Continuous Improvement Manager

About the role

The Continuous Improvement Manager leads Lean and continuous-improvement process implementation in alignment with the P3 Operating System, facilitates improvement workshops, develops the plant productivity-improvement plan, implements Value-Stream Simplification (VSS), and supports Return-on-Sales and Divisional Cash-Flow improvement. The role actively cooperates with Engineering teams to drive technical improvements and ensure best-practice adoption across similar product lines.

Responsibilities

• Define, drive, and execute the plant Continuous-Improvement strategy, including a roadmap for P3 Operating-System implementation in cooperation with the plant management team.
• Coordinate and lead Lean implementation—both technical and managerial aspects—throughout the plant.
• Promote Lean tools and techniques aligned with the P3 Operating System to improve plant performance.
• Organize and facilitate Lean events and workshops.
• Coordinate the creation of the yearly Plant Productivity-Improvement plan, including target-setting in alignment with plant and regional leadership.
• Identify, prioritize, and drive high-impact CI initiatives across the entire plant (not limited to production areas), involving plant and group controllers.
• Ensure productivity-improvement projects have clear targets, roles, and responsibilities.
• Track and report progress regularly to the plant management team and upper management.
• Promote a continuous-improvement culture; facilitate regular Kaizen events.
• Serve as a change agent, challenging conventional thinking, driving accountability, and promoting Lean-Management tools (e.g., daily routines, Gemba walks, tiered meetings, layered process audits, TPM).
• Support all departments in achieving productivity goals by providing tools and training.
• Partner with Value-Stream Managers, Supervisors, and support-function managers on improvement and problem-solving activities (e.g., 5 Whys, Ishikawa diagrams, Six Sigma tools).
• Ensure best-practice sharing and implementation within the plant, region, and across the organization.
• Work with Finance to ensure accurate reporting of actual and forecasted savings.
• Report monthly savings per established timelines.
• Initiate and drive change processes with the plant management team.
• Train and support the P3x organization in developing Standardized Work, production reporting, OAE and downtime management, and an effective Tier-meeting structure.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Engineering, Quality, or a similar specialized field.
• Five or more years of experience in Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering.
• Strong manufacturing background combined with aptitude for training and leadership.
• Previous experience in a Lean environment or Lean implementation is a significant plus.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team environment with minimal guidance.
• Must pass a drug screen and background check.