Project Manager, Operations, Strategies & Solutions

Job ID: 41911 | Location: Louisville, Kentucky, USA | Work Model: Hybrid

Clariant is currently looking for a Senior Project Manager to join the Operations Strategy & Solutions team. In this highly visible and autonomous role, you will lead Operational Excellence and Operations transformation initiatives across Clariant’s U.S. manufacturing network. You will partner with business leaders, site management, and shop-floor teams to identify improvement opportunities, develop practical transformation roadmaps, and lead complex cross-functional projects from concept through sustainable implementation. Your work will help improve operational performance, profitability, production systems, and overall manufacturing capabilities across multiple sites and business units. The ideal candidate is a self-driven Operations professional who can work independently, influence stakeholders without formal authority, and translate complex business challenges into measurable results. This position requires up to 30% travel to U.S. manufacturing sites, including Mt. Holly, North Carolina, and Clear Lake, Texas, based on project needs. If you are energized by solving complex operational challenges, leading meaningful change, and delivering measurable results, we invite you to apply and help shape the future of Operations at Clariant. We offer competitive compensation plus an annual bonus, generous PTO, a hybrid work schedule and more!

Responsibilities

• Lead Operational Excellence and Operations transformation initiatives across U.S. sites, business units, and functions.
• Serve as the primary OSS representative in the United States and build strong relationships with Operations and business leaders.
• Conduct operational maturity assessments, diagnostics, benchmarking, and performance reviews to identify improvement priorities.
• Facilitate leadership workshops, ideation sessions, and cross-functional teams to develop transformation roadmaps.
• Translate findings into actionable initiatives, business cases, implementation plans, and value-tracking measures.
• Manage complex cross-functional projects requiring change management and coordination across multiple organizational levels.
• Partner with senior management, site leadership, and shop-floor teams to drive the adoption of new processes and ways of working.
• Lead Digital Lean initiatives involving analytics, visualization, automation, and performance-management systems.
• Facilitate cross-business-unit collaboration and knowledge sharing related to Production Systems, continuous improvement, maintenance excellence, sustainability, and net-zero initiatives.
• Develop operational blueprints, maturity models, standards, dashboards, and best-practice frameworks that strengthen Operations capabilities.