Manager, Manufacturing Excellence

Location: 

American Canyon, US, 94503

At Barry Callebaut, we are on a journey to transform the cocoa and chocolate industry. As the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, our actions truly shape the future of our industry. We are a business-to-business company, serving the entire food sector, from the cocoa bean to the finest chocolate product. We are a company with a purpose, we believe in doing well by doing good and reinvesting in the communities we operate. We have a long-standing commitment to sustainability and our goal is to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future. We are headquartered in Zurich, and have more than 12,000 passionate Employees working in more than 40 countries worldwide. We are very proud of who we are and what we do. And of course, we are always looking for talented people to help us have a positive impact on our industry and beyond!

About the role:

The Manufacturing Excellence manager is responsible for driving continuous improvement initiatives, optimizing manufacturing processes, and fostering a culture of excellence within the manufacturing environment. This role involves identifying areas for improvement, implementing best practices and BCOS work processes, and coaching local managers and teams to achieve best in class factory performance measured by the site balanced score card.

The primary focus of this role is to impact business performance by consistently enhancing competences of BC Managers, Support functions and Core team colleagues in line with BC Values and BCOS principles. A critical deliverable for this role is the creation of a manufacturing working environment of high-performing with a ZERO LOSS mindset and a culture of 100% participation.

The impact of the role is measured through the tracking progress of Plants Manufacturing KPI’s Balanced Score card and progress of plant maturity level with implementation of the site master plan.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Shapes and drives the implementation of the BCOS (Barry Callebaut Operating System) program and strategic projects in alignment with the Global CSD (Customer Supply & Development)  “Go For Zero” ambition
  • Map the maturity of the site against the BCOS framework, build the manufacturing excellence road map to support the Plant Manager while aligning with Global & Regional approaches
  • Provide education/capabilities to site pillar leaders and support on their certification process. Assess and educate site leaders on pillar work process and maintenance of site pillar boards.
  • Coach the sites CI leaders and Plant Leadership Team to drive change management aspects of all BCOS (process and culture) to impact directly plant results
  • Conduct regular assessments on pillar work processes, routine management adherence (RTT) identify opportunities for improvement and develop actionable insights and provide correct actions recommendations plus follow ups
  • Drive program priorities and focus of pillar work process based on data analytics and performance metrics – addressing site business objectives (CBN and financials)
  • Encourage benchmark continuously, referring plant to learn and share best practices to/from other plants
  • Execute improvement initiatives at a tactical level i.e. working closely with site to implement best practices, standardize work processes, and improve operational efficiency
  • Engage with frontline employees, cell leads/supervisors, and middle management through hands-on coaching (GEMBA), mentorship, and guidance. Direct involvement in day-to-day operations, processes, to understand capabilities gaps and program corrective actions
  • When required facilitate workshops and training sessions to develop pillar work processes competencies
  • Provide education to local sites/pillar leads on BCOS work process in line with program maturity (Phase 0 to Phase 4) and expected assessment criteria results
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams and stakeholders. Leverage global standards and Technical Platforms communities encouraging the ”give and get” and horizontal replication of company current best approaches (CBA)
  • Maintain strong connection with the Global CI communities, educate and encourage digital adoption towards achieving best in class performance and smart factory status
  • Act as a catalyst for change, inspire, motivate, and empower teams to embrace change, adopt best practices, and drive operational excellence
  • Transform a full set of factories into a new era of technological advances with great attention to the human aspect and change management, developing and seeing shop floor operators taking ownership and pride in their work and performance

About you:

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or related field
  • Strong understanding and know-how of Lean manufacturing principles, IWS (Integrated Work Systems), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Six Sigma Methodologies, and other improvement processes & techniques
  • Excellent coaching, leadership and change management skills
  • Analytical mindset with the ability to visualize and interpret data or metrics
  • Effective communication and interpersonal skills
  • Project management skills to oversee multiple improvement projects simultaneously
  • Fluent in English
  • Travel requirements: up to 20% - however, expectation this role is site based & focused, may at times require within region or sporadically traveling globally
  • Shop-floor orientated role, hence regular on site presence is crucial
  • Metrics of Success across the balance score card:
    • SHE: ZERO safety incidents, continuous improvement of metrics on environment impact
    • Quality: Zero Food Safety Incidents and Quality Defects
    • Delivery: OEE +85% and Schedule Adherence +90%
    • Cost: continuous improvement manhour/ton, FTC consistency reduction, Productivity +4% YOY
    • People: +90% score engagement survey (100% participation), Talent pipeline at least 1 talent critical jobs

Technical Competencies:

  • At least 10 years of experience in manufacturing environment with in depth knowledge of production, quality, process control, asset management, cost structures and digitalization, in a multinational business context
  • Proven track record in implementing continuous improvement initiatives and deployment program
  • A role model when it comes to CI culture and Gemba centricity, with experience in coaching people on how to manage the change in complex and innovative projects
  • A strong lean-thinking leader in cultural change and operational transformation with the ability to make things visible to all layers in the organization
  • Possess analytical skills and ability to coach people on the application of lean and statistical tools
  • Lean six sigma black belt level or comparable in terms of CI knowledge and expertise
  • Good communicator, network builder both with the sites, global and other supporting functions
  • Experience with manufacturing digital systems like MES (Manufacturing Execution System), EMS (Energy Monitoring System), SAP (ERP), Maximo (IBM software), CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) etc
  • Familiar with food (or similar) processing industry standards and best practices

Leadership Competencies:

  • Ability to influence and inspire change
  • Problem-solving skills with a focus on root cause analysis
  • Team-oriented mindset with a collaborative approach to create a culture of achieving results together
  • Strong communicator, able to interact with various stakeholders, often with different business objectives and operating at different levels in the organization (global, regional, local)
  • Strong organization skills, setting up and managing multiple projects in parallel
  • Gemba centric, hence shop floor oriented and able to navigate up and influence in order to sustain a CI culture in all layers of the organization

What you can expect from Barry Callebaut:

● Competitive salary ($100 - $141K) and comprehensive benefits package

● 12 paid holidays, generous PTO, plus your birthday off

● Environment that welcomes workplace flexibility

● An atmosphere where diversity is embraced, and inclusivity is second nature. We call it #OneBC! Just ask our champions with the Americas Women’s Forum and the Racial Equality Forum!

● Ability to grow personally and professionally within an organization that values development and internal career growth

● Be part of our mission in making sustainability the norm through Forever Chocolate with priorities centered around prospering farmers, zero child labor, carbon and forest positive, and creating 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products. 

At Barry Callebaut, we are committed to Diversity & Inclusion. United by our strong values, we thrive on the diversity of who we are, where we come from, what we’ve experienced and how we think. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive environment where people can truly be themselves, grow to their full potential and feel they belong. #oneBC - Diverse People, Sustainable Growth.

If you want to learn more about Barry Callebaut, please find further information here.

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