US Ice Cream Associate Director, Manufacturing Excellence

This role can be based out of Englewood Cliffs, NJ St. Albans VT, Covington, TN, or Sikeston, MO. Expected travel to other IC sites across North America.

The Ice Cream division at Unilever is preparing to stand on its own, aiming to become an independent, EUR 8.3 billion publicly listed company by the end of 2025. We’re on a mission to create the ultimate snacking company.​ A place where growth, innovation, founder and ownership mentality, and performance are cultivated and rewarded. And where we craft extraordinary ice cream experiences - transforming ordinary moments into lasting memories.​ Because we know, life tastes better with ice cream.​

The Magnum Ice Cream Company is all about growth. Growing our business. Growing our customers’ businesses. Growing our people’s careers.​ Growth begins with empowerment. So we free our people to be innovative, responsible entrepreneurs, driven and equipped to give our consumers more amazing products and unforgettable moments – and having fun doing it.​

With 19.000 expert ice cream colleagues and iconic brands like Wall’s, Cornetto and Ben & Jerry’s, loved in 76 countries, we are the world’s largest Ice Cream company leading the industry.  We have been taking pleasure seriously for more than 100 years, serving happiness with every lick or scoop of ice cream for generations.

We are investing to unlock the full growth potential of The Magnum Ice Cream Company as a standalone entity, once we separate from Unilever, which is planned to happen before the end of 2025.

We dream big but keep things simple to act fast.​

If you want to grow with us, make an impact, and shape the future of Ice Cream, this is the place for you!

Main Job Purpose: 

BU ManEx Lead is reporting to IC Global ManEx Director and ispart of BU SCLT. BU ManEx manager is accountable for the factory results and will beresponsible to lead the entire continuous improvement program.

BU ManEx Lead plays a crucial role in enhancing manufacturing performance, including areas such as waste reduction, operational reliability (OR), overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), ManEx savings, cost efficiency, manhours per ton, safety, health, environment (SHE), and quality improvements. He/Shedevelops and implements a continuous improvement program for the Business Unit (BU), aligned with the Business Group’s manufacturing strategy and the BU and site priorities. This role involves providing continuous improvement coaching to sourcing units, developing and managing manufacturing skills, and delivering training.

Key Accountabilities: 

Business Impact:

• Leadership: Be a servant leader to the factories and supporting them in the deployment of the Global Manex Strategy for the Ice Cream company.

• Masterplan: Support the factory to develop Factory Masterplan in coordination with Finance, BG Mid/Long term planning, Engineering, Digital, HR.

• Continuous Improvement program: support factories with proper program rollout and implementation, activities, and projects of the pillars (technical and managerial for foundation and advanced).

• ManufacturingWaste: Support the factory teams on waste governance; Support teams to develop waste improvement glidepath covering all waste levers.

• Cost Governance: Support factory teams to develop the cost budget and to control the cost by Weekly Cost Governance and Zero-Based Budget.

• Savings: Support the factory teams to identify saving projects to meet the targeted production cost and manufacturing waste.

• Reliability: Expand the loss management framework beyond Manufacturing and have KPI´s for interfaces with Manufacturing (OR losses)

• Digitaltransformation: support the factory to develop and implement a digital road map and industry 4.0 use cases to accelerate performance.

Continuous Improvement Program

• Own the roll out of the program (for foundation and advanced) in the factories, perform gap analysis, supports teams to create improvement plan; facilitate assessments with global teams.

• Program development for future practices, acting as the expert and contact point for the specific domain globally. 

• Tools and Methods: Facilitate Tools and Methods (toolkits) to attack the major losses supporting and maintaining the standardization across the BU.

• OEE: Drive asset efficiency (OEE) aligned with run2standard.

• Performance reporting: Support the deployment of MMP standards set up and coherent application. Analyze and report continuous improvement savings through Cost Deployment. Facilitates timely and accurate reporting of site performance KPIs OEE, Waste and Manhour per ton.

• Learning: Deliver trainings (classroom and the shopfloor) and coaching for pillar leaders/members on UMS logic and pillar steps when relevant to ensure capability building across the sites.

• Resources:facilitate discussion on resource allocation when requiredbetween BU and SU (Factory) leaders (part of the Masterplan agenda)

Benchmarking/Best Practice Sharing/Technology and Process Convergence

• Scaling BPs: Scale specific factory’s solutions (best examples/practices and assessment findings) across the other sites and other capabilities (SHE - Quality- Agility).Develop action plans for effective knowledge and best practices transfer.

• Standardization: Supporting and maintainingstandardization across the BU.

• Technology Platforms: Implement the above improvement via technology hubs wherever active.

Digital

• Descriptive and Diagnostic: Drive digital factory program for level 1 and level 2.Act as the primary point of contact for RTVA, MDCS data reporting systems, deployment of global apps DFOS, BuildApp, SPC and NGTW. The focus will be on enabling our manufacturing sites to deploy appropriate, standardized technologies and ensure consistency in deployment and associated benefit delivery.

• Predictive and Prescriptive: Support BG and BU engineering for level 3 and level 4 solutions in terms of impact on operations and business results.

Technology

• Purpose of investment - Early alignment (Idea Phase) withBG and Engineering on projects to leverage EEM.

• EEM Methodology - Ensure project team has appropriate training on EEM and UMSmethodology and apply project classification to identify right tools and methods.

• Front loading concept - Provide support and coaching to project team(s) as project moves through the EEM Steps (focus on EEM step 1,2,3) to deliver Safety, AM, PM, Q step 1-2-3 and digital tools on day 1. 

People: 

• Continuous improvement culture:Ensure that ManEX activities are impacting both results and the culture change towards the vision as determined by zero loss mindset.

• Resources: support sites with Master plan Organization element and resource gap closure .

• Upskilling & reskilling:  Support skills development (upskilling and reskilling) of white and blue-collar workers 

• Training: Deliver and coordinate appropriate training for the trainer training (theory and practical application) involving continuous improvement.

• Factory Operating System: Standardize factory governance systems across region in line with FOS (R2S - Factory Operating System) elements and audit effectiveness 

Professional Skills: 

• University degree– Engineering preferred.

Soft Skills: 

• Analytical thinking.

• Stakeholder management.

• Communication, negotiation, influencing 

• Capability to influence and challenge Sourcing Unit leaders 

Experience Required: (ESSENTIAL)

• 5 years’ experience in Supply Chain Management of which minimum 3 in manufacturing.

• Appropriate functional/technical expertise.

• Strong continuous improvement program (Lean/6Sigma/TPM/WCM/R2S/UMS) background (with strong achievements).

Travel: Travel will be required (approx.50%) however this is expected to be regional.

Contacts: 

• Factory Directors and Factory Leadership Teams (emphasis on ManEx Manager/Leader and Manufacturing Manager).

• Finance Directors/Managers.

• BG Engineering Director/Managers.

• Engineering, digital and Other Capabilities Directors/Managers.

• Business Unit VP SC 

Disclaimer

Equal Opportunity Employer: Unilever is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

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Unilever is an organization committed to diversity and inclusion to drive our business results and create a better future every day for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by local, state, or federal law and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability. 

For more information about your Federal rights, please see Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination isIllegal and Pay Transparency Non discrimination Provision.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests, which may include drug screening, background check, credit check and DMV check.

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