Continuous Improvement Manager

Kerry•Byesville, OH

49d•$107,000 - $144,000•Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for leading site-wide Continuous Improvement (CI) by driving cost delivery, embedding effective management systems, and building a strong CI culture. The CI Manager partners with the leadership team and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver strategic initiatives, improve operational performance, and increase One Kerry Plant System (1KPS) maturity. Ultimately, the role ensures sustainable capability building across the site through standardization, performance rigor, and development of frontline teams. Kerry is seeking a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead site-wide improvement initiatives at our beverage manufacturing facility in Byesville, Ohio. As a member of the Site Leadership Team, you will translate business priorities into sustainable improvements in safety, quality, customer service, productivity, cost, and operational performance. You will lead the continued development of the One Kerry Plant System (1KPS), strengthen continuous improvement capabilities, and help advance the site toward World Class Manufacturing standards. This opportunity is ideal for a hands-on change leader who combines strategic thinking with disciplined execution and can influence teams across all functions and levels.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering, business, management, food science, or a related discipline.
At least five years of experience leading or managing multifunctional teams in a high-speed manufacturing or process environment.
Strong knowledge of Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement principles, and structured problem-solving methods.
Demonstrated success delivering measurable improvements in cost, productivity, operational performance, or process capability.
Experience developing teams through coaching, training, and performance alignment.
Working knowledge of manufacturing technologies, production processes, and operational management systems.
Ability to translate business priorities into practical site-level execution.
Strong communication, facilitation, and influencing skills across all organizational levels.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office and MRP or similar manufacturing systems.
Ability to use operational and financial data to support decisions and verify results.

Nice To Haves

Experience in beverage, food, packaging, or another regulated, high-speed manufacturing environment.
Experience implementing a structured plant operating or management system.
Familiarity with WAVE, Intertek Alchemy, Tulip, MaintainX, or comparable platforms.
Lean Six Sigma certification or similar continuous improvement credentials.
Experience developing frontline leaders and operator training programs.

Responsibilities

Lead the deployment and maturity of 1KPS management-system playbooks.
Strengthen tiered meetings, short-interval control, master scheduling, KPI management, structured problem-solving, corrective actions, and accountability.
Ensure operating standards are understood, consistently applied, measured, and sustained.
Serve as a visible CI leader, coach, and facilitator across the site.
Build employee and leadership capability through CI training, coaching, and practical application of Lean tools.
Promote root-cause thinking, standardization, collaboration, accountability, and data-based decision-making.
Build and maintain a pipeline of cost-saving, productivity, value-creation, and digital initiatives.
Ensure projects are captured in WAVE, progressed through the appropriate IL gate process, and incorporated into the site master schedule.
Lead selected strategic projects and validate delivered business benefits.
Support annual factory cost, margin, productivity, and performance commitments.
Partner with Safety, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, and People teams to close gaps and standardize ways of working.
Champion Frontline Leader and Frontline Operator development programs.
Coordinate the development of SOPs, work instructions, and operator training.
Ensure new and revised standards are documented, trained, verified, and embedded into daily operations.
Administer Intertek Alchemy and support platforms such as Tulip and MaintainX to improve training, compliance, workflow visibility, and consistent execution.
Benchmark best practices and promote continuous learning throughout the organization.