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Sr Manager, Operational Excellence

West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services

Kinston, NC, USA
Posted on Nov 19, 2025

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 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. This role will focus on coordinating, managing, and driving all transformation initiatives across site, ensuring alignment with both site’s and operational goals and the corporate stakeholders’ broader strategic objectives.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of all transformation projects, ensuring they are completed on time, with scope and within budget.
  • Establish clear metrics and KPI’s for each transformation initiative, regularly tracking and reporting on progress to SLT and key stakeholders.
  • Participate in the development and support of the West Business System (WBS), with the goal of sustaining operational standards on the site.
  • Develop and communicate a comprehensive transformation strategy that aligns with the site growth targets, technical & operational capability imperatives, operational excellence objectives and the Operating Units vision.
  • Provide thought leadership and direction for all transformation activities, ensuring they are prioritized, scheduled, and executed effectively.
  • Create 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.
  • Create and execute a robust change management framework that prepares the site and its employees for upcoming changes, minimizes resistance, and maximizes adoption of new processes and technologies.
  • Ensures that all transformation initiatives are supported by effective communication plans that keep all stakeholders informed and engaged.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Education

  • Bachelor’s in engineering, Statistics or recognized equivalent required
  • Master’s Degree in related field preferred

Work Experience

  • Minimum 10 years (Sr Mgr) in related field required
  • At least 5 years of experience in a manufacturing/production environment required
  • Must possess a Six Sigma Green Belt certification and have at least 5 years of experience demonstrating and using Six Sigma/Lean tools and methodologies required
  • Medical Device industry experience preferred

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 at all levels of the organization.
  • Able to be aware of all relevant standard operating procedures as per Company policy as they are related to the position covered by this Job Description.

#LI-TH1

Travel Requirements

5%: Up to 13 business days per year

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.

Additional Requirements

  • Safely work in construction environments
  • Noise level in the work environment while on the production floor is usually moderate to loud. Hearing protection is required.
  • Must follow and comply with Plant’s Dress and Hygiene Code (SOI)

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.