Senior Director of Continuous Improvement

Senior Director of Continuous Improvement

Facility:
Remote USA

Location:

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Workplace Type:
Onsite

Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research‑driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family‑owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values are all part of our recipe for success.

PEOPLE. PRODUCTS. CUSTOMERS.

Why should you apply? We invest in you!

• Competitive Pay
• 401(k) + company match
• 10 Paid Company Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Professional training
• Family‑owned business over 100 years in service
• An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce

Leads, develops, and implements operational continuous improvement strategy and initiatives to drive cost reduction, eliminate waste, improve customer satisfaction, reduce product defects, and increase market share through the use of lean methodology and tools.

Work Environment & Travel:
This position is based in Jackson, MI or Louisville, KY at one of our manufacturing plants. Travel may be required, up to 50% of the time.

• Develop, manage, and facilitate the Continuous Improvement initiatives and strategy for Operations.
• Build, lead, and develop a team of continuous improvement experts to identify, define, and implement improvement opportunities to drive down cost using Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement principles.
• Outline the direction and overall deployment of the Lean framework to ensure consistent and rigorous application across the operation.
• Drive a continuous improvement culture with a focus on prioritizing opportunities tied into a lean transformation strategy, process improvement, methodology, tools, and data, and provide leadership for process improvement initiatives.
• Ensure sustainability of past CI projects and focus on standardization and adoption of improved processes.
• Sponsor process deep dives or Kaizen events, to create gap analyses and areas warranting process improvement.
• Develop and maintain a roadmap for long‑term, sustainable cost reduction initiatives, including investments in tools and infrastructure that provide automated reporting and/or supplier collaboration.
• Provide leadership in annual goal setting, cost savings targets, and aligning department staffing to support future business growth.
• Leverage lean skills, tools, and best practices to identify opportunities for improvement and methods to improve.
• Develop Six‑sigma training and certification programs for Operations and Dawn N.A.
• Act as a true Lean transformation leader and Kaizen coach that can provide in‑depth knowledge of rapid improvement methodologies with tools acquired through hands‑on implementation.
• Understands and promotes the philosophies and policies of Dawn Food Products, Inc.
• Supports the Circle of Excellence, and the Dawn Philosophy of Team Dawn.

Below are the minimum required qualifications to be a fit for this job.

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, process management, operations, industrial engineering, engineering management, or another relevant field required.
• Master’s Degree preferred.
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in manufacturing, logistics, distribution, warehousing, and/or engineering or other related supply chain field with at least:
  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience owning continuous improvement initiatives.
  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience leading and supervising others.
• Requires excellent oral, written, and presentation communication skills.
• Experience in the food industry or baking industry preferred.
• Requires analytical problem‑solving skills, time management skills, and advanced skills in the use of data management tools to monitor progress toward goals.
• Experience with developing, maintaining, and revising Six Sigma training…