Performance Excellence BU Lead - Cedar Rapids, IA

Archer Daniels Midland•Cedar Rapids, IA

About The Position

The Performance Excellence Business Unit Lead is responsible for leading the deployment and sustainment of the Performance Excellence System across their assigned business unit. ADM is on an ongoing journey to drive continuous improvement in our products, services and processes. In an everchanging world, we have to be positioned to globally compete and win. Performance Excellence (PE) is a practice that helps us to drive a cultural shift to a continuous improvement mindset. What started as a pilot program at two Decatur, Illinois, locations, has blossomed into a global initiative that is fundamentally changing how we operate. PE empowers, enables and engages colleagues at all levels of the organization and provides a standard set of tools and methodologies that allow us to effectively and efficiently overcome the challenges we face. Successful alignment with the overall ADM PE philosophies will empower our company to develop efficient processes, eliminate non-value added or duplicate efforts, eliminate waste and other related losses, and allow best practices to be embraced globally. As such, management of this function is specific in nature and critical to our success. This position will be focused on driving improvements in revenue and driving cost out of the business through the development of efficient processes, elimination of non-valued added or duplicate efforts, waste and other related losses within ADM utilizing the zero-loss mindset through the PE system. The PE Business Unit Lead will work closely with Plant Managers in the assigned Business Unit to educate and coach for accountability to the PE Processes. This position will help create an environment for Operations Leaders to learn to Lead through PE. Leaders with a desire to continue advancing their careers in Operations Leadership are encouraged to apply. The PE Practitioner role is a great development opportunity to further refine your leadership skillset to lead using PE mindsets/tools, practice change management skills and learn how to teach and coach others to leverage PE mindsets/tools. The PE Business Unit Lead will provide oversight and direction to PE Practitioners. This function will also ensure that ADM processing plants are sufficiently prepared for the launch of PE implementations, and will likewise manage deployment and ongoing sustainment of the PE system. Further, the PE Business Unit Lead will serve as a subject matter authority in identifying cost savings, colleague development, process improvements, and work culture opportunities, through the use of PE.

Requirements

Experience in Continuous Improvement / Performance Excellence
Interpersonal skills
Mentor and Facilitation skills
Strong leadership abilities
Influencing without Authority
Project management skills
Cost management (e.g. savings, travel & entertainment budget)
Professional maturity – work with all levels of the organization and navigate corporate politics
Multiple direct reports (PE Practitioners)
WAVE Reporting
Minimum 7 years of manufacturing/processing and/or Continuous Improvement experience.
Manufacturing background either as a department manager or a plant manager
Experience in operations management is strongly desired
Experience with multi-facility process implementation(s)
Experience in continuous improvement system such as ADM Performance Excellence, Lean, or TPM
Validated leadership of deployment of continuous improvement system such as ADM PE, Lean, or TPM
Deep understanding of organizational behavior

Responsibilities

Participate in business strategy and customer / business / operations planning.
Align with strategic objectives for the Business Unit/Division/Functional Area/Plant and ensure Practitioner team executes PE to accomplish them.
Train/coach/mentor and evaluate the performance of professional direct reports, namely the PE Practitioners who serve as the direct bridge between the tactical/operational and pivotal initiatives in the organization.
Key change facilitator to drive change, using strong PE system deployment tools and methodologies to handle multi-site implementations and sustainment.
Perform Alignment Visits with the Practitioner team to coach individual Practitioners and identify and share foundational best-practices to ensure we remain aligned with the PE system across the region.
Support the practitioner team to ensure that implementation plants are prepared for replication and sustainment.
Review return on investment (ROI) for each PE site implementation to determine value and deliver hard cost savings.
Builds strong relationships and manages expectations of Operations, Technology Centers, Contractors, and Corporate Leadership.
Review trip reports with Practitioners to understand gaps in the PE implementation process and review proposed solutions.
Ensure practitioners are properly implementing the ADM PE process.
Ensure major site implementation blockers are highlighted and communicated per the escalation plan.
Exercise independent discretion to escalate communication to Operations Leaders, Technical Centers of Excellence Leaders, and Business Unit Leaders as deemed appropriate.
Facilitate the linkage between Operations Leaders and Site objectives to ensure alignment using the PE system.
Mentor and assist PE Practitioners
Ensure plants are prepared for the launch of the PE implementations
Provide PE education to ADM Leaders and Steering Team on PE
Coordinate and communicate implementation activities
Travel required, up to 70% to coach practitioners in the field and perform audits / assessments for the evaluation of PE results and consistently across the region.
Lead and facilitate cross-functional project teams and problem-solving initiatives utilizing lean tools, such kaizen, GEMBA, DMAIC, value stream mapping, and other CI process improvement tools as requested by business/Technology Center teams.
Lead and facilitate a plant PE implementation to remain integrated and engaged in the day-to-day role of a Practitioner.

Benefits

In addition to competitive pay, we support your diverse needs with a comprehensive total rewards package to enhance your well-being, including:
Physical wellness – medical/Rx, dental, vision and on-site wellness center access or gym reimbursement (as applicable).
Financial wellness – flexible spending accounts, health savings account, 401(k) with matching contributions and cash balance plan, discounted employee stock purchasing program, life insurance, disability, workers’ compensation, legal assistance, identity theft protection.
Mental and social wellness – Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Colleague Giving Programs (ADM Cares).
Additional benefits include:
Paid time off including paid holidays.
Adoption assistance and paid maternity and parental leave.
Tuition assistance.
Company-sponsored training and development resources, such as LinkedIn Learning, language training and mentoring programs.

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