Continuous Improvement Lead.

Want to build a stronger, more sustainable future and cultivate your career? Join Cargill's global team of 160,000 employees who are committed to safe, responsible and sustainable ways to nourish the world.

This position is in Cargill’s protein and salt business, where we provide wholesome, high-quality food products to a wide range of customers, from foodservice operators and grocery stores to manufacturers and exporters.

Job Purpose and Impact

Protein North America site Continuous Improvement (CI) leads are core members of site leadership teams, working cross-functionally to lead site CI strategy and drive performance improvement through maturing processes and practices.

As trusted advisors, CI leads are focused on training and coaching of site & business teams to build a culture of problem solving, reinforcing that "CI is for everyone."

The ideal candidate for this role will possess a process-oriented mindset and operate with an analytical, systematic, and solution-oriented approach.

They will demonstrate expertise in translating abstract concepts into actionable real-world scenarios, guiding the team through practical implementation while providing hands-on education, coaching, and training to foster skill and knowledge development.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide strategic direction to the site enabling ongoing maturity improvement of operational excellence with complete site buy-in and support, including annual site gap assessments in processes, culture, practices, and sustaining workflows
• Responsible for influencing and inspiring a culture of improvement through waste elimination, kaizen, and excellence through personal and team respect, accountability, and engagement
• Responsible for relevant team development to meet the business expectations for operational excellence through training and mentorship
• Lead improvement project portfolios to deliver productivity targets using continuous improvement and production excellence tools, while directly providing updates on project objectives, performance measures, issues, and risks to partners and management
• Conduct organization readiness assessments, value realization, opportunity prioritization, and resource evaluation, and execute continuous improvement strategies that meet business needs
• Independently handle complex issues with minimal supervision, while escalating only the most complex issues to appropriate staff
• Responsible for personnel decisions related to hiring, performance, and disciplinary actions for your direct reports
• Other related duties as assigned

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Right to work in the that is not based solely on possession of a student visa or a visa sponsored by a third-party employer
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent experience (including Lean Six Sigma Green Belt degree or higher certification)
• Minimum of four years of related work experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Two years of supervisory experience
• Experience applying lean manufacturing principles and pursuing continuous improvement in a manufacturing environment
• Experience developing and implementing site-level master plans
• Proven track record of an applied analytical, systematic, and solution-oriented mindset
• Proven ability to translate abstract concepts into practical scenarios, leading teams through implementation while coaching and training for skill development

Posting Information

Location : Dayton, VA

Relocation : Relocation will be provided for eligible candidates

Equal Opportunity Employer, including Disability / Vet