Sr. Director, Manufacturing Excellence

Sr. Director, Manufacturing Excellence at Danone North America

Danone North America, a purpose‑driven leader in food and beverage, seeks a senior executive to advance world‑class performance across all U.S. manufacturing sites. The Senior Director will shape performance management, collaborate with global and plant leadership, and lead digital and lean transformation initiatives.

• Engage the U.S. Manufacturing population to disciplined application of DanIWS, focusing on capability development.
• Build and develop a high‑performing team of DanIWS, Digital Manufacturing Acceleration and Co‑Man professionals.
• Lead talent management and succession planning for critical roles within the manufacturing network.
• Serve as integral part of organizational transformation driven by new ways of Manufacturing – DanIWS.
• Develop and execute a North America DanIWS roadmap aligned with global standards and business priorities.
• Champion a culture of zero loss and zero defects, ensuring continuous improvement and operational resilience.
• Ensure positive Manufacturing Network impact through improved performance and optimal use of contract manufacturing.
• Propose yearly performance targets with site granularity and relevant KPIs to maintain ambitious yet realistic goals.
• Oversee deployment of IWS methodologies to eliminate losses, optimize cost, and improve productivity across all U.S. sites.
• Establish an effective performance management system with daily/weekly/monthly performance drumbeat and RACI/KPIs/process measures in place.
• Benchmark U.S. Manufacturing sites internally and externally, setting up effective use of Danone GVS approach.
• Drive DanIWS capability development across all levels in U.S. Manufacturing, ensuring right resourcefulness to achieve that.
• Maintain close partnership with Global Operations Excellence team to align with global strategic priorities and positively impact U.S. Manufacturing.
• Partner with other functions to deliver integrated solutions and play a key role in initiatives such as automation, digital manufacturing acceleration (DMA), and workforce capability building leveraging available resources within Danone Worldwide (Industry 5.0 Academy).

• 10+ years in manufacturing operations, with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles within food & beverage CPG multi‑site environments.
• Proven success in implementing IWS, Lean, TPM, and digital manufacturing transformation strategies.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Strong leadership skills and established ability to influence and engage people in matrix organizations.
• Excellent management skills and people development and growth ability.
• Passion for relentless performance improvement through people engagement, structured governance, excellence in execution with attention to detail, zero loss mindset.
• Proficient level in IWS Methodology (or similar successful Lean methodologies) coupled with ability to lead transformation in complex multi‑site, multi‑context environment.
• Modern digital tools savviness with clarity on how to effectively choose and implement those in organizations with low‑medium digital maturity.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills across functions and levels.
• Stakeholder management and excellent presentation skills.

Danone U.S. is part of Danone North America, a purpose‑driven company and an industry leader in the food and beverage category. Our strong portfolio of brands includes Activia®, Dan Active®, Danimals®, Dannon®, evian®, Follow Your Heart®, Happy Family® Organics, International Delight®, Light + Fit®, Nutricia®, Oikos®, Silk®, So Delicious® Dairy Free, STOK® Cold Brew Coffee®, Too Good & Co™, and YoCrunch®.

With approximately 5,000 employees and 13 production locations across the U.S., Danone North America’s mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

Danone North America is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer dedicated to giving equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to legally protected characteristics.