Continuous Improvement Manager

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Enterprise Operations Transformation Leader | Multi-Site Manufacturing

The Continuous Improvement Manager is a results-driven enterprise execution leader responsible for delivering financially validated, sustained operational improvements across multiple manufacturing sites. This role translates strategic CI priorities into measurable plant-level performance gains in safety, quality, delivery, labor productivity, and cost.

This is not a Lean Coordinator or workshop facilitator. This is an operator-architect hybrid who drives large-scale turnarounds, installs durable operating systems, and builds site teams into high-performing execution engines.

Enterprise Transformation (large-scale, multi-site)

• Opportunity Identification: Diagnose site-level constraints; identify labor, yield, throughput, and cost inefficiencies across the network; quantify opportunity before committing resources
• Financial Validation: Confirm savings sizing with Finance prior to launch; own forecast vs. actual tracking aligned to the CI Savings Bank methodology; no soft savings, no unvalidated claims
• Execution & Deployment:
  Lead line balancing, staffing optimization, standard work, and takt alignment across 5-7 facilities; replicate wins across sites - not one-off events
• Buy-In & Leadership Alignment: Secure Plant Manager and site leadership commitment before launch; hold structured weekly accountability reviews; escalate resistance early
• Sustainment & Closure: Validate post-implementation performance at 60-90 days; ensure results are durable before closing - no drift, no unfinished implementations

Core CI Skills - Required for Success in this Role

• Lead and facilitate CI initiatives focused on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and employee engagement across multiple sites.
• Identify, analyze, and resolve operational issues using structured problem-solving methodologies
• Apply and coach teams on Lean and CI tools, including:

Fishbone Diagrams 5-Why Analysis Line Balancing Takt Time Analysis Standard Work Root Cause Analysis

• Plan, lead, and execute multi-day Kaizen events and cross-functional rapid improvement workshops.
• Partner with site leadership to develop and execute enterprise-wide and site-level improvement roadmaps.

Best-in-Class Impact Abilities (Proven Economic Drivers)

• Installs leader standard work and daily management routines so results do not erode after events - sustains gains through operating systems, not individual heroics
• Applies PDCA/scientific thinking to drive hypothesis-based testing - eliminates jump-to-solution culture and ensures every change is measurable
• Builds a repeatable Kaizen engine that makes improvement a daily operating rhythm, not a side initiative
• Financial ownership discipline:
  Validates all savings with Finance, tracks baseline-to-target performance, and ensures zero soft claims across the portfolio
• Cross-site replication mindset:
  Systematically documents and deploys successful implementations so every win scales across the network - multiplying impact without multiplying effort
• Develops site supervisors and leads to own CI execution daily - building organizational capability and removing dependency on the CI function

Leadership Alignment & Accountability

• Model a high-accountability, floor-first performance culture across all sites
• Communicate savings performance and pipeline status directly to senior leadership
• Escalate risks, resource gaps, and organizational resistance early and clearly
• Build site CI capability so improvement continues between enterprise deployments

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, or related field. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of CI / Operational Excellence leadership in manufacturing. Food manufacturing / fresh or cold-chain production experience preferred.
• Demonstrated history of savings validated by Finance - not self-reported
• Proven experience leading multi-site improvement initiatives, Experience operating within a formal CI operating system (daily management + leader standard work + Kaizen cadence) an asset.
• Strong financial acumen - can connect operational improvements to P&L impact
• Willingness to travel 30-40% regularly
• Comfortable confronting underperformance and driving accountability
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification preferred
• Bilingual (English / Spanish)
• Familiarity with Power BI, ERP systems, and labor analytics platforms an asset.

Join the Fresh Revolution with F&S Fresh Foods!

Headquartered in Vineland, NJ, F&S Fresh Foods is leading the way in fresh-cut fruit, vegetables, and meal solutions distribution. With the recent acquisition of five additional state-of-the-art facilities strategically located across the U.S., we now deliver to customers across the United States and Canada
-every single day!

For over 40 years, we've been redefining production and safety processes, building strong partnerships, and creating endless possibilities for our diverse customers-from restaurants and supermarket…