Business Excellence Principal Advisor

Shape how one of Utah’s most iconic operations improves performance, cost discipline, and long-term sustainability

Partner directly with senior leaders and influence decisions that have real operational and financial impact

Grow your leadership and transformation expertise while driving meaningful, visible change across Kennecott

About the role

We are looking for a forward-thinking improvement leader who is passionate about unlocking potential across people, processes, and performance. In this role, you will guide high-impact business improvement efforts, strengthen governance, and elevate how teams approach change and problem solving. You will bring both technical expertise and strong relationship-building skills, helping leaders and teams navigate transformation with confidence while delivering sustainable results for Kennecott and the wider Rio Tinto network.

We are currently recruiting multiple Business Excellence Principal Advisors, offering several opportunities to help shape the future performance of Kennecott.

In this role, you kick off your day coaching a leader through a change initiative that gains real traction and builds capability across their team. By midday, you are facilitating a problem-solving session where a cross-functional team uncovers a key productivity opportunity. In the afternoon, you align stakeholders on a strategic workstream that improves cost performance and sets up long-term success.

You will report to the Business Excellence Manager, and work alongside a network of experienced leaders, change agents, and technical experts who are committed to building a strong culture of continuous improvement across Kennecott.

Key Responsibilities

Champion a strong safety culture by ensuring all improvement initiatives prioritize the wellbeing of employees and align with site safety standards

Identify and unlock business potential through structured analysis, benchmarking, and opportunity assessment

Lead and support strategic improvement initiatives that enhance productivity, cost performance, and operational discipline

Drive effective change management, helping teams successfully adopt new ways of working and sustain results

Coach leaders and change agents to build capability in problem solving, continuous improvement, and project delivery

Build strong relationships across the business to influence outcomes and foster a culture of accountability and collaboration

Manage and align Strategic Initiative Office workstreams to ensure priorities deliver measurable value

Apply Lean tools and methodologies to standardize processes, eliminate waste, and improve efficiency

Strengthen governance and quality assurance across improvement projects to ensure consistency, rigor, and results

What you’ll bring

Commitment to safety and the ability to integrate safe practices into all business improvement activities

Strong analytical capability, including experience using data and statistical methods to solve complex problems

Proven ability to influence and lead without authority, partnering effectively with stakeholders at all levels

Demonstrated experience in business improvement, transformation, or project management in a complex environment

Skilled in change management, including coaching leaders and guiding teams through transformation

Ability to simplify complexity, communicate clearly, and translate strategy into actionable plans

Experience applying Lean, continuous improvement, or operational excellence methodologies

Strong relationship-building skills with a collaborative and inclusive leadership style

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Project Management, Organizational Development, or a related field

What we offer

We are committed to providing our employees with a generous benefits package. Be recognized for your contribution, your way of thinking, your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress, we provide:

A safety-focused and inclusive working environment

Advantageous salary package with annual cash incentive awards (STIP) for eligible employees

Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.

Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program

Generous Rio Tinto employee share program, which allows you to purchase Rio Tinto Company shares.

Comprehensive leave policies which cover all moments that matter in life: PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.

A favorable child-caregiver leave program (Up to 100% salary top-up)

Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing

Ongoing Employee Assistance Program for you and your family; to help in addressing educational opportunities, addiction treatment, depression, stress, domestic issues, financial management, and legal concerns.

Our team and industry experts are here to support and work with you to explore your learning potential and career goals

Where you will be working

The Rio Tinto Copper group is a global organization with operations and projects in the U.S. (Kennecott Utah Copper, “RTKC”, and Resolution Copper Project), Mongolia (Oyu Tolgoi), Simandou (Guinea) and Western Australia (Winu Cu-Au project). The portfolio also includes interests in a non-managed joint venture in Chile, in addition to exploration & evaluation interests and other minor investments.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome but are essential to our success. We treat all our people fairly and with dignity.

Rio Tinto participates in E- Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http://www.ucis.gov/ for more information.