Title:  Sr. Mgr Operational Excellence

Working at West means having an opportunity to work by the side of our patients and customers, our global team members and the communities in which we operate – which all help contribute to a Healthier World.

At West, we are by the side of patients. The work we do impacts patients’ lives each and every day – our products are a critical part of healthcare delivery and we are proud of the role we play to improve patient health. We work by the side of our team members. We come together as one global team to deliver for our customers and help them address their challenges. We are a diverse, close-knit community of professionals, where everyone has a voice and opportunity to learn and grow through mutual trust and respect. With a 95 year plus history, we have a track record for success, which includes reported sales of $2.14B in 2020. We serve by the side of our community. Giving back is in our DNA—our team members across more than 50 sites globally are involved with hundreds of charities that have special meaning to them through our West Without Borders team member-led giving program.

Job Summary:

Through use of statistical techniques, plan, schedule, execute process projects and communicate project status, define and shape strategic planning efforts, including critical goal and objective development.  Identify and improve critical processes necessary to achieve annual targets.  Coordinate business unit lean savings, goals and objectives.  Assure that production processes are repeatable and capable of meeting specifications. Provide leadership on lean thinking and lean processes to ensure established goals and objectives are met.  Provide methods to monitor processes to assure they remain in control.  Coordinates and reviews the process capability of customer samples produced in the facility.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Participate in the development and support of the West Business System (WBS), with the goal of sustaining operational standards on the site
• Develop robust, capable systems necessary to achieve the strategic goals and objectives
• Ensure the consistent and uniform application of OPEX tools
• Create strategic plans to eliminate waste within the business unit by utilizing lean processes, metrics, cost savings, best demonstrated practices and enterprise resource management. Works with all departments in reference to utilization of and training in these techniques and programs.
• Responsible for 3% cost down targets for the site
• Ensure that workplace process improvements are visible, that savings are tracked, validated and posted
• Manage capital and non-capital projects to improve capacity, quality, efficiency, utilization and safety at the lowest cost.  Manage projects by maintaining project timelines and continuously evaluating actual project costs with budgeted costs so projects will be completed on budget and in a timely manner.
• Assist in the training and guidance for champions, team leaders and members to develop and implement Lean action plans, and in the transfer of technology and lean initiatives to other West plants
• Sets up and/or participates in continuous improvement teams related to establishing a process or process improvement
• Reviews control charts/data generated from facility processes to assure they are in a state of statistical control. Reports status as appropriate.
• Assists with facility/supplier audits and meetings, as required
• Serve as a global Subject Matter Expert (SME) on various process or equipment related items.  Serve as a member of the site leadership team and participate in the decision-making process.
• Collaborate with QA and Engineering to set up and conduct capability studies, designed experiments, sampling  programs, process validations, etc. to evaluate the manufacturing capability of the new product/process.  Responsible for the input, analysis and reporting of the data generated from these studies.
• Provide QA with necessary process/product documentation for them to maintain formal (GOP,SOI,GMPs, etc.) as required, work with the Customer (with Sales and QA support) and the plant to assure both parties understand each other’s needs and capabilities

• Performs other duties as assigned based on business needs
• Conforms to and abides by all regulations, policies, work procedures, instruction, and all safety rules.
• Will manage a team of up to 3 people.

Basic Qualifications: 

• Education: Bachelor's in Engineering or Statistics concentration; or recognized equivalent

• Experience: 10+ years of experience
• 5+ five years’ experience in a manufacturing/production environment, at least five years related experience and training in Lean Manufacturing Principles required.
• Must have good interpersonal/leadership skills and be able to interface with all departments and team member levels.
• Must have excellent organizational, interpersonal and problem-solving skills and be able to interface with employees in all levels of the organization.
• Excellent computer skills required including SAP, all MS Office applications, Mini-tab and other statistical software programs.

• Must possess a Six Sigma Black Belt certification and have at least five (5) or more years of experience demonstrating and using Six Sigma/Lean tools and methodologies. 

Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Medical Device industry experience
• Six Sigma certifications
• Able to be aware of all relevant SOPs as per Company policy as they are related to the position covered by this Job Description
• Support and contribute in Lean Sigma programs and activities towards delivery of the set target

Travel Requirements:

•  5%: Up to 13 business days per year

Physical and Mental Requirements:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, see and use hands and finger to operate office equipment (ie phones, computers, copies, etc.).
• Sitting and/or standing for extended periods may occur as well as getting to and from offices and building sites.
• Light – exerting up to 20lbs/9kg of force frequently, and/or negligible amount of force frequently constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg control requires exertion of force greater than that of sedentary work and if the worker sits most of the time, the job is considered light work
• The noise level in the office work environment is usually quiet.  The noise level in the manufacturing work environment is moderate to loud.  Hearing protection is required at all times in the manufacturing work environment.

West is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.  If you have a special need that requires accommodation in order to apply to West, please send an email to Apply.Accommodation@westpharma.com.  Where permitted by law, an offer of employment with West Pharmaceutical Services, or any of its subsidiary or affiliate companies, is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of background screening and/or a pre-employment drug screening.