Area Manufacturing Excellence Leader - Pulp

What if you were given the opportunity and responsibility to make a difference? At International Paper, you control your destiny. We offer challenging assignments and total rewards in countries around the world. When we say infinite possibilities, we mean it. Apply now and join a community that improves people’s lives, the planet and our company’s performance by transforming renewable resources into products people depend on every day.

Position Title: 

Area Manufacturing Excellence Leader-Pulp

Pay Rate:

$101,100 - $134,600

Multiple factors, including Individual experience, skills and abilities will determine where an employee is ultimately placed in the pay range.

Category/Shift:

Salaried Full-Time

Physical Location:

601 County Rd 78

Selma, Al

The Job You Will Perform:

• The ME Leader will work closely with a variety of different areas throughout the mill including operations, maintenance, technical, and management.
• Provide visible and active leadership in delivering excellent safety results
• Identify and deliver sustainable cost savings through multiple deliberate and continuous improvement initiatives in alignment with the mills goal of year over year (YOY) cost reduction
• Train salaried and hourly employees to develop ME skills in the department and/or mill
• Work within the group to develop college hires (REACH) into ME Engineers
• Achieve ME certifications (White, Yellow, Green, Black, Master Black)
• Maintain strong relationships with other ME leaders as well as operating and maintenance department leaders
• Influence Business Unit operations teams to incorporate ME systems and processes to support sustainability of improvements as they are accomplished
• Support operations through field day/annual outage support and weekend duty assignments when needed
• Identify and implement Manufacturing Excellence best practices from across the mill, business, and company
• Support 5S program for the area and drive improvement projects, audit systems, and excellent results
• Provide support for cost reduction capital project development and implementation
• Implement systems to improve/sustain results
• Fulfill weekend duty team leadership role for assigned department
• Provide support for budgeting cycle targeted at delivering year over year savings
• Action Oriented, Timely Decision Making, Decision Quality, Organizing, Planning, Informing, Influencing, Perseverance, Priority Setting, Problem Solving, Drive For Results, Time Management, Managing Through Systems, Written Communications, Customer Focus, Integrity & Trust, Interpersonal Savvy, Listening, Peer Relationships, Dealing with Ambiguity, Functional/Technical Skills, Learning on the Fly, Self-Development, Technical Learning

The Skills You Will Bring:

• Minimum of five (5) years experience in operations, maintenance, and/or engineering in a paper manufacturing environment is required.  Bachelor’s degree in chemical, mechanical or electrical engineering is required; equivalent practical experience may be considered.  IP ME certification of green or black belt is required; additional lean/six sigma certifications a plus.
• Instill safety as a core value within the team and effectively communicate a shared vision for safety
• Quickly develop thorough knowledge of mill equipment and systems
• Utilize excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate to groups and individuals at all levels
• Approach positional responsibilities in an inclusive manner by engaging all team members in area, department, and mill
• Utilize the International Paper Change Process to drive change
• Work effectively alone or within a team
• Possess Manufacturing Excellence (ME) certification of yellow or green belt.
• Utilize strong organizational skills to handle multiple tasks effectively
• Action Oriented, Timely Decision Making, Decision Quality, Organizing, Planning, Informing, Influencing, Perseverance, Priority Setting, Problem Solving, Drive For Results, Time Management, Managing Through Systems, Written Communications, Customer Focus, Integrity & Trust, Interpersonal Savvy, Listening, Peer Relationships, Dealing with Ambiguity, Functional/Technical Skills, Learning on the Fly, Self-Development, Technical Learning

The Benefits You Will Enjoy:

International Paper offers a benefits package that includes health, welfare and retirement plans including Medical, Dental, Life insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Short-term and Long-term Disability, 401(k), Company-funded retirement contributions, Paid Time Off, Education & Development (including Tuition Reimbursement), Student Loan Repayment Assistance, and Voluntary Benefits including insurance for home, auto, vision and pets. 

The Career You Will Build:

What if you were given the opportunity and responsibility to make a difference? At International Paper, you control your destiny. We offer challenging assignments and total rewards in countries around the world. When we say infinite possibilities, we mean it. Apply now and join a community that improves people’s lives, the planet and our company’s performance by transforming renewable resources into products people depend on every day.

The Impact You Will Make:

We continue to build a better future for people, the planet, and our company! IP has been a good steward of sustainable practices across communities around the world for more than 120 years. Join our team and you’ll see why our team members say they’re Proud to be IP.

The Culture You Will Experience:

International Paper promotes employee well-being by providing safe, caring and inclusive workplaces. We have team members all around the world with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. These are our strengths. We are committed to creating a culture where all individuals are respected, valued, engaged and have an opportunity to do their best work every day. We invite you to bring your uniqueness, creativity, talents, experiences, and safety mindset to be a part of our increasingly inclusive and diverse culture.

The Company You Will Join:

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is the global leader in sustainable packaging solutions. With company headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters in London, UK, we employ more than 65,000 team members and serve customers around the world with operations in more than 30 countries. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Net sales for 2024 were $18.6 billion. In 2025, International Paper acquired DS Smith creating an industry leader focused on the attractive and growing North American and EMEA regions. Additional information can be found by visiting internationalpaper.com

International Paper is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.  International Paper complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact reasonable.accommodations@ipaper.com or (877) 973-3919.
Selma  AL  36701-8311