Regional Continuous Improvement Manager

At Henkel, you can build on a strong legacy and leading positions in both industrial and consumer businesses to reimagine and improve life every day. If you love challenging the status quo, join our community of over 47.000 pioneers around the globe. Our teams at Henkel Adhesive Technologies help to transform entire industries and provide our customers with a competitive advantage through adhesives, sealants and functional coatings. With our trusted brands, our cutting-edge technologies and our disruptive solutions, you will have countless opportunities to explore new paths and develop your skills. Grow within our future-led businesses, our diverse and vibrant culture and find a place where you simply belong. All to leave your mark for more sustainable growth.

Dare to make an impact?

YOUR ROLE

• The Regional Continuous Improvement Manager is a critical role in driving operational excellence across a Network (multiple sites) within a designated region.  This leader will champion a culture of Henkel Production System (HPS), working collaboratively with plant-level teams to implement and sustain lean manufacturing principles, process optimization strategies, and data-driven decision-making. The successful candidate will act as both a coach and a hands-on expert, guiding plants in identifying and eliminating waste, streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and improving overall operational performance.
• Champion HPS and Lean Initiatives: Act as the coach and hands-on leader to the multi-site responsibility to drive Lean / HPS manufacturing principles, aligned with the operations director/plant managers. Drive their adoption and successful application.
• Change Agent: Embrace the role of a catalyst, facilitating the implementation of improvement programs and overcoming any cultural resistance along the way.
• Opportunity Identification: Proactively analyze data and processes to discover areas for cost savings, cost avoidance, and efficiency gains. Enter viable opportunities into the VALCO (or equivalent project tracking system).
• Project Oversight and Reporting: Monitor the progress of Cost/Efficiency Projects. Provide comprehensive monthly reporting to the Network VP of Operations, highlighting achievements and challenges.
• MOS Implementation: Lead the implementation and ongoing refinement of the Management Operating System (MOS) at the Network level. Ensure alignment with regional and corporate MOS principles.
• Best Practice Sharing: Actively share Best Operating Practices (BOP) with the regional and global team, other plants, and through designated platforms (Yammer, SharePoint, meetings, etc.). Promote cross-site learning and collaboration.
• Site Presence: Maintain high visibility on the sites, engaging employees and fostering a culture where improvement ideas are valued and acted upon.
• Training and Development: Design and deliver comprehensive training programs on continuous improvement methodologies (Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, Six Sigma, etc.) of the HPS Program for plant managers, supervisors, and frontline staff.
• Project Leadership: Lead cross-functional teams in executing major process improvement projects across various plants. Drive initiatives from problem identification to solution implementation and results tracking.
• Mentorship and Coaching: Act as a mentor and coach to plant-level Continuous Improvement Managers/Specialists to optimize their efforts and enhance their skillsets.
• Collaboration: Build strong partnerships with plant managers, engineers, quality specialists, and operations teams to drive a culture focused on continuous improvement.
• Additional Considerations: Communication and Influence: Highlight strong interpersonal and communication skills. These are essential for driving engagement, collaboration, and getting buy-in across various organizational levels. Innovation Mindset: Encourage the site managers to think outside the box, promoting new ideas and processes for a future-focused improvement strategy.

YOUR SKILLS

• Bachelor’s degree required in engineering (Industrial, Mechanical preferred), Business Administration, Operations Management, or a closely related field. Master's degree preferred. 
• 10 years multisite manufacturing environment experience, 5 years in a continuous improvement role 
• Demonstrable expertise in Lean Manufacturing methodologies, including Value Stream Mapping, 5S, and A3 problem-solving. Excellent leadership, team building, and interpersonal communication skills. Proven ability to manage complex projects and facilitate continuous improvement workshops/events. Lean Six Sigma certification (Green Belt minimum, Black Belt strongly preferred). Project Management Professional (PMP) knowledge.  
• Excellent presentation, communication, and group facilitation skills, with the ability to engage learners and adapt training styles to diverse audiences. Detail-oriented with strong project management skills. Demonstrated ability to handle multiple training initiatives, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines. Demonstrated ability to lead, mentor, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in learning management systems, e-learning authoring tools, and Microsoft Office.
• Role will require a focus on improving key performance indicators (KPIs), including but not limited to: Full Processing Cost and Total Supply Chain Cost of the multi sites.
  

The salary for this role is $120,000.00 - $145,000.00. This is the range that we in good faith anticipate relying on when setting wages for this position.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range. This salary range may also be modified in the future.

Henkel does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms or employment agencies. Unsolicited referrals and resumes are considered Henkel property and therefore, Henkel will not pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited referral. At Henkel's request only, preferred vendors may be invited to refer talent for specific open positions. In these cases, a fully-executed agreement with Henkel must be in place and current.

All employees applying for an internal position must have a discussion with his/her manager about their interest in a job posting opportunity. The discussion will not preclude the employee from interviewing if their skills meet the job requirements.

At Henkel, we come from a broad range of backgrounds, perspectives, and life experiences. We believe the uniqueness of all our employees is the power in us. Become part of the team and bring your uniqueness to us! We welcome all applications across different races, colors, religions, sexes, national origins, disabilities, veteran statuses, ages, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and other legally protected characteristics.