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Power Manufacturing Excellence Leader

International Paper
United Statesfull_timeVerifiedPosted 30 Jun 2026
💰 $134,600/yr($101,000/yr$134,600/yr)

About the role

Position Title: 

Power Manufacturing Excellence Leader

Pay Rate:

$101,000-134,600

Multiple factors, including Individual experience, skills and abilities will determine where an employee is ultimately placed in the pay range.

Variable pay may provide additional opportunities for financial awards. This job is eligible to participate in IP’s short –term incentive plan.

Category/Shift:

Salaried Exempt Full-Time

Physical Location
3737 Highway 3

Redwood, MS 39156

 

The Job You Will Perform: 

The Area Manufacturing Excellence Leader (AMEL) is a senior process engineer that reports directly to the Mill Manufacturing Excellence Leader (MME), and will be assigned to the Power Area at the Vicksburg Mill. The ME Leader is directly responsible for the Manufacturing Excellence process, which includes year-over-year (YOY) continuous improvement in the areas of safety, quality, productivity, reliability and cost reduction. They are a dedicated resource for improvement projects in their assigned operating area or mill wide, as necessary. The expectation is that a minimum of 75% of the ME Leader’s time will involve activities related to Cost Reduction and Deliberate Improvement. The ME Leader must ensure close coordination with resources at all levels of the organization, including Business Unit Managers, Area Managers, and the “improve” resources, to ensure the department’s improvement plan is coordinated and cohesive.

The AMEL is responsible for developing future leaders. They will have a varying number of REACH and Process Engineers reporting to them. The development process will include training, coaching and mentoring the engineers in mill operations and International Paper manufacturing excellence processes.

Key Accountabilities:

The Manufacturing Excellence Leader is responsible for:

  • Engage team in safety leadership efforts and encourage/support safe work practices in mill
  • Ensure ME principles are properly utilized in daily operations for continuous improvement
  • Lead Cost Reduction/Deliberate Improvement project identification and execution in Business Unit
  • Support identification and validation of R-Gap and A-Gap opportunities in Business Unit
  • Assist MME and BUM in developing department’s annual and long term gap closure plan for identified opportunities and incorporating in the Budget + 3
  • Drive mill initiatives in the department to engage employees in improvement/sustain activities
  • Lead/provide ME support to project teams on budget initiatives (deliberate and continuous)
  • Coordinates the identification, developmental, and successful implementation by results tracking of cost reduction opportunities, both capital and non-capital
  • Support/Mentor GB, YB and WB trainees during certification
  • Support RCFA champion for Power Area
  • Advocate for sustainable improvement practices and systems
  • Mentor and advocate to support department’s 5S effort
  • Develop REACH engineers as future operations and maintenance leaders.

 

The Skills You Will Bring:

  • It is required that the Manufacturing Excellence Leader role be filled by an individual with a strong manufacturing management background and a track record of achieving consistent, significant results through systems and teams.

  • B.S. in Engineering, Business, related degree or experience
  • Manufacturing management experience (First Line Leader, Operations Maintenance Coordinator or Area Manager) is highly preferred
  • Experience with continuous improvement concepts and tools is required
  • Candidate will be expected to become IP Green Belt certified if not already
  • Possess good written and oral communication skills
  • Possess strong computer knowledge and skills that include experience with spreadsheets, word processing, and Minitab (and/or other statistical analysis software)
  • Key Competencies: Managerial Courage, Perspective, Motivating Others, Customer Focus, Learning on the Fly, Organizational Agility, Interpersonal Savvy, Developing Others, Building Effective Tea

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Company

International Paper

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