Global Chief of Operational Excellence & Performance

Kansas Ag Connection; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Hansen Agri‑PLACEMENT seeks a Global Director of Performance Excellence to lead continuous improvement and reliability programs across manufacturing sites worldwide. This senior role drives operational excellence, value creation, and sustainable results through governance and disciplined execution.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in manufacturing leadership, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Master Black Belt preferred), and a proven ability to deploy improvement initiatives in diverse, remote

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, or a related manufacturing discipline
• 8+ years of leadership experience in manufacturing environments
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt required; Master Black Belt preferred
• Proven ability to influence and lead continuous improvement initiatives
• Demonstrated project portfolio and governance experience aligning value drivers to decision‑making
• Strong analytical, organizational, and strategic thinking skills with an execution focus
• Excellent communication, facilitation, change management, and mentoring skills
• Deep knowledge of Operational Excellence principles
• Fluency in English required; additional languages a plus
• Experience working in developing countries and remote locations
• Willingness to travel internationally up to 30%
• Physically able to navigate challenging industrial environments

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute continuous improvement and reliability excellence roadmaps across sites and regions, ensuring sustainable adoption of processes and measurable outcomes.
• Build a strong continuous improvement culture that enables safe, efficient operations through structured project identification, daily improvement, and performance tracking.
• Define, monitor, and improve KPIs for safety, quality, reliability, cost, and productivity across global operations.
• Partner with leaders at all levels to leverage data and analytics to drive operational insight and sustained performance.
• Collaborate with Organizational Development to design and deploy Continuous Improvement Belt and Root Cause Analysis training and certification programs.
• Partner with automation and site teams to identify, prioritize, and scale digital and automation improvements across regions.
• Champion leading practices and ensure consistent implementation to support operational discipline and process confirmation.

Skills

Leadership

Continuous improvement

Analytical thinking

Communication

Change management

Mentoring

English fluency

Global mobility

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain/Engineering

Job description

Hansen Agri‑PLACEMENT seeks a Global Director of Performance Excellence to lead continuous improvement and reliability programs across manufacturing sites worldwide. This senior role drives operational excellence, value creation, and sustainable results through governance and disciplined execution.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in manufacturing leadership, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Master Black Belt preferred), and a proven ability to deploy improvement initiatives in diverse, remote