Continuous Improvement Manager

Hueman Professional Recruitment; Brecksville (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Hueman Professional Recruitment is seeking a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence across multiple North American facilities. You will drive enterprise-wide CI programs, oversee Industrial Engineering, and partner with executives to deliver measurable safety, quality, productivity, and cost improvements.

The role requires leading multi-site OE initiatives, facilitating Lean workshops, and delivering a culture of continuous improvement with a 35%

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering or related field.
• 7–10+ years leading CI, Lean, OE, IE, or Manufacturing Ops initiatives.
• Proven success with Operational Excellence, Lean, Six Sigma programs.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, RCA, KPI development.

Responsibilities

• Lead Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence strategy across North America.
• Develop and sustain enterprise-wide CI programs and OE initiatives.
• Lead Industrial Engineering, workflow optimization, and facility layouts.
• Coordinate Lean Journey roadmap, milestones, KPI reporting, and targets.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, reduce waste, and lower costs.
• Facilitate Lean workshops, Kaizen events, VSM sessions, and RCA initiatives.
• Provide technical expertise on process improvement and supply chain optimization.
• Drive employee engagement and a culture of operational excellence.
• Improve Internal Equipment Effectiveness (IEE) across plants.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Kaizen

Value Stream Mapping

Root Cause Analysis

Waste Elimination

Standard Work

KPI Development

Change Management

Operational Excellence

Education

Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or related technical field

MBA or Master's in Operations Management / Industrial Engineering / Business

Job description

We're seeking a Continuous Improvement Manager to lead enterprise-wide Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence initiatives across five North American manufacturing locations. This highly visible leadership role is responsible for driving the organization's Lean journey, coordinating continuous improvement initiatives, and leading the Industrial Engineering function while partnering closely with executive leadership to deliver measurable improvements in safety, quality, productivity, and cost.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced Operational Excellence leader to shape strategy, influence operations, and make a lasting impact across a growing manufacturing organization while helping create a culture where continuous improvement is embedded into everyday operations.

What You'll Do

As the Continuous Improvement Manager, you will:

• Lead the company's Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence strategy across multiple manufacturing facilities throughout North America.
• Develop, implement, and sustain enterprise-wide Continuous Improvement programs, Lean initiatives, and Operational Excellence strategies that support long-term business objectives.
• Lead the organization's Industrial Engineering function, including workflow optimization, operating standards, facility layout improvements, labor analysis, technical process improvement, and manufacturing optimization.
• Coordinate and manage the organization's Lean Journey roadmap, including project milestones, implementation timelines, KPI reporting, waste reduction targets, and continuous improvement performance metrics.
• Identify opportunities to improve productivity, eliminate waste, optimize costs, improve manufacturing performance, and increase operational efficiency across the value stream.
• Facilitate Lean workshops, Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping sessions, Root Cause Analysis, problem-solving initiatives, and Continuous Improvement training programs.
• Provide technical expertise, analytical support, and consulting services to leadership on business process improvement, manufacturing operations, supply chain optimization, Industrial Engineering, and Operational Excellence.
• Lead employee engagement initiatives that support Continuous Improvement, including employee suggestion programs and a culture of operational excellence, accountability, customer focus, and continuous learning.
• Drive Internal Equipment Effectiveness (IEE) improvements and manufacturing performance across multiple production facilities.

What You'll Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7–10+ years of experience leading Continuous Improvement, Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence, Industrial Engineering, or Manufacturing Operations initiatives.
• Demonstrated success leading Operational Excellence, Lean Manufacturing, Continuous Improvement, or Six Sigma programs within manufacturing environments.
• Strong knowledge of Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, Root Cause Analysis, Waste Elimination, Standard Work, KPI Development, Change Management, and Operational Excellence methodologies.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or Master's degree in Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Business, or a related discipline.
• Six Sigma Black Belt, Master Black Belt, or equivalent Lean certification strongly preferred.
• Experience leading multi-site Operational Excellence or Industrial Engineering initiatives.
• Experience within food, beverage, consumer packaged goods (CPG), ingredient manufacturing, or related manufacturing industries.
• Experience with Industrial Engineering methodologies, production analytics, manufacturing optimization, and operational benchmarking.

Travel Requirements

• Ability to travel approximately 35% throughout North American manufacturing facilities, with occasional international travel as business needs require.

Why You'll Love This Opportunity

This role offers the opportunity to influence every aspect of manufacturing performance by helping create a culture where Continuous Improvement is embedded into everyday operations. You'll partner directly with executive leadership while working alongside Operations, Engineering, Supply Chain, Plant Leadership, and cross-functional teams to deliver meaningful improvements in efficiency, quality, customer satisfaction, and business performance.

You’ll have broad organizational visibility and the opportunity to shape the future of Operational Excellence across North America while building sustainable systems that support long-term growth and manufacturing excellence.

You’ll have significant influence over:

• Enterprise Lean Manufacturing strategy
• Operational Excellence culture
• Manufacturing productivity and waste reduction
• KPI development and performance reporting
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Employee engagement and organizational development