A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there’s more to being in business than just making a profit. That’s the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet.  What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it’s never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It’s about how you can grab everything that’s within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It’s about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we’ll all be a little better off. It’s that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated 

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world’s best-loved brands: M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

 

Continuous Improvement Specialist – Lebanon, TN

This role is a key contributor within a Site Team to focus on delivering primarily a significant and sustained reduction of Non-Quality Costs (NQC) and secondly other elements within Product Conversion Cost (PCC), to levels consistent with similar technologies throughout the Global and world-class organizations.

In that journey of improvement, it is key that this role drives improvement using Mars Supply Excellence tools. The incumbent will identify, diagnose, and drive NQC/PCC reduction initiatives and actions across RC Sites in North America.

This role will understand losses and opportunities originated thru Loss Tree analysis and in-the-floor observations and translate those opportunities into activities/processes to drive continuous improvement.

 

What are we looking for?

• 1-3 years of experience with a Bachelors Degree in Manufacturing Engineering or similar field or 5 years of manufacturing experience with HS Diploma. 
• Role requires travel (25% approx) to participate in training and support other Sites
• Preferred experience working in relationship-based team environment
• Certified in Problem Solving Methodologies or similar, Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt or actively working towards it is a strong positive
• Functional knowledge of factory operations with deep functional knowledge in Problem Solving Methodologies, Data Collection, and value stream mapping
• Trained in and can demonstrate a variety of problem-solving skills.
• Working knowledge of SPC (statistical process control), RCLMS and Production reporting and how it can impact NQC & PCC
• Understanding of site waste reports including QFS costs, variance and floor scrap.
• Knowledge of (and a passion for) best in class Mars business processes and systems solutions
• Excellent, analytical, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and proactively, while balancing a variety of priorities and workload.
• Ability to handle complex challenges across all functions
• Ability to motivate and influence a broad, cross functional team.

 

What would your key responsibilities be?

• Utilize loss analysis methodology and site loss trees to identify, prioritize and execute PCC savings projects across Royal Canin North America Sites
• Work with Site Industrial Engineer, Area Owners and Operational Leads to make losses visible and deliver the organizational capability to eliminate them.  This includes building the problem-solving capability and the process to manage focused improvement initiative with cross-functional teams across the organization. 
• Provide leadership to deploy best practices and Regional initiatives
• Use tools available such as RCLMS, Scrap and Rework tracking systems and “Go and See” to understand contributing factors for NQC and make recommendations to improve/change.
• Work directly with and coach multiple site resources to use data-based problem-solving methodologies to reduce NQC and potentially other costs and ensure problems are resolved to root cause.
• Help the organization by coaching associates at various levels and coordinate resources across multiple sites to deliver DiB in PCC improvements
• Ensure control methodologies and processes are embedded to prevent re-occurrence.
• Willingness to spend up to 75% of time on the manufacturing floor diagnosing, analyzing, and establishing best-in-class processes, including off shifts

 

What can you expect from Mars?

• The opportunity to learn, develop and take charge of your own career.
• An industry competitive salary and benefits package. 
• To be respected and valued.
• The Five Principles at the center of every decision.

 

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Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.