Associate Continuous Improvement Analyst

Who we are!

Schwan’s Company, a U.S. affiliate of the global lifestyle company CJ CheilJedang Corporation, is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of quality foods offered through retail-grocery and food-service channels. Its many popular brands include Red Baron®, Tony’s®, Big Daddy’s®, Villa Prima™ and Freschetta® pizza; Mrs. Smith’s® and Edwards® desserts; and Pagoda® Asian-style snacks. To learn more about Schwan’s, visit www.schwanscompany.com.

What we are looking for:

This position is responsible for identifying, developing, evaluating and improving processes; creating new opportunities for increased performance; applying improvement methodologies from idea to implementation.

What you will get from us:

• Opportunities for career growth with a well-established food company.
• Competitive wages, incentive pay and a comprehensive package of benefits.
• Opportunity to work in a growing segment of a major food manufacturer and showcase your leadership and technical skills to make a big impact on the profitable growth of Schwan’s Company.
• Support and mentorship from team members who are authentic, good-natured and highly skilled.
• A culture focused on ensuring the health, safety and well-being of its employees.

Responsibilities

• Lead or participate in production trials to eliminate waste or improve operational capabilities using lean tools such as a cause and effect analysis, PDCA, and/or improvement Kata.
• Lead and participate in problem solving activities with cross functional teams.
• Participate in the DMS process and lead the development of a visual factory through 5S standards, performance metrics, and communication boards.
• Develop control strategies to enable operations to respond to out of limit centerlines.
• Works closely with GSC personnel to develop or enhance new processes across the GSC workstreams.
• Support the development and validation of new capacity and processes.
• Create centerline targets for optimal operational conditions.
• Responsible to conduct yourself in a manner consistent with company mission, values, code of ethics, policies, and other standards of conduct.
• Utilize change management strategies for implementation.
• Use project management tools to define project requirements and milestones, track progress, resolve problems, communicate progress, and recommend actions.
• Facilitates improvement teams or improvement events.
• Analyze processes and procedures to identify and develop opportunities to improve safety, quality, increase capacity and improve productivity.
• Analyze operational data to identify and prioritize loss data.

What we need from you:

• Must have great collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively work closely with cross-functional teams.
• The desire to make a meaningful difference. Must be self-motivated with the ability to work independently. We need someone who competes to win!
• Authentic leader: direct communicator, able to build strong relationships across the company, with all levels.

Preferred Qualifications

Education: Minimum Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Years of Related Experience: Candidates with a qualifying bachelor's degree must have 0-3 years of engineering or manufacturing related experience.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and successfully leverage internal and external resources.
• Working knowledge of MS Office Suite, MS Project.
• Ability to lead cross- functional improvement teams.
• Professional certifications and/or licenses with Six Sigma and/or Lean preferred.
• Working knowledge of basic statistical tools.
• Ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information.
• Ability to handle multiple projects and assignments, deadlines and achieve objectives.
• Understanding of general industrial process and control systems.
• Effective communication, facilitation and problem-solving skills.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications associated with the job. An individual must be able to perform all of the duties and responsibilities listed in a fully competent manner to be considered successful in the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential duties and responsibilities.