Continuous Improvement Manager (Iowa)

Food processing/packaging plant that truly believes, & schedules business, with "family" in mind, promoting, & living, a balanced life.  This role is responsible for the coordination, implementation, control and completion of projects while remaining aligned with the strategy, commitments and goals of the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and implement projects
• Help define project scope, goals and deliverables by utilizing project charters to capture objectives, deliverables, stakeholders, business metrics, and milestones to ensure transparency, accountability, and alignment with business needs.
• Define tasks and required resources.
• Collect and manage project team.
• Manage the project budget.
• Allocate project resources.
• Create a project schedule and timeline.
• Support and direct team.
• Report on the project status.
• Present to stakeholders reports on progress as well as problems and solutions projects including but not limited to process improvements, implementation of new products, testing new equipment, labor analysis, yield analysis, cost to produce, quality improvement, and waste reduction. Timely execution of projects against business needs.
• Implement and manage changes when necessary to meet project deliverables.
• Evaluate and assess the result of the project.
• Engage cross functional teams of people at all levels of the organization to execute against project needs, brain storming, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen events, 5 Why’s, etc.
• Engage employees at all levels of the organization to capture ideas and solutions against opportunities. Support recognition and feedback to those that actively push for improvements and innovations in their area of work. Leverage vendors and third parties where needed to meet business and project needs. Develop technical expertise in the core manufacturing processes.

Minimum Qualifications:

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or related project management preferred. Three or more years of progressively responsible positions in a manufacturing environment (or equivalent combination of education and experience). Experience in food manufacturing and project management desired. Certification in Project Management (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) or Continuous Improvement is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and/or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports and business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from management, and employees. Must have the ability to influence and persuade others.

LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read and interpret documents in the English language such as safety files, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Must be able to effectively communicate with outside regulatory agencies, employees, and production and management personnel. Bilingual skills a plus.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to apply mathematical applications to practical situations. Demonstrated ability to understand advanced statistics and statistical analysis for data analysis and process control.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical, diagram, written and/or verbal form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Must have the ability to manage multiple projects accurately and confidently. Strong understanding of project implementations, project structure and life cycle and best practice standards and tools.

Interest Applicant:

Send resume to Jenny Sochocki at jennifer@mriweb.com or 317-678-0120 for review & consideration.  Thank you in advance for your time and interest.  Compensation can go up to 140K plus bonus potential and some relocation assistance will be offered.