Continuous Improvement Leader, Business Processes (SAP)

Perfetti Van Melle; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO & holidays

401k match

Annual bonus

Health insurance

Well-being subsidy

Parental leave

Education reimbursement

Candy stipend

Job summary

Perfetti Van Melle is seeking a Continuous Improvement Leader, Business Processes to drive stabilization, adoption and ongoing improvement across the USA organization after the SAP S/4HANA transformation. You will build a network of SMEs and Key Users, define priorities with local leadership, and deliver measurable process health improvements.

You will lead cross-functional teams, leverage Signavio data, and drive adoption beyond the system through SOPs, governance, and KPI-driven initiatives,

Qualifications

• 7+ years experience in operations, supply chain, or business processes.
• 5+ years leading continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma) in a business/operations setting
• 3+ years in SAP ECC or S/4HANA (S/4HANA preferred) as process owner or lead
• 2+ years leading teams or cross-functional networks, closing capability gaps
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification
• Experience using process metrics or process mining tools (Signavio) to set priorities and prove value
• Experience driving adoption beyond the system, including SOPs, KPI management
• Strong stakeholder management across business, process and IT, including executive level
• Analytical and pragmatic, turning unclear requests into well-defined priorities
• Clear, credible communicator focused on outcomes and adoption

Responsibilities

• Build and lead local SME and Key User community across functional areas.
• Partner with leadership and HR to protect SME capacity and retention, align objectives.
• Use Signavio and data sources to monitor process performance and correct drift.
• Agree on improvement priorities with local management and manage to KPI health and business outcomes.
• Drive improvements beyond the system including policies, SOPs, and governance.
• Embed Lean, Kaizen and other problem-solving methods to ensure adoption.
• Collaborate with Global BP and IT to increase automation and governance.
• Share North America learnings with the global team.
• Close capability gaps through onboarding, training and SOPs.
• Run monthly governance on priorities, capacity, dependencies, benefits and adoption.

Skills

Continuous improvement leadership

Stakeholder management

SAP S/4HANA knowledge

Team leadership

Data-driven decision making

Process mining (Signavio)

Change management

Analytical thinking

Tools

Signavio

SAP

Job description

Overview

Perfetti Van Melle (makers of Mentos, Airheads, Dentyne, Trident and Bubblicious!) is one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of confectionery and chewing gum with global brands that are being enjoyed in more than 150 countries worldwide. We’re currently seeking a passionate and enthusiastic Continuous Improvement Leader, Business Processes to join our growing team.

What You Will Do

Following our global SAP S/4HANA business transformation, you will lead stabilization, adoption and continuous improvement across our USA organization. This is a cross-functional business role, not an IT role. You will build and energize our local network of subject matter experts (SMEs) and Key Users, agree with local leadership on the priorities that matter most, and improve performance both inside the system and beyond it. Success is measured by business results and process health, not activity or ticket counts.

• Build and lead the local Key User and SME community across functional areas, with primary, backup and successor coverage so we don’t depend on any one person
• Partner with leadership and HR to protect SME capacity, flag overload and retention risk, and make sure SME contributions are recognized in objectives and performance reviews
• Use Signavio and other data sources to monitor process performance and adherence, then quantify and correct places where local execution drifts from the standard end-to-end process
• Agree on improvement priorities with local management based on the data, and manage them to process health KPIs and business outcomes
• Drive improvements beyond the system, including policies, ways of working, handoffs, SOPs, quick reference guides, KPI and performance reviews, knowledge management, role design and organization structure
• Embed PVM good practices and close adoption gaps using Lean, Kaizen and other structured problem-solving methods so the new processes become how the business actually runs
• Partner with Global Business Process and IT teams to increase automation, coordinate priority improvements, and propose template enhancements through the right governance
• Bring in proven improvements from Europe and other regions, and share North America learnings with the global team
• Find capability gaps and close them through Key User onboarding, training, SOPs and accessible materials, working with HR
• Run monthly governance with leadership on priorities, capacity, dependencies, benefits and adoption, and escalat[e?] to the executive committee when needed

What We Need From You

• 7+ years of experience in operations, supply chain or business process roles
• 5+ years leading continuous improvement initiatives (Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma or equivalent) in a business or operations setting
• 3+ years working in SAP ECC or S/4HANA (S/4HANA preferred) as a process owner, Key User or process lead, with process knowledge in at least one of Supply Chain, Warehousing, Finance or Order to Cash
• 2+ years leading teams or cross-functional networks, including Key User or SME communities, and closing capability gaps through training
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification
• Experience using process metrics or process mining tools (Signavio or similar) to set priorities and prove value
• Experience driving adoption and change beyond the system, such as SOPs, ways of working and KPI management
• Strong stakeholder management across business, process and IT teams, including at the executive level, ideally in a global single instance environment with change governance
• Ability to motivate and build ownership among people who take on improvement work in addition to their day jobs
• Analytical and pragmatic, able to turn unclear requests into well defined priorities and choose the right fix, whether that’s training, data, process, policy, automation or a system change
• Clear, credible communicator who stays focused on outcomes and sees priorities through to adoption

What We Offer

At Perfetti Van Melle, we are committed to fostering a welcoming workplace, where all individuals, regardless of background or identity, are valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives to the sweet success of our candy-loving community. Additionally, we have a core value of Care For Our People and we are proud to offer benefit programs that support our team members' goals and well-being including:

• PTO package including vacation, wellness, personal, and pay it forward time off
• 13 paid holidays
• 401k with Company Match up to 8%, ranking in the top 1% of the country
• Annual Bonus potential and merit-based increases
• Comprehensive Health Insurance
• Annual well-being subsidy
• 20 weeks Maternity & 12 weeks Paternity leave options
• Sam's Club or Costco annual membership reimbursement
• Tuition-Free College Program or Free Continued Education (BA, Masters, etc.)
• Modest monthly candy allotment (Airheads, Airheads Xtremes, and Mentos)

Perfetti Van Melle, USA is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other applicable statutorily protected group status under local, state, or federal law.

Nearest Major Market

Cincinnati