Senior Continuous Improvement Manager

Watts Water Technologies•North Andover, MA

118d•Hybrid

About The Position

We’re Watts. Together, we’re reimagining the future of water. We feel proud every day about what we do. We're all part of the same crucial mission, no matter what function we support -- it's to provide safe, clean water for the world, and to protect our planet's most valuable resource. For 150 years, Watts has built best-in-class products that are trusted by customers in residential and commercial settings across the world. We are at the forefront of innovation, working with cutting-edge technology to provide smart and connected, sustainable water solutions for the future. Watts is a leading brand with a quality reputation — and we have a dynamic future ahead. The Senior Continuous Improvement Manager is a high-energy, multi-site leader responsible for 3–6 manufacturing locations. While Watts enjoys CEO-level CI engagement and a robust toolkit, your mission is to bridge the "last mile": helping the plant floor connect our tools to tangible, winning results. You will act as the "Coach of Coaches," providing dotted-line leadership to onsite CI Managers, hourly leads, and technicians. This role is for a "finisher"—someone who isn't satisfied with just launching an initiative but is obsessed with completing it and sustaining the gains. For a leader with deep manufacturing operations experience, this position offers high visibility and development.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related technical field, or in lieu of a degree, a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
10+ years in manufacturing/operations. You must have a track record of "owning" results and leading through influence.
Direct experience in Operations Supervision or Production Management is essential. You must understand the daily pressures of a production schedule.
A high-energy personality with an intense focus on completion and sustainment. You are passionate about seeing a project through to the finish line.
Expert-level knowledge of Lean methods (VSM, SMED, TPM, Material Flow).
Proven ability to build engagement and drive outcomes with teams (CI Managers, hourly leads, and technicians) that do not report to you directly.
Ability to tell a compelling story with numbers (Excel/PowerPoint) to influence everyone from the shop floor to senior leadership

Nice To Haves

Lean Transformation expertise or Six Sigma Black Belt is strongly preferred.
SAP experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide dotted-line leadership and coaching to onsite CI Managers and hourly leads across your assigned sites. Ensure a consistent, high standard of excellence across the complex.
Turn the One Watts Performance System (OWPS) from a set of tools into the "heartbeat" of the factory. Your focus is on making the connection between CI activities and real-world shop floor wins.
Lead by doing. Personally facilitate high-impact Kaizens and complex problem-solving events. You set the "gold standard" for visible, role-model behavior on the manufacturing floor.
Facilitate the translation of top-level business goals into a concrete, cross-functional improvement funnel that the shop floor understands, owns, and executes.
Identify and prioritize high-value opportunities. Track and communicate balanced-scorecard results to ensure CI work drives measurable AOP (Annual Operating Plan) success.
Lead CI Steering Committees to remove organizational barriers and ensure total alignment between Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Finance.
Spend 40 – 60% of time on the shop floor actively coaching, observing, and guiding transformation activities in real time.