Director of Manufacturing Strategy & Operational Excellence

Cardinal Health

16h•Remote

About The Position

Cardinal Health’s Global Medical Products and Distribution (“GMPD”) segment focuses on U.S. and International Products and Distribution businesses, offering industry expertise and an expanding portfolio of safe, effective medical products. The Director of Manufacturing Strategy & Operational Excellence is responsible for executing the enterprise-wide manufacturing strategy to advance the Core & Convertor Manufacturing organization toward World Class Manufacturing. This leader will work with the central team in development of strategy and in driving the implementation and continuous improvement of key operational systems including Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), 6S, Lean Six Sigma, Strategy Deployment, Cost Savings Programs Management, Capital Management, and lead programs in advanced manufacturing technologies such as automation and Artificial Intelligence. Working in partnership with site leadership across multiple global medical manufacturing facilities, this role will define the roadmap for the Core & Convertor teams’ operational transformation, establish performance standards, and lead initiatives that improve Operational Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), productivity, and cost performance. The Director will design and implement a five-year strategic roadmap that prioritizes initiatives based on each site's maturity and readiness, while building the capabilities necessary to sustain long-term operational excellence. Additionally, the Director will manage the Core & Convertor Team tactical and strategic elements of VIP and Capital Planning, including collaborating with the sites on monthly spend tracking, management reporting, gap identification & gap closure planning, annual planning, and long-term strategic roadmap development and execution leadership.

Requirements

Strong project management skills with ability to plan tasks, assign and manage resources, remove barriers, manage change, resolve conflict, build consensus, and motivate team members.
Progressive manufacturing experience required.
Demonstrated success leading large-scale operational excellence or transformation initiatives.
Strong expertise in Lean Manufacturing, TPM, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Proven ability to improve OEE and drive measurable operational performance improvements.
Experience working across multi-site or global manufacturing operations.
Strong influence, leadership, and change management skills.
Approximately 50% travel required to support global manufacturing sites and lead implementation of strategic initiatives.
Ability to work remotely from home/field requires a dedicated, quiet, private, distraction free environment with access to high-speed internet.
Responsible for providing high-speed internet.

Nice To Haves

Bachelors and Advanced Degree in related field, or equivalent work experience.
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Experience implementing automation, digital manufacturing systems, and / or AI-driven manufacturing technologies.
Experience developing enterprise manufacturing strategies or operational excellence roadmaps.

Responsibilities

Lead enterprise manufacturing strategy to advance Core & Convertor sites toward World Class Manufacturing.
Develop and execute a phased five‑year Operational Excellence roadmap aligned to site maturity.
Align improvement initiatives with business growth, performance targets, and customer needs.
Deploy and sustain TPM, 6S, and Lean Six Sigma across the manufacturing network.
Foster a disciplined continuous improvement culture driving cost, productivity, and waste reduction.
Standardize best practices to deliver sustainable performance improvements.
Drive significant OEE improvements through data‑driven performance management.
Partner with sites to implement standardized KPIs, dashboards, and CI frameworks.
Lead the adoption of automation, digital manufacturing, and AI to improve efficiency, quality, and throughput.
Partner with OPEX, Engineering, and IT to pilot, scale, and integrate emerging technologies.
Partner with plant leadership across a global manufacturing footprint to drive OpEx adoption.
Coach and influence leaders to ensure accountability and sustained results without direct authority.
Establish governance, standards, and metrics for enterprise OpEx initiatives.
Strengthen Lean Six Sigma capabilities and build a pipeline of OpEx leaders.