The Role As the Continuous Improvement Manager, you will lead site-wide initiatives to drive a culture of continuous improvement across all manufacturing and support processes. You will champion lean principles and structured problem-solving methodologies to improve operational performance, eliminate waste, reduce costs, and ensure safety and quality goals are met. This is a highly visible role that relies on leadership and influence rather than direct supervisory responsibility. Your Responsibilities:
- Develop, lead, and execute the plant’s continuous improvement strategy in alignment with business objectives, working closely with plant leadership and cross-functional teams.
- Identify, prioritize, and manage continuous improvement projects that deliver measurable results in operational efficiency, cost savings, quality, and throughput.
- Drive and embed Lean and Six Sigma methodologies and best practices throughout the business by mentoring, training, and coaching employees at all levels.
- Facilitate Kaizen events, value stream mapping, root cause analyses, and other structured improvement activities to achieve targeted outcomes.
- Partner with all departments including Operations, Quality, Engineering, Maintenance, Supply Chain and Finance to analyze processes, identify improvement opportunities, and implement sustainable solutions.
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress of continuous improvement activities and communicate results and recommendations to site leadership.
- Develop and maintain standard processes, tools, and documentation to support continuous improvement initiatives and sustain achieved gains.
- Provide guidance and oversight for quality control processes and inspection methods when aligned with improvement projects.
- Lead training sessions and workshops to build site-wide capability in Lean and Six Sigma principles, driving engagement and accountability for continuous improvement at all levels.
- Recommend updates and revisions to standard operating procedures, work instructions, and training materials to reflect process improvements.
Our Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university in a technical field, engineering, business, or the equivalent in related manufacturing experience.
- A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in manufacturing or operations is required, with at least 3 years directly leading or facilitating plant-wide continuous improvement efforts.
- Proven ability to influence without authority and lead cross-functional teams to deliver results in a matrixed manufacturing environment.
- Demonstrated success implementing Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and strategic thinking skills with the ability to define problems, collect and analyze data, and develop actionable solutions.
- Excellent facilitation, coaching, and communication skills with the ability to engage and motivate teams at all levels of the organization.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint; familiarity with data visualization tools is a plus.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities, set clear objectives, and drive accountability to meet deadlines and deliver measurable improvements.
- Lean certification preferred.
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