Operational Excellence Manager I

Operational Excellence Manager I 

The Operational Excellence Manager I supports continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives across poultry processing operations. Reporting to the Complex Manager, this role partners with live production, processing operations, maintenance, quality assurance, food safety, environmental, animal welfare and safety teams to identify, analyze, and implement data-driven improvements that enhance throughput, yield, cost control, compliance, and overall operational performance.

This position applies Lean, Six Sigma, and audit-based methodologies to strengthen executional discipline, standardize processes, reduce variability, and ensure compliance with regulatory, food safety, animal welfare, and internal operating standards. The OE Manager plays a key role in supporting plant strategy by improving foundational processes, driving operational efficiencies, and delivering measurable value to internal and external customers.

Essential Functions

• Analyze operational, yield, labor, downtime, and quality data to assess current-state performance and identify improvement opportunities across poultry processing operations.
• Lead and support Lean and continuous improvement initiatives, including waste reduction, line efficiency, yield improvement, labor optimization, and cost reduction.
• Conduct process mapping, time studies, value stream mapping, and root cause analysis (e.g., 5 Whys, Fishbone) to identify bottlenecks and sources of variability.
• Support and participate in internal audits, operational assessments, and compliance reviews related to food safety, quality, animal welfare, safety, and operational standards.
• Partner with Quality Assurance and Food Safety teams to implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPAs) and ensure sustained compliance.
• Drive process, equipment, and work instruction standardization across departments and facilities to improve consistency and executional discipline.
• Manage improvement projects end-to-end, including scoping, planning, testing, implementation, training, and post-implementation validation.
• Develop and maintain project documentation, including project plans, timelines, SOPs, workflow maps, standard work, transition plans, and hand-off documentation.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration across processing, live operations, maintenance, engineering, QA, and safety teams with competing priorities.
• Collect, validate, and analyze performance metrics; develop dashboards and reports to track KPIs such as yield, efficiency, labor, safety, quality, and downtime.
• Support implementation and optimization of operational systems, ensuring data integrity and effective reporting.
• Identify and implement initiatives that improve food safety, employee safety, animal welfare outcomes, and reduce operational risk.
• Monitor sustainability of improvements through audits, performance reviews, and management routines.
• Serve as an active member of the organization’s cross-functional Operational Excellence team.
• This role will need to operate across all shifts at various points in time, depending on project focus area.
• Responsible for Live Operation KPI management and updates.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Operations, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations Management, or a related field.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in poultry, meat processing, food manufacturing, high-volume labor-intensive operations or a related operations environment.
• Working knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies; Lean Six Sigma certification (Green or Black Belt) preferred.
• Experience supporting or participating in internal audits, operational assessments, or compliance programs.
• Strong data analysis, database management, and business operations experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, with advanced Excel skills preferred.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Excellent facilitation, training, and communication skills with an end-user and operations-focused mindset.
• Proven ability to identify root causes, develop corrective actions, and drive sustainable results.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to work effectively with diverse teams, perspectives, and backgrounds in a fast-paced production environment.
• Ability to build strong relationships and influence change across all levels of the organization.