Operations & Controlling Trainee (m/f/d)

About the job

You don’t just want to analyze numbers, but experience them where they are created? Then you are in the right place with us.

We are looking for young talents interested in controlling who are ready to get involved. That means: You are not only in front of Excel and Power BI, but also at our recycling plants, accompany material flows, support operational processes, and understand our processes firsthand.

As an Operations & Controlling Trainee (m/f/d) in our company, you will learn the recycling business not from the desk, but through direct interaction between production, technology, and commercial control. You actively participate in operations, gain a deep understanding of processes, and derive reliable business insights from them.

You are the link between production, sales, commercial processes, and management – but with operational grounding. Your goal is not only to report economic key figures but to actively shape and improve them through concrete actions in the process.

You will be accompanied by experienced professionals both in the operational recycling day-to-day and in business development. Prospectively, you will develop further in a dynamic market environment – with a clear development perspective up to leadership responsibility.

• Participation in the monthly reporting, forecasting, and budgeting process
• Close collaboration with production, logistics, and technical departments, with regular presence directly at the recycling plant
• Analysis of production, performance, and cost data to control operational performance
• Identification of process deviations as well as development and support of appropriate measures
• Further development of KPIs, cost accounting, and inventory management processes
• Preparation of ad-hoc analyses and decision-making bases for management

• Completed commercial training with further education in controlling or studies in business administration, economics, or data analytics
• Strong affinity for numbers as well as interest in technical and production-related issues
• Analytical, structured working style combined with a pragmatic, solution-oriented hands-on mentality
• Ideally technical or craft basic training (e.g., in plant, metal, electrical, or environmental fields) with strong interest in business issues, key figures, and controlling
• Very good Excel skills; initial experience with BI tools (e.g., Power BI) is an advantage
• Interest in ERP systems and process-related contexts
• Enjoyment of operational proximity to the business as well as understanding and further developing processes holistically
• Communicative personality with the ability to prepare analytical content understandably and act as a link between departments and management
• Very good German skills in spoken and written form

• With your job, you actively contribute to environmental protection and resource conservation
• Lots of freedom, independence, and responsibility in your tasks
• Stability and a secure workplace
• Flat hierarchies and uncomplicated decision-making processes
• Family-like corporate culture: You are not just a number with us
• At least 25 days of vacation / 30 days from the 11th year of service or from the age of 50
• Thommen Academy (internal training and development opportunities for our employees)
• Good social benefits (above-average continued salary payment in case of accident and illness, pension fund without loss risk)

The Thommen Group is one of the leading European recycling companies with roots in Switzerland. With our three strong brands Thommen, Metallum, and Immark, we offer complete recycling solutions for industry, trade, and municipalities. With over 30 locations in five countries, the Thommen Group is globally networked and an important link in the economic cycle. As a producer of high-quality recycled raw materials, we create and conserve resources.

Katja Hurter answers your questions about the application process.