Sr Manager, Continuous Improvement

Aspire Bakeries is a North American baking company with a leadership position in specialty frozen baked goods. Formed from leading bakery companies, its innovative food portfolio includes breads, artisan breads, buns, cookies, donuts, muffins and pastries from beloved brands like La Brea Bakery®, Otis Spunkmeyer®, and Oakrun Farm Bakery®. With 14 bakeries in North America, we are committed to driving innovation, predicting upcoming consumer trends and flavors, and exceeding our customers' expectations. Aspire Bakeries champions the values of Integrity, Ownership, Customer Focus, Creativity and Care to help us deliver on People Safety, Food Safety, Quality and Collaboration.     The Senior Manager of Continuous Improvement will be the change agent leader focused on deployment and evolution for executing and implementing a comprehensive Aspire Operational Excellence (AOE) strategy to drive short and long-term strategic goals. This person will collaborate with Bakery Directors, Bakery Leadership Teams, and Continuous Improvement Managers to drive an Aspire Operational Excellence culture through standards of change management and ensuring effective learning from failure to prevent reoccurrence for the Aspire Bakeries.   Responsibilities: Driving an Operational Excellence cultural shift within Aspire This position will be responsible for the implementation of the (AOE) Aspire Operational Excellence program, partnering with bakery directors and leadership teams. Share the knowledge and tools to drive the execution of the AOE Model by the implementation of change management principles and Lean methodology tools. Ensure continuous AOE Site Phase progression within all bakery pillar teams at the sites and within the supply chain. Provide zero loss analysis across the supply chain. Acting as a thought partner and collaborating on the architecture of the Aspire Operational Excellence system. Monitor bakeries' ongoing adherence to AOE processes, responding to opportunities through training, coaching and escalation. Provide planning, facilitation, and governance of bakeries daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly plans to eliminate losses and defects. Provide leadership on systems and processes for capturing and reporting operational events and metrics. Provide leadership on continuous improvement tools and methodologies including standard work measurement, methods improvement, root cause analysis, value stream mapping, quick changeover, and process improvement teams. Facilitating and coaching multiple AOE projects at different bakeries, simultaneously. Identifying future OE talent and coaching on methodologies to support their professional advancement. Best Practice identification and sharing across all locations. Maintain constant feedback loops between all relevant stakeholders to maintain an extremely high level of accuracy and communication.   Qualifications: Bachelor's degree (B.A.) or equivalent; or minimum 10 years of experience in leading Lean Transformations in manufacturing operations Continuous Improvement experience: TPM, and Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt Certification preferred. Continuous improvement project experience, training, and development, TPM, 5s, and Lean Six Sigma. Must have Coaching, Facilitation, and Teambuilding Skills that inspire confidence in others to execute efficiently. Can effectively gather feedback, address issues, and recognize effort and improvement. Demonstrates a passion for continuous improvement and models positive behaviors and vision for AOE. The position requires a high level of creativity, exceptional organization and project management skills, and out-of-the-box thinking. Must be able to coordinate all operational aspects of diverse project work and work productively with a wide range of people and job levels, both internally and externally, to achieve objectives.  Challenge the Status Quo - Ability to identify and bring forth new approaches and ideas even when it is difficult, understanding the audience, functional leaders, the executive team, and each bakery culture. Demonstrated ability to apply critical thought processes to develop, recommend, and implement strategies and programs that address bakery and corporate objectives. Outstanding written and oral communication skills up and down the organizational hierarchy to include corporate offices. Strong project management, organizational, analytical, presentation, and interpersonal skills. Will require travel at least 50% to support all Aspire Supply chain.   Salary Range: $125,000 - $155,000     Benefits Designed with You in Mind At Aspire Bakeries, we're committed to supporting your well-being, professional growth, and financial stability. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:   Health & Wellness: Medical, dental, and vision coverage Company-paid life insurance Optional voluntary benefits Work-Life Balance: Paid parental leave Paid time off and holidays Financial Security: Competitive 401(k) plan with a 100% vested company match Short-term and long-term disability coverage Continuous Growth: Tuition reimbursement program Flexible Spending: HSA and FSA options Performance-Based Rewards: We value your hard work and dedication. That's why we offer performance-driven incentive programs tailored to your role: Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP): Recognizing individual and team achievements. Sales Incentive Plan (SIP): Rewarding excellence in sales performance. Bakery Incentive Plan (BIP): Focused on achieving bakery-specific performance goals.   At Aspire Bakeries, we believe that when you succeed, we all succeed. Join us and experience benefits that truly work as hard as you do!   Aspire Bakeries LLC values the contribution each Team Member brings to our organization. The final determination of a successful candidate's starting pay will vary based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to location, shift, education, skill, and experience within the job or the industry. The pay scale listed for this position is generally for candidates that meet the specified qualifications and requirements listed In this specific job description. Additional pay may be determined for those candidates that exceed these specified qualifications and requirements. We provide a competitive compensation package that recognizes your experience, credentials, and education alongside a robust benefits program to meet your needs. For union-represented postings, wage rates and ranges are governed by applicable collective bargaining agreements.   We thank each applicant for taking the time and effort to submit your resume, however, only candidates to be interviewed will be contacted. Our organization is committed to promoting the independence, dignity, integration, and equality of opportunity of persons with disabilities by ensuring the accessibility of our facilities and services. Accommodations are available for all parts of the recruitment and selection process. Applicants need to make their required accommodations known in advance.  

Created: 2025-02-19