Operational Excellence Manager

Rehrig Pacific; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Rehrig Pacific is seeking an Operations Excellence Manager in Los Angeles to drive scalable standards and data-driven improvement initiatives. You will lead cross-functional projects, coach leaders, and embed Lean practices across daily operations to boost safety, quality, service, and productivity.

The role requires 5+ years in operations excellence, strong facilitation and analytics skills, and the ability to travel up to 30–40%. Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and KPI tooling is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree preferred, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 5+ years in operations excellence or related field.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional improvement initiatives using Lean, root cause analysis, PDCA, A3, kaizen, Gemba, and standard work.
• Strong change leadership, facilitation, coaching, project management, data analysis, KPI dashboards, and executive-ready communication.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and data visualization; Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain an operations excellence roadmap and site-level improvement plans.
• Standardize and simplify processes using Lean, standard work, visual management, and leader routines.
• Coach leaders and teams to embed continuous improvement into daily operations.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to improve safety, quality, service, productivity, and cost.
• Facilitate Gemba walks, root cause analysis, kaizen, PDCA, and A3 problem solving with clear ownership.
• Develop KPI dashboards and review routines to create visibility and drive timely action.
• Analyze trends, prioritize the improvement pipeline, and communicate progress to leadership.

Skills

Lean principles

Gemba

Six Sigma

Change leadership

KPI dashboards

Executive communication

Facilitation

Coaching

Project management

Data analysis

Education

Bachelors degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft 365

Data visualization tools

AI-enabled analytics solutions

Job description

Purpose of the Role

The Operations Excellence Manager improves operational performance by establishing scalable standards, strengthening daily management systems, and leading data-driven continuous improvement initiatives. This role works cross-functionally with Operations leaders to simplify processes, build problem-solving capability, sustain measurable gains, and align execution with safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer expectations.

Areas of Accountability

Operational Excellence Deployment

• Develop and maintain an operations excellence roadmap, site-level improvement plans, and measurable performance targets based on assigned business priorities.
• Standardize and simplify processes using Lean principles, standard work, visual management, and leader routines.
• Coach leaders and teams to embed continuous improvement practices into daily operations and sustain adoption.
• Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives that increase safety, quality, service, productivity, and cost performance.
• Facilitate Gemba, root cause analysis, kaizen, PDCA, and A3 problem solving; ensure countermeasures have clear owners and due dates.
• Validate benefits, remove barriers, and establish controls that prevent regression.
• Develop and refine KPI dashboards, scorecards, and review routines that create visibility to performance and drive timely action.
• Analyze trends, quantify opportunities, prioritize the improvement pipeline, and communicate progress, risks, and realized value to leadership.
• Align metric definitions, reporting cadence, escalation triggers, and accountability across Operations and support functions.
• Own governance for SOPs, work instructions, standard work, audits, and corrective actions, including approval, version control, implementation, and sustainment.
• Develop practical training, job aids, and facilitation materials; coach teams in Lean tools, KPI interpretation, and disciplined execution.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and travel approximately 3040%.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Bachelors degree preferred, or equivalent relevant experience;
• 5+ years in operations excellence, continuous improvement, manufacturing, service operations, quality, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional improvement initiatives and applying Lean, root cause analysis, PDCA, A3, kaizen, Gemba, and standard work.
• Strong capability in change leadership, facilitation, coaching, project management, data analysis, KPI dashboards, and executive-ready communication.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, reporting and visualization tools, and AI-enabled productivity and analytics solutions, including effective prompting, responsible use, output validation, and practical workflow automation; Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.