Principal Advisor Business Improvement

Principal Business Improvement (Operational Excellence)

• Opportunity within the Pilbara Mines to play a fundamental role in leading our new function, Operational Excellence, which will build the foundations of the future state
• Help us meet our aspirational goal of being The Best Operator
• Lifestyle friendly roster: 5/2, 4/3 with option of Fly in Fly Out or Residential

About the role

All progress begins with pioneers. At Rio Tinto, it begins with you.

Our people are at our heart. We have introduced a function called Operational Excellence (OE), which will build the foundations of the future state. Enabling operational excellence is imperative to becoming the best operator and our OE teams will be critical to realising our strategic objectives and priorities. Our OE teams will be the heart of the Rio Tinto Safe Production System (RTSPS) at our operations by building, maturing and sustaining the system over time.

We are looking for a number of Principal Business Improvement roles to Lead the respective Business Improvement teams across our Pilbara mine sites, providing improvement expertise to the operations to deliver business priorities, including the execution of best practices to enable RTSPS sustainability.

You will be there from the start. This is a great opportunity for those who put people at the centre, have a change mindset and a genuine interest in our fundamental principle of being the best operator. You will have the opportunity to Lead the Business Improvement team and provide improvement expertise to the operations to achieve business priorities.

The vision is to embed an organisational blueprint for Rio Tinto’s Pilbara Mine Operations, which will be the standard for future organisational design at every site moving forward. 

Reporting to the respective Manager Operational Excellence and working in a collaborative community, you will:

• Actively monitor direct reports to ensure activities meet all health, safety and environmental requirements, and assist in risk mitigation
• Lead the Business Improvement team, providing coaching and guidance
• Support the delivery of annual and strategic planning for site
• Manage the deployment and embedment of the RTSPS
• Identify and lead improvement projects using project management and improvement methodologies, such as facilitating workshops with leaders
• Provide expert technical direction, coaching and support to operational leaders on business improvement best practice and support the development of capability, mindsets and behaviours
• Actively engage with operational leaders to identify bottlenecks and opportunities to increase operational effectiveness and establish a pipeline of future improvement
• Develop strong interfaces and relationships across the site to ensure optimisation of improvements and efficiencies
• Embed and champion continuous improvement processes and solutions across the site, bringing transparency, simplification, supportive leadership and continuous improvement culture to life

We are an open, connected global team that includes some of the industry’s best and brightest minds. We offer competitive, performance-focused remuneration and a wide range of benefits to reward your contribution. With a global reach, the opportunities to develop and grow your career are broad and exciting.

What you’ll bring

As we introduce the new OE function, a key component of the role will require you to interface with multiple stakeholders at all levels, therefore your communication, relationship building and problem-solving skills are important to this role. You will work as part of a broader team so your commitment to teamwork will be vital.

To be successfully considered you’ll bring:

• Leadership experience in continuous improvement where you have demonstrated improvement delivery and sustainability of projects
• Previous Commercial experience in the Business Improvement lean six sigma space
• Ability to communicate new ideas and influence others
• Solid performance coaching capability and ability to develop and build credibility among peers
• Strong teamwork, communication and interpersonal skills
• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team
• Commitment to Rio Tinto value drivers of Care, Courage and Curiosity
• Current C Class driver’s license

Although not essential, you may also bring:

• Engineering background, particularly Process or Reliability
• Operational experience
• Lean qualifications or experience

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking, and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• A permanent position working directly for Rio Tinto
• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program
• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Company provided insurance cover
• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)
• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more)
• Possible domestic relocation assistance

About Rio Tinto

Every idea, every innovation, every little thing the world calls ‘progress’ begins with a first step, and someone willing to take it: explorers, inventors, entrepreneurs. Pioneers.

For nearly 150 years, Rio Tinto has been a company of pioneers –generations of people spanning the globe, all with the grit and vision to produce materials essential to human progress. Our iron ore has shaped skylines from Shanghai to Sydney. Our aluminium –the world’s first to be certified “responsible” –helps planes fly and makes cars lighter. Our copper helps wind turbines power cities and our boron helps feed the world, and explore the universe. Our diamonds help us celebrate the best parts of life.

Where you’ll be working

In the Pilbara region of Western Australia, we own an integrated portfolio of iron ore assets: a world-class, integrated network of 16 mines, four independent port terminals, a 1,700 kilometre rail network and related infrastructure – all designed to respond rapidly to changes in demand.

We are one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of iron ore. 

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome –they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

Applications close on 30^th October 2022 (Rio Tinto reserves the right to remove advertised roles before this date).