement Analyst
Contribution	Strategy & Insight Leadership Partner with business leaders and transformation colleagues to define the analytical approach to process and performance improvement. Translate strategic goals into measurable improvement initiatives, ensuring a clear link between data, insight, and operational outcomes. Lead the design and execution of analytical work packages that identify root causes, quantify opportunities, and evidence the impact of improvement. Provide insight to support decision-making, investment cases, and prioritisation within the transformation portfolio. Ensure alignment between improvement activity, operating model design, and business strategy. Continuous Improvement & Delivery Lead on the development and delivery of business improvement initiatives using Lean Six Sigma and other recognised methodologies. Oversee diagnostic and problem-solving activity, ensuring that improvement work addresses root causes and delivers sustainable change. Manage and quality-assure analysis outputs from Business Improvement Analysts, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and impact. Drive standardisation and best practice in analytical approaches, tools, and templates across the improvement community. Track and measure benefits from improvement work, ensuring that outcomes contribute to member value and Co-op’s performance goals. Team Leadership & Capability Development Lead and develop Business Improvement Analysts, providing coaching, feedback, and professional development support. Foster a culture of curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement within the team. Create opportunities for analysts to stretch and grow their capability through community learning, project exposure, and mentoring. Role model Co-op leadership behaviours, creating an inclusive and supportive team environment that encourages innovation and accountability. Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders across business units, transformation teams, and support functions. Present insights and recommendations clearly and confidently to influence decision-making. Act as a trusted partner, providing constructive challenge and helping colleagues understand the story behind the data. Collaborate with peers across the Process Excellence community to ensure alignment and shared best practice.
Behaviours	Show You Care We do right by our people and care about our Co-op, our member-owners and our communities. We support each other with kindness and compassion, listen and share honest feedback, and make sure we do things fairly and responsibly. Do What Matters Most Delivering our vision and purpose, and making everyone feel valued and included, is what matters most. We put our member-owners at the heart of what we do, take responsibility for our actions, and focus on doing the right things for our colleagues, communities and planet. Succeed Together Co-operation is our superpower; we're better and stronger when we work together. We value teamwork and shared goals, nurture an inclusive environment, and celebrate diverse thinking to create the best outcomes. Be Yourself Always We bring our best self to work and respect others for doing the same. We are confident to be ourselves, build trusting relationships, and welcome different people, change and challenge. We Do Right By Our People As leaders, we know our people and do right by them every day. We empower, develop and care for our people with kindness and compassion, listen with honesty, and create safe, inclusive workplaces built on mutual respect. We Think Member Owners There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ — we are all members, which makes us all owners. We put member-owners at the heart of everything we do, make bold and sustainable decisions, and drive growth that creates economic, social and ownership value. We Are True Co-operators Co-operation is our superpower and something we truly believe in. We work towards shared goals over individual wins, lead with curiosity and courage, and build resilience by learning from mistakes and holding ourselves accountable
Empowered to	 Lead the delivery of improvement analysis and insight across the transformation portfolio.  Set analytical standards, tools, and approaches that enhance quality and impact of insight.  Prioritise and allocate analysis resource to ensure delivery of strategic objectives.  Challenge assumptions and influence key decisions through evidence-based insight.  Develop and mentor analysts to build capability and confidence in business improvement practice.  Represent the Business Improvement community in cross-functional forums and governance sessions.
Capabilities	 Deep expertise in business improvement and data analysis, with experience applying Lean Six Sigma or equivalent methodologies.  Strong leadership and people development skills, with proven experience managing analytical or improvement teams.  Advanced analytical skills, including data modelling, process mapping, and performance measurement.  Excellent communication and storytelling ability — able to translate complex data into clear, compelling insight.  Experienced in using systems such as Manhattan, Paragon, Kronos, and analytical tools (e.g. Power BI, Excel, SQL, or equivalent).  Confident operating in transformation and change environments, managing multiple priorities and stakeholders.  Commercially astute, with an understanding of how process improvement delivers value for members, colleagues, and the business.  Curious, proactive, and solutions-focused — always seeking new ways to enhance how we analyse, improve, and deliver results.
Work Level Descriptor	Accountability Delivery of specialist work based on subject matter expertise, or leadership of large, complex teams. Responsible for developing the right capabilities either individually or within their team, enabling work to be delivered effectively. Manages team delivery in accordance with agreed budgets. Impact As a people-leader, takes responsibility for the delivery of work over shorter timeframes, contributing to achievement of the team's annual plan – empowering their team to deliver discrete pieces of work based on agreed processes. As an individual contributor, provides thought leadership to help shape the team's response to challenges, and approach to delivery of the short-term plan. Supports and promotes a culture of inclusivity through the actions they take. Co-operation Contributes to short-term planning within the team and collaborates with peers to deliver great work that enables the team to succeed. If an SME, collaborates with other teams proactively to ensure their expertise helps leaders make the best decisions for Co-op.