Sr. Operational Excellence Manager - West Region

Employment Type: Salaried
Work Arrangement: Remote 

Position Summary:

The Sr. Operational Excellence Manager is responsible for leading Site Specific and Regional Initiatives partnering with Ventura Foods Functional Leadership to reach targeted business and operational goals through appropriate continuous improvement methodologies. 
 

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the defined region by defining initiative scope, identifying stakeholders and managing initiatives.
• Lead the cross functional teams through the improvement process including tracking and reporting of progress, managing issues and risks and implementing best-practice techniques and tools through out the enterprise as a result of the initiative.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for Redzone, and process improvement across their respective region by focusing on process discipline.
• Lead and support tools to improve Flow which include but not limited to Kaizen and Value Stream Analysis events to map current processes, define future state and drive key improvements.
• Maintains and develops proficiency of industry continuous improvement tools and methods for self and mentors OpEx Managers within the team and coach plant employees as necessary to build capability throughout region with a focus on the Edge Operating System.
• Facilitate cross functional opportunity ideation for region.  Partner with governance teams from each plant within the region while aligning strategically with regional VP of Operations to complete risk vs. benefit analysis and prioritization process.

Education and Experience:

Education:

• Bachelor's degree is required
• 7+ years' experience in manufacturing operational activities in a CPG manufacturing environment is required
• People leadership experience is required
• Travel on average up to 50%, may require additional travel for other key initiatives 
• Bachelor's degree in technical focus i.e. Engineering, Supply Chain or related field is highly desired
• Supporting multiple plants is highly preferred
• ASQ LSS Green Belt or higher certification and Lean Methodology understanding is strongly desired
• Total Predictive Maintenance (TPM) concepts, Kaizen & ERP (i.e. SAP, JDE) experience is strongly recommended
• Food manufacturing experience highly preferred
• MES (i.e. Redzone) system experience highly desired
• Understanding of food regulatory agencies, including HACCP, PCQI, SQF, etc. is highly preferred
• Lean Practitioner Certification is greatly desired

Knowledge and Skills:

• Proven track record leading Lean Six Sigma projects and kaizen events using industry standard tools and methods to deliver sustainable results
• Demonstrated strengths in project management processes and methodologies including toll gate review, planning and review methods
• Excellent training and presentation skills with solid communication capabilities and practices both oral and written
• Must be competent facilitating Lean Kaizen events, building and implementing national, regional and site level improvement plans, directly providing hands on leadership of key projects and teams
• Experience going from the shop floor to senior management levels facilitating change in the culture of employees, business leaders, departments and functional organizations to embrace Lean and Six Sigma philosophies to significantly improve business results
• Ability to facilitate cross functional opportunity ideation sessions for the region to build cost savings, continuous improvement, and innovation pipeline of projects for risk benefit evaluation
• Demonstrates a results-based leadership style with strong impact and influencing skills

Why Join Us:

Ventura Foods innovates and manufactures food solutions for foodservice and retail businesses.  We make exclusive products for the world's most iconic restaurants and retailers, we provide ready-to-go product solutions for professional kitchens, and we make consumer brands everyone knows and loves.  When you work for Ventura Foods, you get a strong foundation of training, a manager who cares about you and celebrates your success, a safe environment, and challenging work.  As part of our team, your future is limited only by how much you’re willing to push yourself to get there. We invest in your growth because you invest in ours.  

Ventura Foods offers career growth opportunities as well as competitive compensation and benefits:​

• Medical, Prescription, Dental, & Vision – coverage beginning on your 1st day for eligible employees
• ​Profit Sharing and 401(k) matching (after eligible criteria is met