Operational Excellence Business Partner
Perth office based, 12 Newcastle Street, East Perth, 6000

• Reporting to the National Manager, Operational Excellence
• Availability for regular travel to remote and regional locations
• Hybrid working model (2 days working from home & 3 days working in the office)

At Compass Group, our people nourish the bodies and minds of thousands every day through food and support services that promote health and wellbeing. We create meaningful connections across Australia, with a footprint designed so our people, communities, and planet can thrive now and into the future.

The Operational Excellence Business Partner is responsible for assessing, training, coaching and uplifting site operational performance across Compass Group Australia's portfolio, with particular emphasis on remote, resource, and facilities management (FM) environments. This role integrates end-to-end operational assessment, risk management, systems training, leadership coaching, and continuous improvement.

The Opportunity

The role reports to the National Manager Operational Excellence and is accountable for mentoring and developing Area Managers and Site Managers across the portfolio, while conducting comprehensive appraisals, delivering systems and leadership training, and driving measurable, data-informed improvement outcomes.

The Operational Excellence Business Partner provides an end-to-end view of operational capability with:

• Measure to Standard
  • Conduct end-to-end site appraisals across service standards, safety, financial performance, and people effectiveness.
• Train and Coach to Standard
  • Deliver targeted training and coaching in key operational systems, processes, and procedures with a key focus on leadership, labour management, food safety, and facilities compliance.
• Improve to Standard
  • Work with site teams to identify, implement, and track improvement opportunities; drive P&L performance and standards compliance against agreed timelines.

The intention of the Operational Excellence Business Partner is a "Sector-led, Enterprise-enabled" strategy that gives our sites a complete picture of gaps, required improvements, and "in the moment" expertise in any operational challenge — people, systems, and procedures.

Key areas of focus are not limited to: Service Standard Appraisal assessment and audits, Safety, Operational Performance, People, Financial Results, and Client Satisfaction on an ongoing basis.

Key Responsibilities

Measure to Standard – Assessment & Appraisal

• Conduct end-to-end operational and Service Standard appraisals across sites, ensuring objectivity and consistency
• Assess compliance with governance, risk and control frameworks, including contractual and multi-standard requirements (e.g. ISO, defence, energy and resources environments)
• Perform risk-based audits across service streams such as accommodation, catering, cleaning, transport, safety and facilities
• Identify risks, control gaps and improvement actions to lift safety, commercial and engagement outcomes
• Contribute to enterprise-wide improvements in risk, compliance and operational governance frameworks

Train & Coach to Standard – Capability Uplift

• Coach and support Area Managers and Site Managers, including newly appointed leaders, across metro, remote and FIFO environments
• Deliver targeted leadership, systems and operational training aligned to Compass Group Australia standards and the Leadership Academy
• Provide training in key operational systems and processes including service delivery, safety, labour optimisation, profit protection and leadership
• Deliver hands-on, on-site support where performance gaps or operational risks are identified
• Partner with sector leaders to design and facilitate leadership and capability development initiatives

Improve to Standard – Continuous Improvement

• Drive measurable improvements in operational standards and/or P&L performance against agreed targets
• Monitor audit outcomes and corrective actions, ensuring timely closure of non‑conformances
• Analyse operational data, appraisal results and performance metrics to identify trends and opportunities for improvement
• Develop and implement data-driven performance improvement plans, escalating key risks where required
• Communicate progress, insights and outcomes to sector and enterprise stakeholders

Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner closely with senior functional leaders across Finance, People & Experience, Safety & Environment, Workforce Optimisation and Culinary
• Build strong working relationships with GMs, Area Managers and Site Managers to support alignment and accountability
• Act as a champion for operational excellence, continuous improvement and leadership capability across the business
• Influence and support leaders through change, improvement initiatives and uplift programs

About You

Essential

• Minimum 6 years’ operational experience in hospitality, facilities management or resource sector environments, including direct P&L accountability
• Strong experience working in remote, FIFO or village operations
• Proven capability in operational coaching, leadership development, training facilitation, auditing or assurance
• Solid understanding of integrated FM service delivery across multiple service pillars
• Experience in risk management, auditing and compliance, ideally within multi-standard regulatory environments
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence at multiple levels
• High-level analytical, problem-solving and report-writing capability
• Confident communicator with experience delivering training and workshops

Desirable

• Experience supporting mobilisations, transitions or new site openings
• Exposure to mining, energy or defence sector clients
• Familiarity with workforce, accommodation or village management systems
• Experience using data, analytics or AI-enabled tools to support reporting or operational improvement
• Certificate IV (or higher) in Training & Assessment or similar facilitation qualification

Why Compass Group

Be part of Australia’s largest food and support services company. You’ll work across iconic venues and leading workplaces, partnering with experts in culinary, technology and sustainability to deliver experiences people love. We offer scale, career pathways, and the autonomy to shape strategies that deliver meaningful, measurable growth.

The Benefits

Working with a large global company means you can be assured that we have an attractive benefits program! This includes comprehensive learning & development offerings, a variety of recognition programs and company discounts, an excellent salary benchmarking matrix and at this management level also includes an incentive bonus scheme! You can read all about these here: Why work at Compass

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible for all. If you require adjustments or alternative methods of communication in the recruitment process, please reach out to us on either talisson@compass-group.com.au or davidhutchison@compass-group.com.au