Operations Excellence Practitioner

About the role

The Operations Excellence Practitioner serves as a continuous improvement expert supporting multiple sites by leading high-impact initiatives that advance the ROOT Operational Excellence program.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate current-state processes against industry best practices and performance benchmarks to identify improvement opportunities.
• Prioritize continuous improvement initiatives based on return on investment, operational impact, and level of effort.
• Act as a subject matter expert in developing, piloting, and improving CI programs, standards, and methodologies within the ROOT Operational Excellence framework.
• Execute short- and long-term continuous improvement projects across sites, including planning, implementation, tracking, and documentation of process changes.
• Apply structured problem-solving methods and CI tools to eliminate causes of inefficiencies, margin erosion, and non-value-added activities.
• Analyze KPI and performance data to assess results, validate financial impact, and adjust improvement actions as needed.
• Create and maintain site-specific dashboards, reports, and metrics to demonstrate progress, sustainability, and long-term impact.
• Develop and deploy continuous improvement training and activities to support ROOT, Ardent Mills Operational Excellence program, across multiple sites.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, industrial engineering, mechanical engineer, or a related field or 4-6+ years of experience in Continuous Improvement for manufacturing.
• Experience with continuous improvement, 5S, lean manufacturing, kaizen, lean six sigma, root cause analysis, and value stream mapping.
• Technical acumen including systems and data visualization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication including facilitation skills.
• 1-2 years managing projects using project management tools or technology.
• Knowledge of capital expenditure process and requirements.
• Proficiency in using various operations systems.
• Leadership, coaching, and/or mentoring.
• Good to have: Lean, Six Sigma, or related certification.

Qualifications

• Ability to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as is required by the operating areas.
• Ability to work a machine-paced continuous process that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with conditions which include: Heat / cold temperatures (inclement weather), Indoor/outdoor environment, Dusty environment, Noisy environment, Frequent moving/vibration/motion of equipment/process, Elevated places, to include stairs/ladders.

Skills

• Strong analytical skills.
• Practical operational insight.
• Ability to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and sustain long-term performance improvements.

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation: We provide market-driven base pay, based on skills, abilities, and level of experiences.
• Annual Bonus: Targeted bonus plan and percentage amount of 15%.
• Health and Welfare Benefits: Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage, Health and Dependent Savings Accounts, Life and Disability Programs, Voluntary Benefit Programs, Company Sponsored Wellness Programs, Retirement Savings with Company Match, Team Member and Family Assistance Program (EAP), Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays.

Pay

Starting range for this position is $102,600.00 - $128,300.00, with additional earning potential possible commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time position.