Operational Excellence Manager

About the role

As an Operational Excellence Manager, you will be a key player in shaping a supportive and engaging work environment for the Wayland, MI, plant, a manufacturer of quality nondairy creamer products. Your role will act as a strategic partner in implementing and sustaining the TreeHouse Management Operating Structure (TMOS). You will lead initiatives to analyze and improve supply chain processes using advanced continuous improvement methodologies, with a focus on enhancing product quality, operational efficiency, financial performance, and overall business operations.

Responsibilities

• Partner with site leadership and process owners to implement and sustain the TreeHouse Management Operating Structure (TMOS), ensuring standard manufacturing processes are consistently applied.
• Act as both a tactical and strategic resource, serving as a change agent and modeling leadership behaviors aligned with TMOS.
• Monitor and support key performance indicators (KPIs) related to supply chain performance; coach KPI owners through gap analysis, corrective actions, and performance validation.
• Collaborate with division-level continuous improvement leaders to ensure alignment with enterprise-wide strategies and initiatives.
• Lead a portfolio of moderate to large-scale projects to optimize supply chain processes and overall operational efficiency.
• Identify process requirements, improvement opportunities, and best practices; lead replication efforts across sites to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
• Leverage site data to prioritize projects and define scope, objectives, resources, timelines, and team roles.
• Ownt and drive continuous improvement initiatives at the site level, identifying the need for change and managing business process transformation.
• Lead project review meetings to assess progress, address obstacles, resolve issues, and communicate results, issue regular summary reports.
• Conduct advanced analyses of product and information flow, using both qualitative and quantitative data to develop insights and recommendations.
• Deliver training and coaching to develop internal capabilities in continuous improvement tools and methodologies.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Operations, Management or related field is required.
• Minimum of five years of experience in a manufacturing environment, with at least three years in a project management or continuous improvement role is required.
• Strong situational leadership skills with the ability to influence at all levels of the plant organization.
• Prominent ability to build effective relationships with Operations leaders to drive change and foster alignment and a high level of credibility and influence among hourly associates with the ability to engage and motivate frontline teams.
• Self-starter with the ability to lead change independently and make informed, strategic decisions.
• Possesses key personal attributes: progressive mindset, adaptability, flexibility, high energy, maturity, and strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills to assess needs, identify issues, and uncover improvement opportunities.
• Develops subject matter expertise in site-level supply chain processes and leads the evolution toward future-state operations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively represent and report on continuous improvement activities.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Qualifications

• Experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Project management or continuous improvement experience.
• Leadership skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Relationship-building abilities with Operations leaders.
• Self-starter with the ability to lead change independently.
• Personal attributes such as progressive mindset, adaptability, flexibility, high energy, maturity, and strong interpersonal skills.
• Analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Subject matter expertise in site-level supply chain processes.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Skills

• Advanced continuous improvement methodologies.
• Supply chain process analysis.
• Performance monitoring and support.
• Collaboration with division-level continuous improvement leaders.
• Project management and leadership.
• Training and coaching development.
• Advanced data analysis.
• Continuous improvement initiative ownership.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits program with no waiting period – you’re eligible from your first day!
• 401(k) program with 5% employer match and 100% vesting as soon as you enroll.
• Comprehensive paid time off opportunities, including immediate access to four weeks of vacation, five sick days, parental leave and 11 company holidays (including two floating holidays).
• Leadership support for accelerated career growth, plus paid training, tuition reimbursement and a robust educational platform – DevelopU – with more than 10,000 free courses to support you along the way.
• Inclusive working environment where you can build meaningful work relationships with a diverse group of professionals.
• Opportunities to build on our team-oriented culture, such as joining one of our Employee Resource Groups.
• Access to our wellness and employee assistance programs.

Pay

Details about pay are not specified in the job posting.

Schedule

This is a full-time, on-site role on First Shift, Monday through Friday. Occasional flexibility is required to support alternate shifts and weekends.

Important Details

• This is a full-time, on-site role on First Shift, Monday through Friday. Occasional flexibility is required to support alternate shifts and weekends.
• You’ll fit right in if you have:
• A Bachelor's degree in Operations, Management or related field is required.
• A minimum of five years of experience in a manufacturing environment, with at least three years in a project management or continuous improvement role is required.
• Strong situational leadership skills with the ability to influence at all levels of the plant organization.
• Prominent ability to build effective relationships with Operations leaders to drive change and foster alignment and a high level of credibility and influence among hourly associates with the ability to engage and motivate frontline teams.
• A self-starter with the ability to lead change independently and make informed, strategic decisions.
• Possesses key personal attributes: progressive mindset, adaptability, flexibility, high energy, maturity, and strong interpersonal skills.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills to assess needs, identify issues, and uncover improvement opportunities.
• Develops subject matter expertise in site-level supply chain processes and leads the evolution toward future-state operations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively represent and report on continuous improvement activities.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office.

TreeHouse Use Only

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