Operations Director: Global Supplier Performance & CI

Danone; Louisville (CO); Hybrid; USD 143,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Performance-based bonus

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401k plan

Tuition reimbursement

Paid parental bonding leave

Job summary

Danone North America is seeking a leader for the North American 3PM team to collaborate with Procurement Sourcing Managers and Quality Managers to drive cost, quality, and delivery improvements with Contract Manufacturers.

The role focuses on commercial and quality assessments of co-manufacturers, executing CI programs, and guiding resource allocation to maximize growth while ensuring robust product availability and strong supplier performance.

Qualifications

• Solution-oriented; always focused on solving problems.
• Strong financial acumen and business understanding.
• Excellent stakeholder influencing skills and cross-functional leadership.
• Project management fundamentals to easily facilitate cross functional projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with plant leadership teams, corporate continuous improvement team and other functions as necessary.
• Proven ability to improve results & increase efficiency.
• Willingness to travel and possess a passport—Up to 25% (primarily North America).

Responsibilities

• Lead performance with suppliers, driving accountability, KPI delivery, and continuous improvement.
• Own LTCP coordination & lead supplier performance improvement strategy to align capacity with business growth
• Lead a team that owns the technical qualification and capability assessment of co-manufacturers to ensure quality and scalability
• Establish & drive effective internal communications regarding COMAN performance, issues and opportunities
• Ensure robust product availability, proactively managing supply risks and constraints
• Champion COMAN Excellence agenda (BAW, PSL, REFUEL, etc.) to unlock productivity and ESG value
• Create digital connection between COMANs and Danone to provide greater visibility to production, inventory, materials and performance.
• Improve reporting & coordinate global best practices & best-known method (BKM) sharing and collaborating globally as needed/warranted
• Establish internal and external benchmark data while leading a team that drives Zero Defects/Continuous Improvement: Drive key performance improvement efforts with Key Contract Manufacturing suppliers (quality, yield, Lean, service) in all areas
• Working with Procurement, Engineering and Quality teams to identify, develop, and implement plans including: process improvements, quality systems improvements and VA/VE related cost reductions
• Lead a team who must use SPC and continuous improvement techniques at suppliers to reduce variability and achieve process control
• Interfacing with internal partners to identify quality and processing issues and collaboratively pursue solutions
• As required, working with R&I & Sourcing Managers to identify and assess new supplier technologies to support NPI/cost improvement
• Providing regular feedback to sourcing on supplier performance and improvement plans; to be utilized as foundational elements in category strategies that drive supplier selection and preferred status
• Ensure robust product availability, proactively managing supply risks and constraints

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Project management

Commercialization experience

Cross-functional collaboration

Strategic thinking

Education

BS in Business

BS in Science/Food Science/Engineering

MBA

Job description

Danone North America is seeking a leader for the North American 3PM team to collaborate with Procurement Sourcing Managers and Quality Managers to drive cost, quality, and delivery improvements with Contract Manufacturers.

The role focuses on commercial and quality assessments of co-manufacturers, executing CI programs, and guiding resource allocation to maximize growth while ensuring robust product availability and strong supplier performance.