Director, Strategic Initiatives

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Location: Belpre, OH, US, 45714 The Woodlands, TX, US, 77380

Company: Kraton

Make a +Difference at Kraton!

At Kraton, we make a +Difference , and we are looking for individuals who are also looking to make a difference in their jobs, for our customers and to the world. We are looking to hire a key member of our Operations team at either our manufacturing site in Beplre, Ohio or our Global Headquarters located in The Woodlands, Texas.

This role serves as the enterprise leader for strategic manufacturing transformation initiatives, integrating business strategy, operational execution, financial performance, and organizational alignment to deliver major capital, footprint, capacity, product scale-up and process-improvement projects across the polymer manufacturing organization.

We believe in making a +Difference , as a global manufacturer of sustainable specialty polymers and biobased pine chemicals, delivering innovative, high-performance solutions.

We’re proud to offer benefits that meaningfully support you—at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

Some of the benefits offered are:

• Medical Insurance, including TeleDoc - multiple plans available with Flexible Spending Account & Health Savings Account options
• Health Advocate – free support to help you understand your coverage and answer questions
• Life Insurance – base coverage paid for by Kraton with option for additional coverage
• 401k – Kraton provides matching contributions based on enrollment level
• Employee Assistance Program – provided at no cost to employees
• Accident, Disability, and Critical Illness Insurance

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Project Leadership

• Lead enterprise-wide strategic initiatives across Operations, Engineering, R&D, Supply Chain, Commercial, Procurement, and Project teams.
• Deliver projects that support manufacturing footprint optimization, capability expansion, cost competitiveness, and business growth.
• Manage project scope, budget, schedule, risks, and value realization in partnership with the Global CAPEX Project Director.
  • Align project objectives with commercial demand, supply chain requirements, production planning, inventory strategies, and resource capacity.
  • Coordinate product transitions and operational readiness activities across multiple functions.
    • Develop business cases and present project recommendations, progress, and risks to executive leadership (KPLT and other senior stakeholders).
    • Drive timely decision-making and alignment on critical project priorities.
    • Monitor project financial performance and business outcomes.
    • Partner with FP&A to evaluate economics, address variances, and implement corrective actions.
    • Identify and deliver sustainable cost reduction and manufacturing optimization opportunities.

Governance, Change Management & Execution

• Establish effective governance, resource prioritization, and risk management processes.
• Lead stakeholder communications and organizational change efforts to ensure successful implementation.
• Remove execution barriers and maintain organizational alignment throughout project lifecycles.
• Ensure smooth transition of completed projects into operations with clear ownership and benefit realization.

Global Process Engineering Leadership

• Lead a global Process Engineering organization supporting strategic initiatives and manufacturing excellence.
• Oversee global test runs, operational technical support, process engineering support for key CAPEX projects, and continuous improvement programs.
• Drive process optimization, raw material qualification, supplier transitions, cost reduction initiatives, and business continuity efforts.
• Standardize best practices across manufacturing operations and serve as the process technology subject matter expert for core production processes.

Required Skills

• 15+ years of related experience.
• Sr. leadership experience with ability to clearly elucidate objectives and progress to the top leadership of the company.
• Multifunctional work experience desired (R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Sales, Commercial) providing strong abilities to lead multinational, and multifunctional teams.
• Excellent interaction and negotiation skills required as the job will interface w/ leadership levels from the top levels of the company through technical and operating staff.
• Extensive plant operation experience in the field of Polymer Technology.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively influence different levels of the organization from front-line employees to executives

Education, Certifications & Licenses

• BS Chemical, Mechanical Engineering, or BS Chemistry.
• MS, or PhD Preferred

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Kraton’s internal talent acquisition team manages our recruiting efforts and from time to time works with pre-selected/pre-approved external staffing agencies. We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes or candidate referrals from recruiters and/or agencies who are not pre-selected/pre-approved.

Kraton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.