Continuous Improvement Manager

About Novelis

Novelis is the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, producing an estimated 19 percent of the world’s flat-rolled aluminum products. We Work alongside our customers to provide innovative solutions to the aerospace, beverage can, automotive and high-end specialty markets.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Novelis has approximately 11,600 employees in 25 operating facilities on four continents and is making significant capital investments in recycling and rolling capacity in North America to meet an increasing customer demand. Novelis North America is co-located with its global headquarters and employs a network of 17 facilities to manufacture aluminum sheet for automotive, transportation, beverage cans, high-end specialty products, building materials and other industrial applications.

Novelis Davenport, Iowa has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Continuous Improvement Manager. Candidates must have demonstrated a strong Continuous Improvement background in a manufacturing setting. In addition, candidates must be able to excel in a large, complex, and very diverse business as well possessing the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization.

Position Overview

This position is intended to take the leadership role in further development and execution of the lean transformation for the Davenport, Iowa facility. The CI Manager will guide the team in identification of CI projects with the greatest value, coordinate Continuous Improvement training. The CI Manager will also act as the coach to sponsors, project leaders and management teams regarding their roles in CI. Coordination across all projects is critical, including regular review meetings and reports to management. In addition, the CI Manager will manage the CI team for both Davenport locations (Casting and Finishing).

Novelis Operating System (NOS) is a project team-based management system that encompasses Total Quality, TPM and Lean/6 Sigma practices in a systemic approach to problem solving. NOS focuses on loss identification, loss reduction, loss sustainability and loss prevention. It is based on the involvement and empowerment of operational teams starting from operators on the shop floor, allowing them to be fully accountable for delivering results 24/7.NOS can be expanded in further phases to support other business functions from Supply Chain to HR.

This position leads the NOS implementation and its sustainability, working closely with the plant management team and the Regional NOS Coordinator. He/she is responsible for the correct application of the methodology, the monitoring of progress, and for supporting and guiding the Plant Manager in any aspect related to the program.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development/improvement of World Class Manufacturing methodologies and tools for the Davenport facilities.
• Work closely with Plant Manager to facilitate the master plan implementation
• Coordinate assessments within the plant to identify NOS projects that will yield the greatest value to the organization.
• Create and implement the NOS Roadmap for the plant (improvement teams, audits, communication, etc.).
• Learn the development/improvement methodologies and tools and deliver professional training/coaching to enable employees at all levels to engage and contribute to the ZERO loss mentality that NOS embodies.
• Support local steering committees and reporting of metrics.
• Through continuous improvement initiatives, provide area management with the tools to highlight problems and address them such as utilizing the Factory Model with immediate corrective action, with the intent of minimizing the impact and preventing the reoccurrence.
• Construct and implement system audits which will indicate whether improvements made are sustained, and train area management to perpetuate.
• Contribute to the definition of standards, norms, and best practices for manufacturing management and performance measurement, promote and set them up.
• Manage the Continuous Improvement team, establishing their priorities and setting direction.
• Play a key role in the local change management and the cultural transformation of the site
• Participate in NOS coordination events and share with counterparts in the NOS community/organization
• Identify, integrate, and promote best practices at the site
• Lead the educational efforts for management and leadership staff of the Davenport facility concerning World Class Manufacturing.
• Coach project leaders of RIE / Kaizen events to ensure World Class Manufacturing methodologies are employed.

Qualifications

• 10 - 15 years of experience in Continuous Improvement and/or Operational leadership. Preference given to experiences in effectively leading the CI efforts and the people involved.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering / relevant field of Study
• Experience leading CI efforts and the teams involved
• Leader of functional groups related to manufacturing and projects
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication (oral and written) skills; ability to communicate with all levels in the organization
• Desire to take initiative and develop a pro-active relationship with employees (salaried/hourly) through follow-up, understanding their needs and fostering a collaborative relationship
• Ability to organize and prioritize workload; must be able to manage multiple tasks at once without sacrificing attention to detail
• Must be flexible and able to operate in a fast-paced environment
• Solid computer skills with software applications proficiency, including Microsoft Office. Ability to learn new software programs quickly
• Must be willing and able to travel (customers, training, vendors, other Novelis Facilities) as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree preferred; designation relevant to profession

What Novelis Offers

Novelis benefits say a lot about how we care for each other. Our employees and their families have many diverse needs. As a result, our benefits offer choices on many levels and are high in quality, competitive in the marketplace, and affordable. These are a few of the benefits we offer to support you and your family’s well-being:

• Core benefits coverage (medical, dental and vision) for you and your
• HSA contributions
• Competitive Paid vacation and personal time off
• Novelis contributes up to 9.5% of your pay into a 401(k) for your Retirement savings
• 8 weeks of paid time off for new parents
• 6-months of short-term disability at 100% pay

Finally, the Novelis holistic Well-Being benefits include programs to support weight loss and management, fitness challenges, 24/7 mental health support, tobacco and substance use cessation programs, lifestyle discounts, and more. Novelis actively explores diversifying our Well-being benefits to support our unique and changing work force

About Davenport, IA

Davenport IA has been a key player in the aluminum industry for over 11 decades. Novelis employs more than 300 people in the Davenport community across two facilities: a finishing mill and a casting facility. Novelis is an active and engaged community partner in Davenport teaming up with organizations like Habitat for Humanity Riverbend Food Bank and CASI and sponsoring local events including Advanced Manufacturing Career Day.

Novelis recognizes its talented and diverse workforce as a key competitive advantage. Novelis provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. All terms and conditions of employment at Novelis including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoffs, recalls, transfers, leaves of absence, compensation, and training are without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal provincial or local laws.