Operational Excellence Partner

At Bavarian Nordic, we are committed to saving and improving lives by unlocking the power of the immune system. Our commercial product portfolio includes market-leading vaccines against smallpox, mpox, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, typhoid fever, and cholera. We excel in R&D innovation, manufacturing, and commercialization, striving to improve people's health and quality of life worldwide, protecting our tomorrow.

To support our growth journey, we are now looking for a passionate Operational Excellence Parter for our Drug Product (DP) production in Kvistgaard. You will report to the head of DP manufacturing and work in close collaboration with the DP management group.

The role

We need someone being passionate because that is what Operational Excellence is all about; driving continuous improvement and operational excellence in a pharmaceutical production environment. In this role, you will need: “persuasive skills”, patience (a lot), listening skills, communication skills, shop-floor-dancing skills ... and patience ... because you will be working with people (in case you did not read it the first time ...).

This is a hands-on role where your ability to engage, influence, and inspire will be just as important as your technical expertise. Your personality—curious, resilient, and people-oriented—will be your strongest asset, enabling you to build trust, lead change, and drive impact across the organization. You will help foster a culture of continuous improvement, efficiency, and quality, supporting our transition from project-based work to high-volume production. Rather than maintaining existing systems, you will be instrumental in building and evolving our operational foundation from the ground up.

Key responsibilities

In this role, you will work closely with DP management to strengthen leadership capabilities and embed a culture of operational excellence across the organization. You will be responsible for driving and communicating Operational Excellence initiatives across departments, ensuring alignment and engagement at all levels. A key part of your work will involve organizing and facilitating improvement events—such as Kaizen blitzes—to optimize production processes and support our transition to high-volume operations. Additionally, you will deliver training and coaching in core Operational Excellence disciplines, equipping teams with the tools and mindset needed to continuously improve performance and quality, including:

Performance boards

Process confirmation

Systematic problem solving (e.g., A3, root cause analysis)

Flow mapping and optimization

5S implementation

Role card development for production staff

What you bring

You hold an academic degree and bring hands-on experience with Lean manufacturing principles—though we also welcome candidates who are eager to grow and deepen their expertise in this area.

You have a solid foundation in training design and facilitation, and experience from the pharmaceutical industry is a plus

Fluency in both Danish and English is essential to succeed in our cross-functional and collaborative setting

You are analytical and structured, with a natural drive to optimize and improve. At the same time, you are communicative and collaborative, bringing a coaching mindset that helps others grow

Your flexibility and opportunity-driven approach make you well-suited to thrive in a fast-growing organization where adaptability and initiative are key

Most importantly, your personality—curious, resilient, and people-oriented—is your strongest enabler, allowing you to build trust, inspire change, and make a lasting impact

Why this role

This is a unique opportunity to be part of building something from the ground up in a fast-growing and evolving organization. As an Operational Excellence Partner, you won’t just apply existing tools—you’ll help shape the way we work, influence our culture, and drive meaningful change across DP operations. Whether you're already experienced in LEAN or looking to grow into it, this role offers the chance to expand your capabilities and take a step up in your Operational Excellence journey.

Ready to make a difference?

Apply by clicking the ‘APPLY’ button. We are interviewing on an ongoing basis and look forward to receiving your motivated CV. A cover letter is not required.

We kindly request that headhunters or recruitment agencies refrain from contacting us regarding this position.

Founded in 1994, we have +30 years of experience developing life-saving vaccines. We are a global leader in smallpox and mpox vaccines. Our commercial product portfolio contains market-leading vaccines against rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, cholera, typhoid, and Ebola. We are headquartered in Denmark and have manufacturing, research, and sales offices across Europe and North America. Our values – our Bavarian Nordic DNA, as we like to call it – are what guide our actions every day. We act as persistent pioneers, embrace change, value being boosted by the team, and believe in protecting lives every day. If that is also a part of your DNA, we invite you to join us in Bavarian Nordic! Bavarian Nordic is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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