Onsite Lean and Continuous Improvement Leader

Maple-Leaf-Foods-3d9889c; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 96,000 - 141,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness benefits

Pension plan with company matching

Tuition reimbursement

Volunteer days

Learning & development opportunities

Job summary

Maple Leaf Foods in Hamilton, Ontario, seeks a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead the onsite Lean Production System program, driving pillar maturation and operational excellence across the plant. You will champion CI initiatives, align with corporate strategy, and coordinate a comprehensive roadmap with performance targets.

The role requires 5+ years in manufacturing and deep LPS knowledge, with strong coaching and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a manufacturing setting, preferably with direct involvement in Lean or Continuous Improvement roles.
• Deep knowledge and hands-on experience with LPS frameworks, principles, and pillar-based continuous improvement systems in manufacturing environments.
• Proven ability to lead and sustain CI initiatives that drive operational excellence, process optimization, and waste reduction.
• Strong skills in planning, coordinating, and executing complex projects, including deployment and maturation of improvement programs.
• Experience managing organizational change, influencing stakeholders at all levels, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Ability to coach leadership teams and develop internal trainers to build capability and sustain LPS practices across all levels.
• Strong capability in analyzing performance metrics, identifying gaps, and implementing effective corrective actions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively synthesize, report, and share best practices across multiple teams and sites.
• Proven success working with diverse teams including plant leadership, operations, maintenance, and quality to drive aligned improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the onsite Lean Production System (LPS) program across all pillars.
• Collaborate with the Site Leader to ensure delivery of site targets and uphold LPS standards.
• Assist Pillar Leads with deployment of LPS systems onsite and extend support post-deployment.
• Conduct health checks of program pillars to assess progress and improvements.
• Define strategies to update pillars based on Central Pillar Owners’ changes.
• Synthesize information across pillars to monitor LPS progress and challenges.
• Share best practices with LPS Leads across sites and drive cross-site learning.
• Partner with Pillar Leads to improve metrics across pillars.
• Lead LPS initiatives to minimize quality issues and enhance performance.
• Serve as SME on LPS standards and training across the site.
• Coach site leadership to elevate pillar maturity and develop internal trainers.
• Demonstrate commitment to health, safety and food safety programs.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Continuous Improvement

Project Planning

Change Management

Leadership Coaching

Stakeholder Influence

Communication

Problem Solving

Tools

Lean management tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Maple Leaf Foods in Hamilton, Ontario, seeks a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead the onsite Lean Production System program, driving pillar maturation and operational excellence across the plant. You will champion CI initiatives, align with corporate strategy, and coordinate a comprehensive roadmap with performance targets.

The role requires 5+ years in manufacturing and deep LPS knowledge, with strong coaching and cross-functional collaboration skills.