Operational Excellence Manager

Make a +Difference at Kraton!

At Kraton, we make a Positive Difference, and we are looking for individuals who are also looking to make a difference in their jobs, for our customers and to the world.  We are looking to hire a key member of our Operations team at our Panama City, Florida location.

The Operations Excellence Manager will be responsible for employing influential leadership, leading the implementation and ongoing support of the Operational Excellence (OE) program and tools across the region and within different business functions, ensuring alignment with company guidelines and strategic direction. Serving as the “coach of coaches”, this role will be the primary resource and expert on all aspects of OE principles, concepts, and practices/tools and cultural enablers (visual management, leadership engagement, problem solving capability).

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the identification, prioritization, and implementation of OE initiatives in collaboration with site leadership to improve and sustain long-term operational excellence for all sites in the assigned region.
• Guide the development and implementation of action plans for continuous improvement utilizing OE systems, tools, and training for the region.
• Cultivate a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement by fostering innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing at all levels, encouraging cross-team collaboration to achieve positive results for the region.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to assist in reviewing and refining policies and procedures, actively challenging existing business practices to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.
• Participate in defining metrics for performance monitoring and improvement across various business areas such as Safety, Performance and Engagement. Assist in monitoring and analyzing metrics to identify trends or opportunities for waste reduction.
• Track the Operational Excellence rollout progress, employee engagement to Operational Excellence, and benefits.
• Facilitate the sharing of best practices amongst all sites within the region, proactively identifying and encouraging the sharing of insights and lessons learned across functions, sites, and regions.
• Conduct regular assessments and audits to evaluate the effectiveness of operational excellence processes and quality management systems.
• Facilitate initiatives aimed at enhancing employee engagement, morale, and dedication to quality and operational excellence at all sites within the region.
• Serves as a subject matter expert on Operational Excellence principles and tools, providing coaching and facilitating OE training sessions.
• Implement and execute Value Stream Mappings, Rapid Improvements, Kaizens, OE tools and other improvements projects as needed or assigned.

Required Skills

• Strong leadership skills with proven ability to lead through influence at all levels within the region.
• Solid understanding of business processes and systems; able to identify areas where improvements can be made, develop plans to implement changes, and monitor progress.
• Recognized as an agent of change; able to execute new initiatives in a positive, constructive manner to ensure rapid acceptance of new ways of doing business.
• Skilled in OE tools and programs, including core, intermediate and advanced problem solving.
• Comfortable presenting in front of a group of people as a trainer or facilitator.
• Act as coach, able to motivate groups of people and coach all types, especially resistors.
• Highly effective verbal/written communication & presentation skills with all levels in region.
• Able to build trusting relationships, with a keen ability to collaborate, influence and coach others, across different departments and levels within the region.
• Internal/external customer service oriented. 
• Safety minded, especially when leading change.
• Highly effective problem solver with root cause thinking. 
• Bias for action, able to take initiative with limited guidance and tenaciously follow through on commitments.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strategic thinking and planning skills, as well as the ability to align OE initiatives with the organizational vision, mission, and goal.

Education, Certifications & Licenses

• Bachelor’s degree required, technical field desired.
• 5+ years’ experience leading initiatives to improve operational performance using Lean Six Sigma methodologies and/or other continuous improvement methods.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification desired

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The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification.  Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Kraton’s internal talent acquisition team manages our recruiting efforts and from time to time works with pre-selected/pre-approved external staffing agencies. We do NOT accept unsolicited resumes or candidate referrals from recruiters and/or agencies who are not pre-selected/pre-approved.

Kraton is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.