Continuous Improvement Director

Job Title: Continuous Improvement Director

Location: Tyler, TX

Department: Finance

Reports to: CFO

Direct Reports: Continuous Improvement Team (corporate and plant CI roles)

Normal Work Schedule: Exempt. Based in Tyler with standard business hours, and flexibility to support plant operations across shifts, including early, late and weekend coverage as business needs require.

Travel: Regular travel to Valley, AL, and Gainesville, GA is required based on business needs.

Overview of Company

Soules Foods is a thriving family-owned food company that has made a positive difference for its customers and consumers for nearly 50 years. Our purpose and promise of Great Food, Made Simple® drives us. Based in Tyler, Texas, the company is a leading national producer of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook chicken and beef products and is the number one producer of chicken and beef fajitas in the USA. We proudly serve a broad portfolio of great-tasting, high-quality products sold throughout the US via retail, food service distributors, and restaurants. Our wide array of national customers includes prominent organizations such as Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club, Sysco, and HEB. The company was established in 1975 by John Soules Sr., and the business is now in the second generation of family leadership. The organization has expanded dramatically over the past decade and, with its continued growth, now has annual sales of approximately $1 billion. The company employs over 2,000 individuals and has three manufacturing facilities in Gainesville, Georgia; Valley, Alabama; and its headquarters in Tyler, Texas.


Job Summary

The Director of Continuous Improvement builds and leads the enterprise continuous improvement (CI) operating model across Soules Foods' three manufacturing plants and, over time, across Supply Chain and other functions. The role establishes a disciplined, data-driven system to identify and quantify losses, prioritize improvement opportunities, set consistent KPIs and operating rhythms, and develop improvement glidepaths in partnership with Operations. The Director connects improvement initiatives to the P&L and establishes the standard work, governance, and verification routines needed to sustain results.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications (Required)
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering; Industrial Engineering preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, or manufacturing operations leadership.
• Progressive experience leading continuous improvement, operational excellence, or productivity initiatives in manufacturing environments.
• Strong experience developing and applying labor standards, conducting time studies, and evaluating capacity and productivity.
• Experience building or materially transforming a continuous improvement program across multiple sites or business units.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, quantify, prioritize, and track operational losses and improvement opportunities.
• Ability to quantify improvement benefits and ensure savings reconcile to the P&L, in partnership with Finance.
• Experience establishing KPIs, governance routines, standard work, and structured problem-solving methods.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and developing teams in a multi-site environment.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in protein processing or food manufacturing.
• Experience deploying and sustaining digital productivity tools such as RedZone
• Spanish language proficiency as a preferred second language.

Equivalent combinations of education, experience, and demonstrated leadership may be considered.

Driving Requirements : A valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record.

Key Responsibilities

NOTE: This description is not intended to be all-inclusive. An employee may perform other related duties to meet the organization's ongoing needs; these duties are considered marginal.

CI Operating Model & Loss Management
• Build and lead a consistent enterprise CI operating model across the Tyler, Valley, and Gainesville plants, with a roadmap to extend the model into Supply Chain and other functions.
• Identify, quantify, and prioritize losses and improvement opportunities using a common, data-driven methodology.
• Own the enterprise productivity pipeline, including opportunity sizing, prioritization, initiative tracking, and escalation of barriers.
• Develop improvement glidepaths and targets jointly with Operations; Operations retains accountability for plant operating results.

Standards, Governance & Sustained Results
• Establish consistent KPIs, review routines, governance, and accountability mechanisms across all plants.
• Develop and maintain standard work, verification routines, and follow-through processes that sustain improvements.
• Monitor progress against committed improvement glidepaths, identify gaps, and coordinate recovery plans with Operations.
• Partner with FSQA on document control and with HR on training, qualification, and certification processes related to CI standards.

Financial Validation & Benefits Realization
• Partner with Finance to quantify improvement benefits, validate savings independently, and ensure realized benefits reconcile to the P&L.
• Maintain transparent documentation of assumptions, baselines, calculations, and benefit realization for CI initiatives.

Digital Productivity & Analytics
• Support effective use and adoption of RedZone and other digital productivity tools; measure adoption, utilization, and business value.
• Use operational data and dashboards to surface losses, monitor performance, and support fact-based prioritization and decisions.
• Identify opportunities to scale digital tools and replace manual processes where doing so improves visibility, consistency, or productivity.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership
• Build, coach, and develop the corporate and plant CI team.
• Coach plant teams and leaders in structured problem-solving, CI methods, and adherence to standard work.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, FSQA, HR, and Finance to implement and sustain the improvement system.
• Communicate performance, risks, and progress to senior leadership and influence execution across sites and functions.

Measurement of Success
• Finance-validated savings are realized and reflected in the P&L.
• Performance and recovery are tracked against improvement glidepaths committed with Operations.
• Consistent KPIs, review cadences, and governance routines are implemented and sustained across all plants.
• Standard work is documented, followed, and verified through defined adherence measures.
• CI team capability and performance improve through development plans, coaching, and demonstrated ownership.

Work Environment

This job is carried out in a professional office setting and involves using standard office equipment, such as laptops, desk phones, and smartphones. Regular visits to production facilities may also be required. During those visits, the employee is occasionally exposed to cold and/or humid conditions. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts. The employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles, cold temperatures, and risks of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is moderate.

Physical Demands

Employees must be able to stand, walk, or sit; use their hands for tasks; reach with their arms; and communicate verbally. Occasional lifting or moving of objects is necessary, along with close, distance, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

The applicant who fills this position will be eligible for the following:
• Incentive Pay: This position is eligible for the Company's bonus plan, with amounts varying based on program terms.
• Vacation / Sick days
• Medical, Dental, Vision Benefits
• Telemedicine
• Onsite Clinic
• Free annual health screening
• 401 (k) with company match
• STD and LTD
• Life insurance & other voluntary benefits
• Career Development: We support professional growth through continuous learning and development opportunities.

Soules Foods is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status.

Applicants with disabilities needing accommodation during the application process can contact Human Resources at the relevant location.

Soules Foods will not discriminate against applicants who discuss their compensation. We also participate in the E-Verify program where required by law.

Unsolicited Assistance: Soules Foods does not accept unsolicited support from external recruitment vendors for U.S. positions. Resumes or candidate profiles submitted without a valid written request and search agreement from HR will be considered the property of Soules Foods. No fees will be paid for candidates hired through unsolicited referrals.