E2E Performance and Accelerate Lead

Kerry; Illinois; On-site; USD 129,000 - 212,000; Full time

Job summary

Kerry is seeking a Performance and Accelerate Lead to drive end-to-end improvements across the Coatings & Proteins Extrusion portfolio. You will lead performance programs that improve safety, quality, service, and cost, working with engineering, operations, RD&A and supply chain teams to deliver sustainable margin gains.

The role requires relocating to one of the key Coatings Plant Sites and leading standardized practices across seven sites, with a focus on governance, problem solving and value

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or related field.
• 7-10+ years’ experience in manufacturing with proven results in operations leadership roles.
• Strong expertise in Lean manufacturing tools and systems (PDCA, Kaizen, 5S, VSM, problem solving).
• Adept understanding of TPM principles and equipment reliability.

Responsibilities

• Lead E2E Performance & Accelerate program for the business, ensuring performance enhancement priorities and resource allocation aligned to business priorities.
• Quality Right-the-First Time, Foreign Material & Complaints Reduction.
• Operations Asset Efficiency Plans, De-Bottlenecking and Yield Loss reductions, to deliver capacity unlock and cost reductions through OEE improvement.
• Process Technology & Product Optimization with cross functional team to deliver operational enhancements through portfolio, product and/or process optimization.
• Supply Chain Schedule and Portfolio Optimization (Site & Network); including adoption and embedding of AI tools to standardize and optimize.
• Performance Governance, Accountability and Financial performance Ensure project deliverables, timelines and financial performance is tracked and delivered in line with budget / target, partnering with Operations Finance Lead.
• People Development, Training and Best Practice enablement Enable best practice sharing and standardization of best-in-class performance across cluster, ensuring training programs, SOPs and process maps documented.
• Support Cluster VP to embed best in class ways of working, including standard work, tiered performance management, structured problem solving, and value stream management.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Project Management

Data-Driven Solving

TPM Principles

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Job description

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

About the role

This Performance and Accelerate Lead position will lead Coatings & Proteins Extrusion End to End (E2E) Performance & Accelerate program, with responsibility for delivering sustainable performance improvements across Quality, Service and Asset Efficiencies, to deliver margin enhancement to the P&L. Accountable for driving network‑wide operations performance improvement across the Coatings technology cluster. This role will be responsible for accelerating performance in safety, quality, service, and cost by working with cross functional teams, embedding best in class ways of working, building leadership capability, and enabling sustainable change at scale. Relocation to one of the key Coatings Plant Sites will be required.

Key responsibilities

• Lead E2E Performance & Accelerate program for the business, ensuring performance enhancement priorities and resource allocation aligned to business priorities
• Quality Right-the-First Time, Foreign Material & Complaints Reduction
• Operations Asset Efficiency Plans, De-Bottlenecking and Yield Loss reductions, to deliver capacity unlock and cost reductions through OEE improvement
• Process Technology & Product Optimization Work with cross functional team (engineering, operations, RD&A) to deliver operational enhancements through portfolio, product and/or process optimization.
• Supply Chain Schedule and Portfolio Optimization (Site & Network); including adoption and embedding of AI tools to standardize and optimize
• Performance Governance, Accountability and Financial performance Ensure project deliverables, timelines and financial performance is tracked and delivered in line with budget / target, partnering with Operations Finance Lead
• People Development, Training and Best Practice enablement Enable best practice sharing and standardization of best-in-class performance across cluster, ensuring training programs, SOPs and process maps documented. Support in continuous evolution of training programs for new and existing employees, partnering with HR Lead
• Support Cluster VP to embed best in class ways of working, including standard work, tiered performance management, structured problem solving, and value stream management.
• Decision Making & Influence
• Owns Performance & Accelerate strategy development, deployment, prioritization, and sequencing within defined network scope and with alignment with business leadership
• Influences & Partners with business, site and regional leaders without direct authority
• Dotted line reporting leader for site-based performance and accelerate leads
• Recommends improvement priorities based on performance data and business needs
• Escalates systemic risks with evidence‑based recommendations
• Impact & Complexity
• Impact Influences core manufacturing KPIs across multiple plants
• Breadth Operates across 7 (Coatings & Proteins Extrusion) sites, functions, and leadership levels
• Complexity Manages competing site priorities while driving standardized systems
• Innovation Scales CI methodologies to diverse operational environments

Qualifications and skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Technology, or related field.
• 7-10+ years’ experience in manufacturing with proven results in operations leadership roles (e.g. management or director level roles in operations, supply chain, engineering, maintenance), continuous improvement or operational excellence roles.
• Technology Competency Preferred In Blending, Baking And/or Extrusion Technologies
• Strong expertise in Lean manufacturing tools and systems (PDCA, Kaizen, 5S, VSM, problem solving).
• Adept understanding of TPM principles and equipment reliability.
• Proven ability to lead change and influence across multiple sites.
• Strong analytical, data‑driven problem‑solving capability (Six Sigma and SPC understanding desired).
• Project Management Experience with ability to influence and partner across variety of business and functional areas

Key Interfaces

• Business Leadership Team (Business GM, Commercial & Integrated Operations Leadership)
• Plant Managers & Site Leadership Teams
• Regional Manufacturing & Operations Leaders
• Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, EHS and Finance partners
• Performance & Accelerate community

The typical h base salary hiring range for this role is $129,000 to $211,850 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc. In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility requirements).

Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. Additional information can be found at Know Your Rights Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (dol.gov).

We may use artificial intelligence tools to support the review and assessment of applications and assist with scheduling interviews. We do not use AI to make decisions during the interview process. All candidate assessments and hiring decisions are made by our recruitment and leadership teams.