Plant Performance Excellence Manager

Ocean Spray is a vibrant agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada, and Chile, who have helped preserve the family farming way of life for generations. The cooperative’s cranberries are currently featured in more than a thousand great-tasting, good-for-you products in over 100 countries worldwide. With more than 2,000 employees and nearly 20 receiving and processing facilities, Ocean Spray is committed to managing our business in a way that respects our communities, colleagues, and the environment. 

Are you looking for a rewarding career and not just a job?   Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is currently looking for an Plant Performance Excellence Manager to join our team supporting manufacturing operations in our Lehigh Valley facility.  This 300,000 square foot plant has (4) production lines and can produce up to 40 million cases per year. This volume represents more than 45% of Ocean Spray’s North American volume and is operated with a workforce of approximately 190 team members.

We're an iconic brand and a farmer-owned cooperative. Being part of Ocean Spray means making an impact in support of our family-farmers, while also building experience you cannot get anywhere else. If you're looking for a meaningful opportunity, this role may be for you! 

Why work for Ocean Spray?

• Competitive pay
• Benefits on day one (1) of employment
• Retirement benefits including 401(k) with company contribution
• Bonus and incentive programs
• Comprehensive wellness benefits, including nutrition and fitness
• Employee recognition programs
• Stable and essential employment

Job Summary:

Provides design and/or execution of PE strategies and programs for various projects.  Position has (2) direct reports.

What you will be responsible for:

• Supporting activities to meet and exceed targeted metrics with the basic premise of offsetting cost growth with cost productivity initiatives.
• Standardizing and sustainability of best practices and processes throughout the Manufacturing network of plants.
• Requires extensive knowledge of core areas within Operations (Production, Finance, Quality, Planning, etc.)
• Institutionalizes and drives implementation of continuous improvement methods and tools across the network.
• Coordinates the activities of Plant PE Team Members around specific initiatives.
• Develops communication tools for effective communication of PE efforts.
• Oversees Root Cause Analysis process and provides follow-up to action items, corrective actions, measuring effectiveness of corrective actions and overall summary reporting of RCA activities.
• Provides training to both hourly and salaried for PE programs, initiatives and opportunities.
• Supports local Performance Excellence teams led by other members of the organization with data, DMAIC tools and other needs.
• Maintains and reports on BevNet and FoodNet metrics and scorecards.

What we are looking for:

• Expert knowledge in Microsoft Office.
• Preferred working knowledge in Minitab/Statistical software experience.
• Ability to prioritize and multi-task.
• Strong communication skills both written and verbal.
• Excellent facilitation/training skills.
• Expert statistical, analytical and problem solving skills.
• Proven track record of project management skills.
• Six Sigma Black Belt Certification Preferred.
• Lean Qualifications Preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Required.
• 5-7 years’ experience required.

Who We Are:

You might have our iconic cranberry juice in your fridge or have gotten into heated holiday debate about what’s better - canned or fresh cranberry sauce. But did you know that the hardworking people growing the superfruit in our products are 700 family farmers that own our cooperative? They entrust us with what is most precious to them to create new and innovative products that will delight consumers and grow this beloved brand today and into the future.

Team members, farmers, consumers and communities alike--we value what makes us unique and strive to connect our farms to families for a better life by living our values:

• Grower Mindset – We embrace our grower-owners innovative spirit and heritage through confidence, learning and focus on the future.
• Sustainable Results – Guided by purpose, we are focused on delivering results for our grower-owners.
• Integrity Above All – We are ethical, doing the right thing for our grower-owners, customers, consumers and each other
• Inclusive Teamwork – We build diverse and inclusive teams that strengthen our cooperative.