Sr Manager, World Class Manufacturing Central Team Lead

Whirlpool • Marion, OH

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Whirlpool is seeking a World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Senior Manager to lead the WCM Central Team for the North American Region (NAR).
In this role, you will be accountable for driving manufacturing business performance, strategic WCM transformation, and governance across the region, supporting 14 manufacturing plants (U.S. & Mexico) and additional businesses (e.g., WCL, InSinkErator).
You will act as the regional owner of the WCM system, ensuring alignment between strategy, execution, digital enablement, and people development, while serving as a trusted partner to Operations VPs, Plant Directors, and functional leaders.
This role reports to the Strategy & Planning Regional Director and has direct leadership responsibility for the WCM Central Team.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• 7+ years of experience in WCM, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence
• 7+ years of experience in Manufacturing Operations
• Proven experience leading cross-plant or regional initiatives

Nice To Haves

• Engineering, Business, or Operations-related degree
• Prior experience leading a central or regional CI/WCM team
• Deep expertise in WCM pillars, audits, and cost deployment
• Strong digital mindset (AppSheet, analytics, AI enablement)
• Six Sigma Black Belt
• Fluent English; Spanish strongly preferred
• Ability to travel up to 50% (U.S. & Mexico)

Responsibilities

• Lead the WCM Central Team for the North American Region, providing strategic direction, prioritization, and governance across all WCM pillars and plants.
• Drive manufacturing business performance by translating WCM strategy into measurable KPI improvement (Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery, Productivity) across the NAR network.
• Design, deploy, and evolve the WCM operating model, including standards, pillar frameworks, assessment methodologies, and route-map governance.
• Oversee Operational Assessments, Audits, and Gap Closure, ensuring consistent execution, clear prioritization of top opportunities, and disciplined follow-up.
• Enable effective project execution and savings delivery through integration of Cost Deployment, Kaizen activities, and digital project management tools.
• Lead regional capability building programs, including Manufacturing Skills WCM Modules, Problem Solving, Kaizen leadership, and Front Line Leader development at scale.
• Own the WCM digital ecosystem, including AppSheet solutions, dashboards, AI Assistants, and data governance to support decision-making and execution.
• Establish and manage the regional benchmark and best-practice system, ensuring scalable learning and cross-plant knowledge transfer.
• Partner with Operations, Engineering, Quality, and Supply Chain leadership to embed WCM into core business processes and strategic initiatives (including WCL and Insinkerator expansion).
• Ensure financial discipline and resource optimization, including budget management, audit costs, external partnerships, and ROI tracking of WCM initiatives.

Benefits

• Always On Flexibility - You will have the autonomy to manage personal, family, and outside-of-work commitments as needed.
• Two-Week Work from Anywhere - Minimum of one-week increments for a total of two weeks per year.
• Sabbatical - Four weeks paid leave after every five years of service.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees