Operations Excellence Specialist

CPS (Commercial Products Supply) manufactures concentrates and beverage bases for sale to Coca-Cola bottling partners all over the world. This global organization manages a network of 19 manufacturing plants in 17 countries.
We are establishing a Greenfield manufacturing facility near Ahmedabad in India. This state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will be built according to Industry 5.0 principles, featuring advanced automation and digitization. To facilitate this, we are hiring a highly competent and motivated Operational Excellence (OE) associate. You’ll be driving continuous improvement and operational excellence across the entire CPS plant.

Position Overview -

• Define, facilitate, and lead the development and implementation of lean-driven Operational Excellence strategies, programs and Program Management Office (PMO) framework to build OE culture and capabilities including mindsets and behaviours in the site.
• Lead key projects in the plant, region or global level applying lean/six sigma techniques and coordinating a multicultural team to achieve expected results.
• Build strategic and value-added partnerships with internal and external customers, working with TCCC BU and Region to ensure delivery of efficient solutions through the relentless identification and elimination of system inhibitors (waste, variability and inflexibility) to deliver system savings
• Define and implement effective training, mentoring and coaching strategies and programs for associates to build organizational capability, ensure corporate and regulatory compliance and achieve organizational performance.
• Define digitization strategy / roadmap for the plant & services

Function Related Activities/ Key Responsibilities -

Implementation of OE key Programs and Program Management Office (PMO):

• Establish the Site PMO to help support common processes and Program/Project execution (measure & track outcomes) as well as monitor risks and insure prioritization & alignment of regions to organizational (Global) goals / strategies.
• Lead & manage the implementation of the Operational Excellence Program to identify & complete business process improvement projects across all functions of the plant.
• Deploy process methodology & OE tools, ensures consistent & sustainable application.
• Ensure sustainable growth on an increasing complex environment identifying capacity constraints to manage, plan & implement investments on infrastructure capabilities to support future business requirements providing flexibility to the operation.
• Define & implement a robust culture maturity assessment plan to bring all functions in the plant to the required OE maturity levels.
• Establish measurements & reporting systems to track efficiencies gained through process improvement initiatives.
• Actively influencing work streams for the purpose of effective implementation of changes identified & planned
• Ensure discipline in the application of OE systems, tools and techniques for continuous improvement across CPS Sanand.
• Develop, communicate and implement OE strategies and programs, including the development of the continuous improvement standards, infrastructure, recognition program to build value creation culture.
• Refine strategies, programs or approach as appropriate and develop annual business plans.

Partnering and Value Creation:

• Conduct Voice of the Customer (internal and external) analysis, focus group discussions, structured interviews, and research to identify potential areas for improvement in support of strategies.
• Provide OE support to an assigned regional Function/DWT & ensure operational excellence is fully imbedded in the function, people capability development & the use of OE tools and methodologies.
• Maintain linkages with Global OE and Regional OE team members to provide inputs and understand recent developments on OE.
• Provide input and recommendations to ensure a continuously healthy overall productivity initiatives pipeline for the site.
• Review progress of project teams against goals and objectives, analyse and monitor operational data to maintain course of actions to be completed – performance measurements.
• Connect with Supply Chain to manage customer (business leaders, teams) expectations and ensure execution of Operational Excellence programs and projects against customer needs.

Performance Management:

• Develop and deliver training interventions, coach and mentor associates to build OE organizational capability.
• Provide leadership, direction and coaching to the plant associates on OE to achieve objectives.
• Leverage VSM (Versatility Skills Matrix) implementation to build organizational capabilities and multi-skills workforce.
• Develop and execute effective communication plans to increase the awareness, understanding and commitment to OE.
• Prepare OE procedures, reports and presentations for management as required.
• Facilitate management working sessions and continuous improvement initiatives as required.
• Develop dashboards and reports using tools like Power BI, Excel, or Tableau to track KPIs and project performance.

OE Culture & Capability Building:

• Develop organizational capabilities, including site leadership to become a flexible operation focusing on business efficiency, customer service, quality mindset, continuous improvement, and competitiveness to become a high-performance organization.
• Train, mentor and coach process improvement teams throughout the organization to achieve required OE certification Levels.
• Develop and implement OE culture improvement plans to ensure the right mindsets & behaviours are adopted.
• Identify problems, facilitate working sessions, coaching and follow up to ensure effective resolution mitigate risks and set priorities.
• Serve as part of the CPS OE Core Team to deliver on global OE initiatives keeping closely connected on recent OE developments and current thinking.
• Deploy data analytics capabilities to drive improvement projects.

Education Requirements –

• University bachelor’s degree in engineering, MBA Qualification desirable.
• 7+ years’ experience in a Food and/or manufacturing integrated environment.
• Accreditation in LEAN and/or 6 Sigma (Min Green Belt); implementation experience required
• Data analytics proficiency will be added advantage
• Project Management significant experience required
• Financial Business Acumen

Related Work Experience and functional skills -

• Digital savviness and experience in highly digitized and automated manufacturing plant is a significant advantage.
• Proven Lean/OE project implementation leadership experience.
• Project Management experience (in multi-cultural setting) is highly preferred.
• Significant Project Management experience required for implementing LEAN programs, certification is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in people management, in a people focused, team-based environment.
• Strategic planning 3+ years of experience with LEAN/Six Sigma, preferably within the Supply Chain
• Experience with change management and influencing organizational culture change.
• Familiarity with data analysis tools (Excel, Power BI, Minitab, or similar).
• Basic understanding of digital tools and automation platforms (e.g., Power Automate, RPA).
• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.