Sr Manager, Operational Excellence

Justrite Manufacturing Company, L.L.C•Deerfield, IL

33d•$125,000 - $150,000

About The Position

Theâ¯Sr Manager, Operational Excellenceâ¯will facilitate lean transformation throughout the Justrite organization, including both North American and international locations.â¯ In this role, you will serve as a strategic leader and mentor for continuous improvement efforts across the organization.â¯â¯ This position will be hands-on with production teams and back-office staff to facilitate CI events, projects, and post-event sustainment activities. You will help develop and deploy Lean standards and create a culture of continuous improvement and sustainment across the Justrite Safety Group network. You will collaborate with all levels of stakeholders to identify and facilitate key projects to improve customer metrics and financial performance. You will train production teams in Lean initiatives, including Value Stream Mapping, Kanban, Daily Management, Policy Deployment, Continuous Flow Manufacturing, 5S, TPM, SMED, and more. In this role, you will report directly to the Sr. Director, Operational Excellence, setting the stage for your career to soar! This role is your gateway to opportunities for advancement, with the potential to grow within the organization in 3-5 years as you make meaningful contributions to our organizational goals. As a member of our Continuous Improvement Team, you'll be at the forefront of driving operational enhancements that set new standards in the safety industry. Justrite, as an innovator and industry leader, is committed to pushing the limits of efficiency and quality, continuously refining processes to meet the changing demands of our customers. In this role, you'll have the opportunity to shape the future of operational excellence by leading initiatives that deliver measurable improvements. You'll collaborate with top professionals, drive change, and play a crucial role in ensuring Justrite stays at the forefront of safety and protection.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree preferred
Minimum of 10 years' experience in a manufacturing environment including training and facilitating and 5 years in a leadership role
Proven track record of leading Kaizen events and developing improvements plans to achieve business results, effective leadership and mentoring skills.
Proficiency in Lean and Six Sigma principles, tools, and techniques (e.g., DMAIC, 5S, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping).
Strong project management skills to plan, execute, and monitor improvement projects effectively.â¯ Experience moving facilities or equipment, opening or closing a plant a plus.
Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data to identify improvement opportunities and measure results.
Ability to travel up to 50% to each location to implement and manage CI programs.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a team environment and is a self-starter
Capability to align continuous improvement initiatives with the organization's strategic goals.
Expertise in managing change, including stakeholder engagement, communication, and overcoming resistance.
Ability to manage resources effectively, including budget, personnel, and time.
Strong leadership skills to inspire and motivate teams to embrace continuous improvement.
Excellent communication skills to articulate vision, share results, and ensure understanding across all levels of the organization.
Ability to work collaboratively with cross-functional teams to implement and sustain improvements.
Strong problem-solving skills to identify root causes and develop effective solutions.
Encourages and implements innovative solutions to improve processes and performance.
Ability to train and mentor employees on continuous improvement methodologies and tools.
Sharp analytical skills to dissect complex problems and derive actionable insights.
Attention to detail to ensure accuracy and precision in all improvement activities.
Focus on achieving measurable results and continuous performance improvements.
Proficiency in Microsoft office, Excel, PowerPoint
Proficient in Lean manufacturing principles and Kaizen as a way of life. Six Sigma Black Belt a plus.

Responsibilities

Deploy a global CI roadmap aligned with company strategy and operational goals.
Serve as a thought leader and mentor across all sites and functions, building a culture of operational excellence and accountability.
Partner with site leaders to implement sustainable CI systems, Daily Management, Policy Deployment, and KPI-driven behaviors.
Lead Kaizen events and structured CI programs to drive measurable improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and engagement.
Leverage prior plant operations experience to diagnose and mitigate bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and productivity challenges.
Provide direct operational support and mentorship to site leadership on performance improvement initiatives.
Conduct site assessments and maturity evaluations to guide roadmap development.
Facilitate hands-on training sessions on Lean principles, tools, and behaviors such as 5S, SMED, TPM, Value Stream Mapping, Root Cause Analysis, and Visual Management.
Build internal capability by teaching and coaching leaders and developing CI champions across the enterprise.
Lead complex, cross-functional operational improvement projects from scoping through implementation.
Develop project plans, set milestones, manage resources, and report on KPIs to ensure successful execution.
Partner with finance to validate ROI, sustain gains, and ensure alignment with long-term goals.
Collaborate with executive leadership to define the long-term operations strategy for Justrite's global manufacturing and distribution network.
Translate strategic objectives into actionable initiatives, prioritizing capital investments, capacity expansion, footprint optimization, and automation opportunities.
Drive alignment across functional teams to execute the strategy effectively and track progress through defined metrics.
Identify and execute cost savings opportunities across sites and functions through Lean methodology, automation, sourcing changes, and labor productivity initiatives.
Analyze data to identify improvement opportunities, eliminate waste, and optimize resource utilization.