Operational Excellence Manager - Neenah, WI

Higher Recruitment, Inc.; Neenah (WI); On-site; USD 105,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Higher Recruitment, Inc. is seeking an experienced Operational Excellence Manager for a high-volume Wisconsin manufacturing facility. You will lead Lean transformation, coach teams on 5S, TPM, SMED, and standard work to drive productivity, quality, safety, cost, and throughput.

You will partner with plant leadership, analyze performance data, run Kaizen events, and embed Lean into daily operations while developing leadership capability and sustaining measurable improvements across the operation.

Qualifications

• Must have experience leading Lean transformation with measurable results.
• Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to connect operational improvements to financial outcomes.
• Experience executing Kaizen events and sustaining improvements.
• Excellent communication and coaching skills across all levels of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead Lean and Operational Excellence strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Identify opportunities for productivity, waste elimination, and process optimization.
• Lead Kaizen events from opportunity to results validation and sustainment.
• Coach Lean methodologies across plant leadership, engineers, and frontline staff.
• Partner with leadership to ensure Lean activities drive measurable business outcomes.

Skills

Lean leadership

Change management

Cross-functional influence

Data-driven decisions

Coaching & development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field

5+ years manufacturing leadership experience

Job description

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Operational Excellence Manager to lead Lean transformation and Continuous Improvement initiatives within a high-volume manufacturing environment. This position plays a critical role in building and sustaining a Lean culture across the plant while driving measurable improvements in productivity, quality, safety, cost, throughput, cycle time, inventory, and loss elimination. The Operational Excellence Manager will partner closely with plant leadership, department leaders, technical resources, and frontline employees to identify opportunities, facilitate improvement initiatives, develop organizational capability, and ensure Lean practices become embedded in the day-to-day operating culture. This is a highly influential role for a leader who can teach, coach, facilitate, challenge, and influence without relying on direct authority.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of the plant's Lean and Operational Excellence strategy in alignment with overall business objectives.
• Identify opportunities for productivity improvement, waste elimination, loss reduction, cost improvement, and process optimization.
• Lead Kaizen events and other Continuous Improvement initiatives from opportunity identification through implementation, follow-up, and results validation.
• Facilitate pre-event preparation and training, event execution, communication, post-event follow-up, and auditing to ensure improvements are sustained.
• Analyze plant and departmental performance metrics and use data to identify root causes, establish priorities, and develop action plans.
• Drive improvement in key performance indicators through the application of Lean principles and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Develop and maintain a site transformation plan in partnership with plant leadership.
• Teach and coach Lean methodologies at all levels of the organization, including:
• Kaizen
• 5S
• TPM
• Setup Reduction / SMED
• Standard Work
• Visual Management
• SQDC
• Daily Management / MDI
• Build Lean and Continuous Improvement capability among plant leaders, supervisors, engineers, and frontline employees.
• Partner with manufacturing leadership to identify, prioritize, and execute transformational improvement opportunities.
• Influence and direct cross-functional teams and employees who are not direct reports.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and support to leaders as they adopt Lean operating principles and new ways of working.
• Partner with technical and engineering resources to improve equipment reliability, production performance, and overall manufacturing effectiveness.
• Monitor and communicate the financial and operational impact of Continuous Improvement initiatives.
• Ensure Lean activities are connected to measurable business outcomes rather than isolated improvement events.
• Establish processes for tracking improvement initiatives, financial impact, cultural adoption, and sustainability.
• Share successful practices and lessons learned to promote consistency and continuous improvement across the organization.
• Foster an environment of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Support organizational change initiatives and build engagement at all levels of the plant.
• Participate in Lean, Quality, Product Safety, and Workplace Safety initiatives.
• Perform additional projects and responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of manufacturing leadership experience, including at least 2 years specifically focused on Lean Manufacturing, Operational Excellence, or Continuous Improvement within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated success leading Lean transformation and Continuous Improvement initiatives that produced measurable business results.
• Strong knowledge and practical application of Lean Manufacturing principles and tools.
• Demonstrated experience leading 10+ Kaizen events.
• Proven ability to influence and lead employees and cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority.
• Strong change-management skills with demonstrated success changing behaviors and establishing a Lean culture.
• Experience developing and executing transformational improvement plans tied to business objectives.
• Demonstrated success improving metrics such as:
• Throughput
• Cycle time
• Productivity
• Inventory turns
• Manufacturing cost
• Supply chain cost
• Quality
• Safety
• Overall equipment effectiveness
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to use data to identify opportunities and drive decisions.
• Ability to understand financial drivers and connect operational improvements to measurable financial outcomes.
• Experience coaching and developing leaders and technical resources.
• Strong communication and presentation skills with the ability to engage employees from the plant floor through senior leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Self-directed, results-oriented, and comfortable working in an environment where priorities can change quickly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Lean Six Sigma certification or formal Lean training.
• Formal training through a recognized Lean organization or operating system.
• Experience within a highly structured Lean manufacturing environment such as Toyota, Danaher, or another organization with a mature Lean operating system.
• Experience leading a significant Lean transformation that resulted in measurable, bottom-line performance improvement.
• Strong manufacturing engineering or technical background.

What You'll Bring

The successful candidate will be a hands-on Lean leader and change agent who can move comfortably between the production floor and the leadership team. You will be expected to do more than facilitate improvement events. You'll help build the systems, behaviors, leadership capability, and accountability necessary to make Continuous Improvement part of the plant's everyday operating culture. We're looking for someone who can influence without authority, teach rather than simply direct, and demonstrate measurable results through the teams they develop.

Work Environment & Physical Requirements

This is an on-site manufacturing leadership position requiring regular presence on the production floor. The role requires frequent walking throughout the facility and may require standing for extended periods, as well as occasional climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling. The position may require the ability to lift or move up to 50 pounds.