What are the responsibilities and job description for the Continuous Improvement Specialist position at Mars?
Job Description:
At Nature’s Bakery, we’re passionate about powering life’s adventures with delicious, better-for-you snacks crafted from real, wholesome ingredients. From our iconic Fig Bars to our exciting range of soft-baked treats, we believe everyone deserves snacking options that nourish the body and delight the taste buds. As a proud member of the Mars family of companies, we’re experiencing rapid growth fueled by strategic investments in our people, bakeries, and innovation. We foster a values-driven, people-first culture where collaboration, creativity, and community thrive—making every day meaningful and rewarding. Our future looks brighter than ever. Join us and help bake something better.
This role supports our manufacturing for our sister company tru fru.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Continuous Improvement (CI) Specialist, you’ll play a key role in driving operational excellence across our bakery. You’ll lead loss elimination efforts, coach teams on problem-solving, and help shape how we continuously improve our processes and systems. You’ll partner closely with line leaders and operators to strengthen daily management systems, ensure data integrity, and support a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
In This Role, You Will:
Minimum Requirements
At Nature’s Bakery, you’ll find more than a career — you’ll find a community. We’re passionate about growth, integrity, inclusion, and, of course, making great snacks. We believe in empowering our people to make a real impact, one improvement at a time.
Join us and help bake up a better tomorrow!
The Good Stuff – Benefits
Our team members' physical and mental health is important to a thriving workplace. That’s why we offer the following benefits to full-time employees:
At Nature’s Bakery, we’re passionate about powering life’s adventures with delicious, better-for-you snacks crafted from real, wholesome ingredients. From our iconic Fig Bars to our exciting range of soft-baked treats, we believe everyone deserves snacking options that nourish the body and delight the taste buds. As a proud member of the Mars family of companies, we’re experiencing rapid growth fueled by strategic investments in our people, bakeries, and innovation. We foster a values-driven, people-first culture where collaboration, creativity, and community thrive—making every day meaningful and rewarding. Our future looks brighter than ever. Join us and help bake something better.
This role supports our manufacturing for our sister company tru fru.
What You’ll Be Doing
As a Continuous Improvement (CI) Specialist, you’ll play a key role in driving operational excellence across our bakery. You’ll lead loss elimination efforts, coach teams on problem-solving, and help shape how we continuously improve our processes and systems. You’ll partner closely with line leaders and operators to strengthen daily management systems, ensure data integrity, and support a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
In This Role, You Will:
- Lead and facilitate loss elimination initiatives across your assigned Value Stream.
- Support the development and execution of Daily Management Systems (DMS), including Centerline (CL), Clean-Inspect-Lubricate (CIL), Abnormality Handling (AH), 5S, and Changeover systems.
- Analyze line data to identify and prioritize loss elimination opportunities.
- Drive root cause problem-solving on chronic issues, using both basic and advanced tools.
- Partner with production and technical teams to define process standards, establish control strategies, and enable teams to respond to out-of-control situations.
- Facilitate team meetings and NBOS CP2 sessions; communicate clearly across shifts and functions.
- Collaborate with line leaders to ensure all departmental metrics (safety, quality, efficiency) are achieved.
- Train and coach associates to build technical mastery and problem-solving capabilities.
- Foster a culture of safety, quality, and teamwork through proactive engagement and accountability.
Minimum Requirements
- Strong mechanical/technical aptitude with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and comfort working with data systems.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to connect with and motivate people at all levels of the organization.
- Certified Trainer or demonstrated ability to effectively train and coach others.
- Experience facilitating process improvement initiatives and using Focused Improvement tools.
- Proven ability to provide constructive feedback and guide performance improvement.
- BA Degree (ENG, Supply Chain, Business, or technical field) or Associate's Degree with at least 2 years' experience in a TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) manufacturing environmen
At Nature’s Bakery, you’ll find more than a career — you’ll find a community. We’re passionate about growth, integrity, inclusion, and, of course, making great snacks. We believe in empowering our people to make a real impact, one improvement at a time.
Join us and help bake up a better tomorrow!
The Good Stuff – Benefits
Our team members' physical and mental health is important to a thriving workplace. That’s why we offer the following benefits to full-time employees:
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance offered for eligible employees
- 401(k) plan with a company match that vest on day 1 of eligibility
- Paid vacation
- Paid time off
- Holiday pay (11 days)
- Paid short-term disability
- Paid life insurance
- Banfield Pet Insurance Discounts
- Wellness Benefits and Discounts
- Employee Assistance Program