Manufacturing Excellence Area Lead

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: 

Manufacturing Excellence Area Lead

Pay Rate:

$91,500 – $134,200

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

Variable pay may provide additional opportunities for financial awards. This job is eligible to participate in IP’s short–term incentive plan.

Category/Shift:

Salaried Full-Time

Physical Location:

801 42nd ST

Springfield, OR 97478

The Job You Will Perform:

The Area Manufacturing Excellence Lead (AMEL) reports directly to the Manager of Manufacturing Excellence in Springfield, Oregon.  Within their assigned department, the AMEL is directly responsible for the Manufacturing Excellence process, which includes year-over-year (YOY) continuous improvement in the areas of safety, quality, productivity, reliability and cost reduction.

The AMEL must ensure close coordination with resources at all levels of the organization, including Business Unit Managers, Area Managers, and the “improve” resources (Reliability Engineers, Capital Engineers and others), to ensure the department’s improvement plan is coordinated and cohesive. 

This position is responsible for:

• Dedicated resource for deliberate improvement projects.
• Facilitate deliberate improvement project execution in business unit.
• Mentor white, yellow and green belt candidates during certification.
• R-Gap and A-Gap identification and validation for the Business Unit.
• Assist the Business Unit Manager and Manager Manufacturing Excellence in developing the department’s yearly Budget + 4 plans to close the gap on identified opportunities. 
  • Manages plan and tracks progress to insure Business Unit meets or exceeds YOY commitment.
• Engage employees throughout the business unit including: maintenance mechanics, operators and First Line Leaders in idea generation and implementation/execution
• Ask targeted questions of crews on their ideas to close specific gaps identified through R-Gap/A-Gap; share data illustrating gaps/benchmarks to facilitate discussion
• Utilize A3 process for non-capital and capital project execution within the business unit.
• Promote need for non-capital solutions
• Coordinate use of the ME toolbox (Facilitation, Six Sigma, Kaizen, Advance Analytics) to address department issues and capitalize on opportunities
• Drive business case analysis and development for FEL/PDP process
• Manage schedule for FEL development with area to meet 3% YOY over 4 year life of plan
• Develop tools to track project success
• Communicate and validate business cases with mill Controller (Finance)
• Communicate ME and Continuous Improvement (CI) status regularly to mill lead team and other business leaders as well as develop a plan for communication of status within the Business Unit
• Advocate for sustainable improvement practices and systems
• Provide support for project management and/or outage management during outages
• Other duties as assigned

The Skills You Will Bring:

Key Competencies Include:

• Managerial Courage
• Perspective
• Motivating others
• Customer Focus
• Learning on the Fly
• Interpersonal Savvy
• Organizational Agility
• Developing Others
• Building Effective Teams Process Management
• Organizing
• Planning
• Managing and Measuring
• Presentation Skills
• Conflict Management  

Qualifications include:

• B.S. in accredited engineering program.
• 5 or more years of experience in industry performing project, maintenance, and engineering work, , preferably in the Pulp and Paper industry
• 3 or more years of experience with continuous improvement concepts and tools (Lean Six Sigma) within a manufacturing environment preferably in the Pulp and Paper industry.  A Green Belt is strongly preferred.

The Benefits You Will Enjoy:

• Paid time off including Vacation and Holidays
• Retirement, and 401k Matching Program
• Medical & Dental
• Education & Development (including Tuition Reimbursement)
• Life & Disability Insurance

The Career You Will Build:

• Leadership training
• Promotional opportunities

The Impact You Will Make:

We continue to build a better future for people, the plant, 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. You will learn Safety Leadership Principles and have the opportunity to opt into Employee Networking Circles such as IPVets, IPride, Women in IP, and the African American ENC. We invite you to bring your uniqueness, creativity, talents, experiences, and safety mindset to be a part of our increasingly diverse culture.

The Company You Will Join:

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global supplier of renewable fiber-based products. We produce corrugated packaging products that protect and promote goods, and enable worldwide commerce, and pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal care products that promote health and wellness. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 38,000 colleagues globally. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2021 were $19.4 billion. 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.
Springfield  OR  97478