Operational Excellence Manager
Requisition ID:
71530
Date:
Sep 15, 2025
Location:
Cidra, Puerto Rico, US
Department:
Lean
Description:
At West, we're a dedicated team that is connected by a purpose to improve patient lives that has been at the center of our Company for more than a century. Our story began when Herman O. West solved the problem of supplying penicillin in mass quantities to the US Government during World War 2. Through our work to deliver thousands of life-saving and life-enhancing injectable medicines to millions of patients daily, West's indelible mark on the healthcare industry has just begun. A name started our story. How will yours help write our future?
There's no better place to join an inclusive community of professionals with opportunities for lifelong learning, growth and development. Supported by benefit programs, we empower the physical, mental, emotional and financial health of our team members and their families.
We believe in giving back to help those in need in the communities where we live and work. And are equally committed to creating a healthier environment and planet through our sustainability efforts.
Job Summary
In this On-Site role you will coordinate business unit lean savings, goals and objectives through the use of statistical techniques by planning, scheduling, and executing process projects. You will communicate project status, and define and shape strategic planning efforts, including critical goal and objective development that identifies and improves critical processes necessary to achieve annual targets, including waste reduction to drive technical and operational improvement.
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.
Create and manage strategic plans to eliminate waste within the business unit by utilizing lean processes, key performance indicators, metrics, cost savings, best demonstrated practices and enterprise resource management.
Develop robust, capable systems necessary to achieve the strategic goals and objectives and drive excellence through the manufacturing operations; assure that production processes are repeatable and capable of meeting specifications, by ensuring the consistent and uniform application of OPEX tools.
Provide leadership on lean thinking and lean processes to ensure established goals and objectives are met and provide methods to monitor processes to assure they remain in control.
Organize and/or assist in the training and guidance for lean champions and team members to develop and implement Lean action plans and transfer lean initiatives to other West plants.
Sets up and/or participates in continuous improvement events related to establishing a process or process improvement.
Ensure that workplace process improvements are visible, that savings are tracked, validated and posted.
Review control charts/data generated from facility processes to assure they are in a state of statistical control.
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.
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 products/ processes, and provide input, analysis and actions related to the data generated from these studies.
Assists with facility/supplier audits and meetings, as required.
Performs other duties as assigned based on business needs
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Business, Engineering, or recognized equivalent required
Work Experience
Minimum 8 years experience as an Operational Excellence manager or equivalent required
Minimum 5 years experience in a manufacturing/production environment, utilizing Lean Manufacturing Principles required
Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
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.
Able to be aware of all relevant SOPs as per Company policy as they are related to the position covered by this Job Description
Install and control adequate protection of confidential information and documentation. Ensure that key operational and essential documentation files kept on computer or otherwise are properly backed up at all times.
Restrict access to confidential information as required.
Work closely with other functions to maximize achievement through a cooperative environment
Support and contribute in Lean Sigma programs and activities towards delivery of the set target.
Able to be aware of all relevant SOPs as per Company policy as they are related to the position covered by this Job Description
Able to comply with the company's safety policy at all times
The position holder is responsible to consider the safety and health of our employees when designing or improving our workplaces. As a leader he educates and trains our employees on the importance of safety and acts as a role model.
Able to comply with the company's quality policy at all times.
The job holder respects all specifications arising from the cGMP requirements and from the specifications DIN ISO 15378, DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN ISO 50.001 as per its current state and also as it applies to any future amendments
License and Certifications
Manufacturing\Lean Six Sigma Black Belt LSS Champion, LSS Green Belt or LSS Black Belt Upon Hire preferred
Physical Requirements
Sedentary-Exerting up to 10lbs/4kgs of force occasionally, and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.
West embraces diversity and equality of opportunity. We foster an environment where all individuals are safe, treated fairly, valued and respected. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Where permitted by law, employment with West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. or any of its subsidiary or affiliate companies, is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of post-offer background screening and/or drug screening.?
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