Site OpEx Lead

Smith & Nephew•Oklahoma City, OK

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Smith+Nephew designs and manufactures technology intended to take the limits off living. The Site OpEx Lead provides leadership and coaching to new and existing leaders to foster a culture of Operational Excellence throughout the S+N network and engage stakeholders across the value stream. The role standardizes improvement tools and techniques, coaches the OpEx community, and partners strategically with Franchise leadership to support business strategies. It coordinates improvement activities and benefit tracking across business units, provides hands-on support to areas needing immediate improvement, and develops local teams for long-term sustainability. The role also builds a shared improvement culture and develops and evolves the OpEx Centers of Excellence learning management system, training, and content. The position is site-based focused and requires 5%–15% travel.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Business, Science, or an equivalent field; a combination of education and experience may be considered instead of a bachelor’s degree.
12+ years of hands-on experience deploying Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and Project Management principles and best practices.
12+ years of experience in multiple functions within the value stream, such as production, materials management, manufacturing engineering, quality assurance, IT, EH&S, facilities, and purchasing.
12+ years of experience and demonstrated application of Lean techniques, including 5S, Root Cause Analysis, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Visual Management, SIPOC, Flow, Pull, TAKT, TQM, JIT, SPC, and CPK.
Travel of 5%–15% is required.
Strong business acumen and broad understanding of OpEx, Lean, and continuous improvement principles.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate and build consensus in a high-pressure environment.
Strategic thinking and ability to influence people at the highest levels of the company.
Excellent understanding of Quality Systems and Measures.
Demonstrated ability to lead with high energy, change culture, manage multiple Lean projects, and make lasting, relevant organizational impact.
Strong people-management and change-management skills.
Excellent communication skills throughout all levels of the organization.
Excellent people leadership and integrity.

Nice To Haves

No separate preferred qualifications are explicitly identified; the posting lists the desired skills and qualifications as requirements.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and coaching to new and existing leaders to foster an Operational Excellence culture throughout the S+N network.
Standardize improvement tools and techniques across S+N, including standard work, Value Stream Mapping, waste identification, SIPOC, 5S, Root Cause Analysis, and kaizen activity.
Coach and mentor OpEx community members on how and when to use standard tools, and support activities that grow the culture.
Serve as a strategic partner to the Franchise leadership team in support of business strategies.
Consolidate and coordinate improvement activities and ensure benefits are tracked and shared across applicable business units.
Provide hands-on support to areas of the business in immediate need while engaging local OpEx teams to build long-term sustainability.
Create an aligned improvement culture across S+N with shared terminology, practices, and language.
Develop and evolve the OpEx Centers of Excellence learning management system, trainings, and OpEx content.
Develop written communications, including executive report-outs, intranet content, objectives status updates, newsletters, transformation blog content, and other periodicals.