Sr Mgr Operations Excellence

The Hershey Company; Robinson (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellbeing

Financial Security

Time Off & Flexibility

Growth & Development

Job summary

The Hershey Company is seeking a Sr Mgr Operations Excellence at the Robinson, IL site to lead the site’s Operations Excellence strategy and Integrated Continuous Improvement program. You will drive improvements across safety, quality, service, cost, and engagement using TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and Six Sigma methodologies.

You will partner with plant leadership, manage a team of 7 direct and 12 indirect reports, and advance digital work processes including Connected Worker solutions to

Qualifications

• 7+ years of manufacturing experience with leadership in CI/operational excellence.
• Proven Lean adoption and digital work processes experience; high-speed CPG preferred.
• Bachelor’s in engineering (MBA a plus) and Six Sigma certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead Robinson site Ops Excellence strategy and CI program.
• Partner with plant leadership to set objectives, governance and audits.
• Manage team of 7 direct and 12 indirect reports across pillars.
• Drive safety, quality, service, cost and performance improvements.
• Coach leaders and shifts on CI tools and capability growth.
• Deploy connected worker solutions and digital mapping to improve frontline work.

Skills

Lean Manufacturing

Six Sigma

Advanced Excel

SAP S/4

Power BI

Augmentir

Change Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

MBA a plus

Six Sigma Green Belt or higher

Tools

SAP S/4

Power BI

Augmentir Connected Worker

Job description

Sr Mgr Operations Excellence

Note: If you apply for a role at Hershey through our career's website, we may use technologies that use automation to filter your candidacy based on objective criteria. We also use AI-enabled tools that help us facilitate the selection of our future Hershey talent. These tools may help with activities such as matching and scoring candidates to roles based on requirements and scheduling interviews. These systems process only the information you provide in your application, including your resume, work history, education, and responses to screening questions. While these technologies assist with certain steps in our recruitment process and may provide recommendations, all final decisions, including those affecting whether candidates advance to subsequent stages in the applicant process, are made by our talent acquisition teams with meaningful human review and independent judgment. Depending on your location and the specific role you apply for, additional disclosures about our use of AI in recruitment may be provided to you separately.

Why Hershey

At The Hershey Company, our culture is rooted in purpose and inspired by Milton Hershey's enduring vision that business should create opportunity for others. Through our commitment to corporate philanthropy, we create positive impact by supporting communities, helping children thrive, and operating as a business for good. This includes our deep and long standing partnership with Milton Hershey School, where we invest in education, workforce readiness, and hands on engagement to help students succeed beyond the classroom. Supported by strategic grantmaking, product donations, cross brand collaboration, and strong employee volunteerism, Hershey offers a place to work where making a difference-locally and globally-is part of how we do business every day.

Job Location: Robinson, IL

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is an industry-leading snacks company known for making more moments of goodness through its iconic brands. With a strong portfolio across chocolate, confectionery, and salty snacks, Hershey delights consumers every day. Our beloved brands include Hershey's, Reese's, KitKat, Dots Pretzels, Lesser Evil, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, and more.

At Hershey, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the communities where we live, work, and do business. This commitment originated with our founder, Milton Hershey, and continues to shape who we are today.

Guided by our employee value proposition, Lead Today. Create Tomorrow, we empower our people to drive impact now while shaping what comes next. Our One Hershey mindset brings teams together across functions, geographies, and businesses, enabling us to operate with speed, collaboration, and shared purpose.

The Hershey Company is proud to be recognized as a top employer in the United States, reflecting our commitment to our people, culture, and purpose.

How will you fit in the big picture?

The SrMgrOperations Excellence will lead the Robinson site Operations Excellence strategy and Integrated Continuous Improvement program for a 1,000-person manufacturing facility using TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and Six Sigma methodologies. This role partners with plant leadership to establish objectives, governance, performance standards, audits, and work plans aligned with site and company priorities. As a key change leader, you will drive improvement across safety, quality, service, cost, engagement, and operating performance through structured problem solving and a healthy improvement pipeline. This role leads 7 direct reports and 12 indirect reports, with the Process Leads, Labor & Scheduling, Learning and Development Pillar, and Training teams reporting into the role.

What will you do?

• Lead the Robinson site Operations Excellence strategy and Integrated Continuous Improvement program using TPM, Lean Manufacturing, and Six Sigma methodologies.
• Partner with plant leadership to establish objectives, governance, performance standards, audits, and work plans aligned with site and company priorities.
• Lead and develop an organization of 7 direct reports and 12 indirect reports across Process Leads, Labor & Scheduling, the Learning and Development Pillar, and Training.
• Drive improvement across safety, quality, service, cost, engagement, and operating performance through structured problem solving and a healthy improvement pipeline.
• Coach and develop leaders, Process Leads, line-centric teams, and employees across shifts to strengthen capability, ownership, and consistent use of CI tools.
• Guide line deployment, pillar development, Focus Teams, capability progression, and the sustainability of Hershey Lean across the site.
• Monitor performance and financial impact against multi-year glidepaths, identify major risks or roadblocks, and communicate clear updates to senior stakeholders.
• Lead deployment of Connected Worker solutions, including Augmentir, and advance Electronic Value Stream Mapping to strengthen digital work processes and frontline adoption.
• Proactively analyze operating trends using Excel, SAP S/4, and Power BI, translate insights into clear actions, and communicate measurable results to stakeholders.
• Coordinate with central teams and Operations Excellence leaders across the network to share knowledge and support consistent, scalable implementation.

Minimum Education & Requirements

• Experience: 7+ years of relevant experience, including manufacturing experience and demonstrated leadership of continuous improvement or operational excellence initiatives.
• Proven results building Lean adoption and implementing digital work processes are required. Experience in high-speed consumer packaged goods manufacturing is highly preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills and strong SAP S/4 and Power BI capabilities are required.
• Experience with Augmentir Connected Worker, Electronic Value Stream Mapping, TPM, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, change management, and performance analytics is preferred. Must be able to clearly articulate insights, actions, and measurable results.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering or a related discipline strongly preferred, MBA a plus.
• Six Sigma Green Belt certification or above preferred.

Benefits and Perks

At Hershey, we offer competitive pay and a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your wellbeing, financial security, and life outside of work.

• Health & Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, plus wellness programs that support your physical and mental health
• Financial Security: Competitive pay, annual incentive opportunities, and a 401(k) with company match
• Time Off & Flexibility: Paid time off, company holidays, and flexible ways of working where applicable
• Growth & Development: Career development programs, learning opportunities, and internal mobility

Benefits may vary based on role, location, and eligibility.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The policy of The Hershey Company is to extend opportunities to qualified applicants and employees on an equal basis regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, national origin, religion, citizenship status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other categories protected by applicable federal, state or local laws.

The Hershey Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Minority/Female/Disabled/Protected Veterans.

You may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application process as a result of a disability.

To request an accommodation via phone, please call [phone] and leave a voicemail with your contact information. You may also email a request for accommodation to [e-mail]. Please be sure to include "Accommodation Needed" in the subject line. This will ensure that your email is routed to the appropriate contact who will handle your request.

You can request an accommodation via phone or email.