Business Excellence Leader, Site Operations

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; Opelika (AL); On-site; USD 78,000 - 128,000; Full time

Job summary

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd in Opelika, Alabama, seeks a leader for all processes related to continuous improvement and cost savings projects. The successful candidate will own the site’s improvement roadmap, lead Lean roll-outs, and manage operational strategies.

Applicants should have a degree in supply chain or related field, green belt certification, and 2-3 years of relevant experience. The role offers a salary range of $78,000 to $128,000, depending on qualifications.

Qualifications

• Green belt or higher experience with Lean and/or Six Sigma is required.
• Two to three years of post‑collegiate work experience minimum.
• Prefer experience in consumer product goods (CPG) or high‑speed manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Owns the site’s continuous improvement roadmap.
• Models expected behavior and creates a vision.
• Leads roll-out of Lean-based tools.
• Manages project and change management strategies.

Skills

Lean Systems Green Belt skills

Project management

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Ability to manage via influence

Bilingual (English/Spanish)

Education

Four-year degree in supply chain, engineering, accounting, or related field

Tools

MS Office Suite

Power BI

ERP systems (JDE or Oracle)

Job description

Position Summary

Leader of all processes related to discovery, prioritization, and execution of continuous improvement and cost savings projects for a site or large department. Trusted consultant, facilitator, and coach to site‑leadership, peers, and hourly associates. Project and program management expert with clear mastery of green belt lean systems tools, with the ability to lead an organization through execution and sustainment. The role supports multiple sites on key projects, tools, or initiatives to drive operational excellence.

Responsibilities

• Owns the site’s continuous improvement roadmap and culture development with strong dotted‑line responsibility to the site leader.
• Models expected behavior—creates vision, purpose, and measurement against perfection, rather than budgets or historical performance.
• Directly leads roll‑out and implementation of chosen Lean‑based tools consistent with Pharmavite Operational Excellence Vitality System.
• Manages and measures work, laying out and executing clear strategies for project and change management.
• Leads site cost, inventory, and improvement savings development and prioritization tracking.
• Partners with finance and industrial engineering to develop approaches to improve understanding of losses and waste, consistent with a Zero‑Based Analysis approach.
• Supports analysis of operational and financial performance, translating information into meaningful metrics, feedback, and action.
• Acts as a guide for consistent Daily Operations approach across facilities, including review and response for corrective actions via PDCA.
• Champions and partners with plant management to engage the hourly workforce in daily improvements.
• Creates an energizing work environment that supports the company’s high‑performance culture while ensuring an efficient and flexible organization.
• Communicates effectively across levels; motivates hourly employees to manage vision and purpose as the operational excellence champion for the site.
• Educates and motivates the workforce to continually improve.

Education

• Four‑year college or university degree in supply chain, engineering, accounting, chemistry/biology, or related field, or equivalent (3‑5 years) operational excellence/continuous improvement relevant experience.

Certification

• Green belt or higher experience with Lean and/or Six Sigma is required.

Experience

• Two to three years of post‑collegiate work experience minimum.
• Plant or warehouse experience in a strong, continuous improvement environment.
• Implementation experience of key Lean/TPM continuous improvement tools.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex projects through implementation.
• Prefer consumer product goods (CPG) or high‑speed, repetitive manufacturing experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Lean Systems Green Belt skills—including value stream mapping, visual management, 5S, SMED/rapid changeover, standard work/flow, cell/model cell, 3P, jidoka, poka yoke, business process mapping/lean office.
• Strong project management skills; leadership of Kaizen/Improvement events.
• Ability to manage via influence at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to plan, organize, coordinate, and schedule multiple tasks with minimal supervision and adjust to changing priorities.
• Ability to create, cultivate, and manage vision and purpose—beyond tactical execution.
• Solid proficiency in MS Office Suite, including Excel, Visio, Word, and PowerPoint; Power BI development experience preferred.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to communicate complex information across levels.
• Strong problem‑solving and analytical skills; base financial acumen with basic fundamentals of activity‑based cost accounting and P&L 101.
• Prefer working knowledge of ERP (preferably JDE and/or Oracle‑based tools).
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) language skills highly valued but not required.

Physical Requirements

• General office and plant environment; ability to sit or stand for long periods, full range of mobility to participate in continuous improvement activities out in the plant environment.

Environment

• Exposure to disagreeable elements is expected at times while working in an operating environment.
• Frequent driving between locations is expected; travel up to 15% of the time to out‑of‑state sites may be required.

Safety

• The incumbent must perform this job safely without endangering their own or others’ health or safety.

Supervisory Responsibility

• The incumbent has a significant influence role at the facility, demonstrating proven leadership skills and quickly garnering the respect of leaders, peers, and hourly associates.
• Expected to lead projects across different functional areas without formal position leadership responsibility.

Compensation

National Target Base Pay Range: $78,000.00-$128,000.00. For candidates in California and the NewYork metro, the Target Base Pay Range is $86,000.00-$142,000.00. Actual compensation will consider geographic location, education, experience, qualifications, and job‑related skills.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Pharmavite is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit employment discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin, and any other basis protected by state and federal law. Pharmavite recruits, hires, employs, trains, promotes, and compensates individuals solely based on job‑related qualifications and abilities. Pharmavite also provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities or based on a sincerely held religious belief, in accordance with applicable laws.