Quality Control Operational Excellence Advisor

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals!

As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.

At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.

Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your role:

The Global QC Operational Excellence Advisor provides strategic and tactical leadership to laboratory leaders and experts across the manufacturing network. This role focuses on improving Quality Control operational efficiency and efficacy through data analysis, capacity building, scheduling models, and enhanced long-range planning

Your responsibilities:

• Lead and Implement Process Improvements: Spearhead complex cross-functional projects to enhance QC processes, leveraging KPIs for sustainable impact. This includes standardizing lab capacity planning in line with site manufacturing capacity across the QC Network.
• Train and Mentor on Operational Excellence: Build organizational capability in continuous improvement and lean techniques, including root cause analysis for laboratory inefficiencies. This involves training at all organizational levels.
• Drive QC Optimization and Efficiency: Evaluate and simplify QC operations using tools like rhythm wheels, metrics, and a network-wide testing strategy to optimize resource allocation for current and future needs. This also includes identifying, prioritizing, and determining financial benefits of cost reduction initiatives.
• Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with stakeholders across supply chain, regulatory, TS/MS, Site/Central governance, Laboratory Informatics, IT, and the Digital Steering committee to integrate QC testing efficiency with broader product manufacturing and release processes.
• Promote Operational Excellence Culture: Engage teams through idea generation, GEMBA walks, visual boards, governance meetings, and other communication tools to drive continuous improvement and proactive laboratory performance monitoring

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Biology, or other related Physical or Life Science, and 5+ years of laboratory operations experience demonstrating a successful track record of continuous improvement projects.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to overcome obstacles and ensure project success.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, enabling clear and precise communication at all organizational levels.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, including effective presentation and demonstrated ability to build trust and influence peers and stakeholders.

• Collaborative team player adaptable to evolving business needs.

What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications):

• Lean Certification (e.g., Green Belt, Black Belt).
• Prior experience leading cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated ability to foster inclusivity and promote ownership.
• Proven ability to function as both a QC advisor/consultant, defining roadmaps and strategies, and a hands-on implementer of solutions within laboratory settings.

Additional Information:

Traveling up to 30%

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Elanco we are dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive work environment.If you think you might be a good fit for a role but don't necessarily meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply.You may be the right candidate for this role or other roles! 

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status

Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.