C

CSL

Develops and delivers biotherapies and vaccines

Head of Operational Excellence

Full-Time
No salary listed
Senior, Expert
Bachelor's, Master's, MBA
Liverpool, UK
In Person
Business & StrategyBusiness Operations

About the job

Requirements
  • A degree qualification in Engineering, Science, Business, or a related discipline.
  • Six or more years of experience leading Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, or Business Transformation initiatives and delivering measurable business outcomes within complex operational environments.
  • Experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or highly regulated manufacturing environments.
  • Effective leadership capability with experience leading and developing teams.
  • Advanced analytical, problem-solving, and process improvement expertise.
  • Experience as a change practitioner.
  • Senior team leadership experience.
Responsibilities
  • Develop and execute the site's Operational Excellence roadmap aligned to business strategy.
  • Drive organisational focus on critical metrics and outcomes.
  • Build and grow a culture of continuous improvement by upskilling employees and creating a lean culture across the Liverpool organisation.
  • Own the deployment of the CSL Operating System at site level, including agreeing improvement plans and managing the maturity assessment process.
  • Facilitate Lean events, value stream improvements, and structured problem-solving activities.
  • Ensure robust governance, benefits tracking, and sustainable implementation of improvements.
  • Establish meaningful KPI frameworks and performance reporting.
  • Analyse operational data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities.
  • Drive root cause analysis and corrective actions to address systemic issues.
  • Lead the adoption of strategic change initiatives across the site and strengthen understanding of how change affects day-to-day operations.
  • Lead the annual Site Strategic Planning process.
  • Foster accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning with local and global colleagues.
  • Lead, develop, and engage the Operational Excellence team to build capability and deliver business outcomes.
  • Act as a trusted advisor to the Site Leadership Team by coaching and developing leaders in Operational Excellence principles and influencing decisions through data-driven insights, structured problem solving, and change leadership.
Desired Qualifications
  • An advanced qualification such as an MBA, MSc, or equivalent.
  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt; Green Belt is desirable.
  • Credible Lean and Six Sigma subject matter expertise.
  • Formal project management training, ideally with certification.
  • Excellent stakeholder engagement, influencing, and communication skills.
  • Superb written and verbal communication skills and the ability to drive results in cross-functional teams.
  • Extensive experience successfully leading and facilitating workshops.

About the company

CSL is a global biotechnology company that develops and delivers biotherapies and influenza vaccines. It focuses on plasma-derived and recombinant therapies for rare and serious diseases and sells to healthcare providers, hospitals, and governments across the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Its product range includes treatments for rare diseases, influenza vaccines, and antivenoms, produced through its R&D, manufacturing, and distribution operations. CSL differentiates itself by offering the broadest portfolio of plasma-derived and recombinant therapies and by leveraging its global footprint and emphasis on diversity to reach diverse markets. The company’s main goal is to save lives and protect health by expanding access to high-quality therapies and vaccines worldwide.

Company Size

10,001+

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

Parkville, Australia

Founded

1916

Get referred to CSL

See people who can refer or advise you

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • CSL reported US$176 million FY26 cost savings, ahead of its transformation target.
  • US military flu-vaccine exceptions restored some demand after April 2026 mandate cuts.
  • VarmX’s 2029 coagulation program gives CSL a new high-value pipeline beyond plasma.

What critics are saying

  • FY26 statutory loss hit US$2.6 billion after US$7.1 billion impairments and restructuring.
  • CSL plans US$400 million FY27 savings, implying more closures, layoffs, and execution friction.
  • The U.S. plasma turnaround depends on Horizon 2; failure risks long-term margin collapse.

What makes CSL unique

  • CSL’s FY26 revenue reached US$15.8 billion across plasma, vaccines, and Vifor.
  • Seqirus’ AUJEMFLU won UK and European approvals, backed by Lancet Phase 3 data.
  • HEMGENIX remains Europe’s first approved hemophilia B gene therapy, strengthening CSL Behring.

Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?

Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Paid Time Off
  • Paid Vacation
  • Paid Sick Leave
  • Paid Holidays

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

1%
PR Newswire
Oct 21st, 2026
CSL appoints ViiV Healthcare chief Deborah Waterhouse as CEO on $1.9M base salary

CSL Limited has appointed Deborah Waterhouse as chief executive officer and managing director, effective February 1, 2027. The board's decision followed a global search and was unanimous. Waterhouse has led ViiV Healthcare, an HIV specialist majority owned by GSK, since 2017. ViiV had sales of £7.7 billion in GSK's 2025 financial year. She also serves as president of GSK Global Health and previously ran GSK's US vaccines and primary care businesses. Her base salary will be £1,500,000 a year. She will stay based in the UK. Gordon Naylor will remain interim chief executive until then, before returning to the board as a non-executive director.

Yahoo Finance
Oct 8th, 2026
CSL to roll out Haemonetics' NexSys devices across all US plasma centres by end of 2027

Haemonetics shares jumped 12% after the company announced CSL now expects to move all of its current US plasma collection centres to Haemonetics' NexSys devices by the end of 2027. The deal, first disclosed in August, was initially limited to only a portion of CSL's US centres with no timeline. The expanded agreement is significant because losing CSL previously flattened Haemonetics' growth. In fiscal 2026, the company's organic revenue growth was just 1.1%, compared to 9.5% excluding lost CSL sales. Following the surge, Haemonetics trades at approximately 21 times forward earnings, above its five-year average of 19.1 times. The deal is non-exclusive with no minimum purchase requirements, meaning CSL can still modify scope and timing. Management plans to provide further details during its November earnings call.

Pharma Dispatch
Oct 6th, 2026
CSL raises $1.5B from US bond investors to refinance debt

CSL has raised US$1.5 billion through corporate bonds issued in the United States to refinance existing debt. The Australian biotechnology company turned to offshore debt markets for the transaction. The bond issuance allows CSL to manage its capital structure by replacing current borrowings with new financing secured from US investors.

CSL
Sep 21st, 2026
CSL partners with VarmX in a strategic collaboration and option agreement to develop first-in-class investigational coagulation treatment

Melbourne, Australia – 16 September 2025 CSL today announced it has entered into a strategic collaboration with privately held Dutch biotech company VarmX BV to support the company’s...

PR Newswire
Sep 10th, 2026
CSL Seqirus' triple-enhanced flu vaccine shows superior protection for older adults in Lancet study

CSL Seqirus has published Phase 3 study results in The Lancet Infectious Diseases for its MF59-adjuvanted cell-based higher-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine for older adults. The vaccine, marketed as AUJEMFLU, combines three proven approaches: MF59 adjuvant, cell-based manufacturing, and higher-dose formulation. The randomised study enrolled 7,699 adults aged 50 and older across eight countries. Results demonstrated superiority versus an adjuvanted egg-based comparator across all four influenza strains and age groups. The vaccine showed non-inferiority versus a recombinant vaccine for three of four strains in the 50-plus age group and all four strains in those aged 65-plus. The trivalent formulation received approval from the UK's MHRA and the European Commission earlier this year for adults aged 50 and above. Regulatory submissions have been made in multiple markets.