Continuous Improvement Coordinator

Position: Continuous Improvement Coordinator

Location: Perth CBD

Why Austal

Austal is Australia’s global shipbuilder, Defence prime contractor and maritime technology partner of choice, designing, constructing, and supporting defence and commercial vessels for the world’s leading operators. The company operates in Australia, the USA, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Austal Australia is delivering multiple naval shipbuilding and sustainment programs for the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Border Force, and the Department of Defence, employing approximately 1,000 people in facilities in located Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory.

About The Opportunity

Austal and the Commonwealth of Australia are currently negotiating a landmark Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement (SSA) that will support the Continuous Naval Shipbuilding and Sustainment Enterprise and the delivery of multiple new defence force shipbuilding projects, such as Landing Craft-Medium and Landing Craft-Heavy for the Australian Army.

Once signed, the SSA will drive significant growth across our industry and workforce, as we deliver both existing and new programs under a long-term partnership. It will also enable the design and construction of vessels at our Henderson shipyard and marks a major step forward in establishing enduring shipbuilding capability within the Henderson Defence Precinct and across Western Australia.

To achieve this, we are building a highly skilled team, to engage with local industry and supply chains, and work on complex, large-scale projects that reflect Austal’s proven capabilities and trusted performance.

As a key member of the Capability and Business Services team, you will be responsible…

What’s Involved

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives through the Capability Management Framework to enhance operational efficiency, reduce waste, and increase value across key business processes.
• Deliver measurable continuous improvements initiatives to reduce costs, improve cycle time, and increase throughput, ensuring initiatives are completed on time and within scope.
• Support cross-functional collaboration to align improvement efforts with strategic goals and secure stakeholder engagement for all major initiatives.
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement by promoting best practices, building capability, and encouraging innovation across all levels of the organisation.
• Establish clear performance metrics and track the impact of improvement initiatives, ensuring progress is regularly reported against KPIs and strategic goals.
• Standardise and sustain process improvements by embedding solutions into business-as-usual practices through documentation, training, and governance.
• Increase participation in continuous improvement training and initiatives, with observable integration of CI principles into team workflows.
• Work closely with stakeholders to update standard operating procedures, deliver training, and ensure sustained performance gains over time.
  
  

You’ll Need

• Tertiary qualification in a related field such as quality management, or business administration
• Solid experience in areas such as manufacturing, Lean Six Sigma, or operational excellence
• Experience in continuous improvement roles, including analysing processes, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to build relationships, influence others, and work effectively as part of a team
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills and strong organisation skills with a high attention to detail
• Certificate IV in Training an Assessments (desirable)
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (desirable)
• Experience with root cause analysis and process improvement (desirable)
  
  

Why Austal

• Competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Professional development and training opportunities.
• A supportive and dynamic work environment.
• Opportunities for career advancement within our growing organisation.
  
  

Our global team is guided by a universal set of values that describe the focus of our efforts. Our goal is for all our decisions and actions to reflect these core values. We believe that putting our values into practice creates the greatest benefits for our shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and communities in which we serve.

Excellence - Customer Focus - Integrity - Team Work

At Austal we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive work environment for all. We believe that achieving greater diversity will enhance our operations and as such we actively encourage Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders, people of all backgrounds, ages, sexual orientation, and those with Disability to apply.