Operational Excellence Manager

Reports to: Corporate OpEx leadership; dotted-line to Plant Manager Manages: Cross-functional project teams About the Company Sabert is a leading global manufacturer of innovative food packaging products and solutions. The company was founded in 1983, grounded in the purpose of reinventing food packaging to nourish and protect our world. Headquartered in Sayreville, New Jersey, Sabert operates North American facilities in California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia, as well as manufacturing facilities in Nivelles, Belgium; Kimbolton, England; Lodz, Poland; and Zhongshan, China. Using its proprietary Packaging Value Model™, Sabert combines deep insights about food lifecycles and consumer lifestyles with fast and flexible production capabilities. Its industry-leading product designs encompass all five areas of innovative packaging: Performance, Presentation, Safety, Sustainability and Economics. The enterprise has grown 5-fold in the last decade through robust organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Job Summary The OpEx Manager drives continuous improvement efforts within the plant and warehouse in the areas of cultural mindset, project execution and training to improve financial business results and elimination of waste. Utilizes Lean and Six Sigma Manufacturing to provide overall leadership for the plant in creating appropriate continuous improvement plans via Value Stream Mapping and Hoshin Planning and the deployment and execution of appropriate improvement initiatives via Kaizen, Green Belt and Daily Management Systems (MDI). Essential Duties and Responsibilities Directs and executes all aspects of continuous improvement efforts in the plant including planning, development, deployment, and reporting Directs an ongoing educational effort to support the conceptual understanding and development of skills to achieve operational excellence Assess, analyze and implement solutions across the plant to identify and eliminate waste, organize around Lean processes and deliver excellence on safety, environmental, quality, productivity and cost Works with leadership to identify, select and define specific improvement projects while coordinating with leaders to eliminate barriers and raise awareness as needed Facilitates and supports improvement teams to execute significant process improvement projects while reviewing P&L impact and resource needs Influences, motivates and coaches individuals across the plant involved in operational excellence or continuous improvement objectives; mentors individuals to support them through the adoption of lean principles and the Sabert Operating Principles Establishes and guides development and reporting of operational excellence metrics for the plant Works in accordance with all company policies and procedures regarding employment, safety, quality, product safety and legality, security, and regulatory compliance as applicable Strong working knowledge and depth of understanding in manufacturing and distribution operations Deep expertise in Lean methodologies, tools and processes; understanding of all types of continuous improvement approaches including VSM, Hoshin Planning, Kaizen, MDI Self-motivated, resourceful and entrepreneurial, demonstrating willingness for learning and improvement Well-developed quantitative and qualitative analytical skills and critical thinking skills Strong influencing and communication skills; capable of securing management buy-in, sponsorship and investment through strong articulation of business benefits aligned to broader organizational objectives Outstanding and proven leadership and interpersonal capabilities; ability to collaborate broadly across all levels of the organization to achieve results with cross-functional teams Skilled in coaching and team development Skilled with the use of Microsoft and other business software applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SAP, etc. Education & Experience Bachelor's Degree required in Engineering or a related field (BA or BS) 7+ years experience in a manufacturing or distribution organization Demonstrated, hands‑on successful experience in driving Lean transformation to achieve optimization of manufacturing systems, practices and processes Lean Certification from a recognized institution strongly preferred #J-18808-Ljbffr Omnivore Executive Search LLC