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Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success, we help customers grow their business through meaningful partnerships, research-driven insights and innovations, and products and expertise they can depend on. As a family-owned company, our commitments to our people, products, customers, and corporate values, are all part of our recipe for success.

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Why work for Dawn Foods? 

PEOPLE.   PRODUCTS.  CUSTOMERS.

Why should you apply? We invest in you!

• Industry-leading health insurance on Day 1!
• Competitive Pay
• 401(K) + company match
• 10 Paid Company Holidays
• Paid Time Off
• Professional training
• Family-owned business over 100 years in service
• An opportunity for career advancement, working as part of an empowering workforce

Job Purpose and Overview

Leads, develops, and implements operational continuous improvement strategy and initiatives to drive cost reduction, eliminate waste, improve customer satisfaction, reduce product defects, and increase market share through the use of lean methodology and tools.

Work Environment & Travel: This is a position based in Jackson, MI or Louisville, KY at one of our manufacturing plants. Travel may be required, up to 50% of the time. 

What will you do as a Senior Director of Continuous Improvement at Dawn Foods? 

• Develop, manage, and facilitate the Continuous Improvement initiatives and strategy for Operations
• Build, lead, and develop a team of continuous improvement experts to identify, define, and implement and improvement opportunities to drive down cost using Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement principles
• Outlines the direction and overall deployment of the Lean framework to ensure consistent and rigorous application across the operation
• Drive a continuous improvement culture with a focus on prioritizing opportunities tied into a lean transformation strategy, process improvement, methodology, tools and data, and provide leadership for process improvement initiatives
• Ensure sustainability of past CI projects and focus on standardization and adoption of improved processes
• Sponsors process deep dives, or Kaizen events, to create gap analyses and areas warranting process improvement
• Develops and maintains a roadmap for long-term, sustainable cost reduction initiatives, including investments in tools and infrastructure that provide automated reporting and/or supplier collaboration
• Provides leadership in annual goal setting, cost savings targets, and aligning department staffing to support future business growth
• Leverages lean skills, tools, and best practices to identify opportunities for improvement and methods to improve
• Develop Six-sigma training and certification programs for Operations and Dawn N.A.
• Acts as a true Lean transformation leader and Kaizen coach that can provide in-depth knowledge of rapid improvement methodologies with tools acquired through hands-on implementation
• Understands and promotes the philosophies and policies of Dawn Food Products, Inc.
• Supports the Circle of Excellence, and the Dawn Philosophy of Team Dawn

What Does It Take to be a Senior Director of Continuous Improvement at Dawn Foods?

Below are the minimum required qualifications to be a fit for this job.   

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, process management, operations, industrial engineering, engineering management, or another relevant field required
• Master’s Degree preferred
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt preferred
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in manufacturing, logistics, distribution, warehousing, and/or engineering or other related supply chain field with at least:
  • A minimum of 5 years' experience owning continuous improvement initiatives
  • A minimum of 5 years’ experience leading and supervising others
• Requires excellent oral, written, and presentation communication skills
• Experience in the food industry or baking industry preferred
• Requires analytical problem-solving skills, time management skills, and advanced skills in the use of data management tools to monitor progress toward goals
• Experience with developing, maintaining, and revising Six Sigma training curriculum, delivering classroom training, and building relationships with external agencies to deliver Six Sigma training
• Experience in managing cross-departmental and cross-business projects
• Strong ability to lead organizational changes
• Demonstrated success in developing and establishing a CI framework in an organization, building processes, and policies that influence a cultural shift towards CI
• Strong ability to influence others without direct authority to seek and gain executive alignment and activate resources to deliver to project commitments

Physical Demands & Work Environment 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a Team Member to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Ability to work at a computer for extended periods (up to 8 hours per day).
• Required to use motor coordination with arm, hand, finger, and leg dexterity.
• Required to exert physical effort in handling objects up to 25 pounds. 
• The normal setting for this job is in an office environment.
• Ability to participate in virtual meetings and in-person collaboration as needed.
• Travel (up to 50%) may be required for team meetings, training, or project collaboration.

Note: The level of physical effort may vary from site to site and in some cases be greater or lesser than documented here. 

If this sounds like the opportunity that you have been looking for, please click "Apply.” 

About Our Benefits 

Dawn is proud to employ the top talent in the baking industry, and we reward our people with comprehensive health and well-being coverage, competitive compensation packages, and award-winning benefit offerings. We also help protect your future financial health with a generous 401(k) matching program that provides additional retirement funds and many tools and resources on financial wellness. Dawn encourages professional growth through tuition assistance and educational programs, and we are always searching for ways to improve our industry-leading services and benefits.  

Compensation: Base salary range $140,880-$246,530 with bonus potential

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An Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/gender expression, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information or any other status or condition that is protected by applicable law.

Requisition ID: 37662