Continuous Improvement Manager

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™, a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com.

job purpose:  

 

The Continuous Improvement Manager is pivotal in designing, implementing, and scaling the Operational Excellence framework at Fairlife’s Webster greenfield facility. This role is responsible for building foundational systems, governance routines, and leadership capabilities that support plant startup, stabilization, and long-term operational excellence. Acting as a key change agent, the position ensures alignment with enterprise CI standards while driving measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and people development. The ideal candidate will combine hands-on operational expertise with strong system-building capability, the ability to execute in a fast-paced startup environment, and the leadership presence required to build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement from the ground up. 

 

responsibilities:  

• Lead the design, implementation, and sustainment of the Daily Management System (Tier Cascade, Visual Management, Leader Standard Work) during startup and ramp-up 

• Establish KPI governance structure and own the Webster Op-Ex scorecard 

• Develop and execute the CI/Kaizen roadmap aligned with plant startup phases and annual operating objectives 

• Manage and lead the site CI/Op-Ex team, providing coaching, development planning, and performance feedback 

• Facilitate structured problem-solving using A3, 8D, DMAIC, and other methodologies to address startup losses and process instability 

• Lead Kaizen events targeting throughput, waste reduction, process stability, and labor productivity 

• Partner with Production, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Finance to ensure cross-functional alignment 

• Collaborate with Finance to validate savings, track financial impact, and ensure ROI for CI initiatives 

• Build frontline capability through structured training in Lean, problem solving, and daily management practices 

• Identify performance gaps and drive disciplined countermeasure implementation 

• Ensure improvements are standardized and sustained through documentation, training, and control plans 

• Drive cultural transformation to embed ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement behaviors 

• Advocate for the Continuous Improvement vision and support enterprise alignment under the Director of CI. 

 

skills/qualifications required:  

• Strong expertise in Daily Management Systems, tiered accountability, standard work, leader standard work, SMED, and structured problem solving 

• Experience designing and deploying systems in startups, greenfield, or high-growth environments preferred 

• Strong analytical and performance-driven mindset 

• Strong leadership, coaching, and facilitation skills 

• Excellent communication and presentation skills 

• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, evolving environment 

• Ability to gather, analyze, and translate data into actionable improvement plans 

 

additional skills/qualifications required for Team Management: