Operational Excellence Practitioner As Operational Excellence Practitioner you will design, develop, and implement process and asset changes at the plant in order to promote on site-specific quality and efficiency improvements. Above all you will be expected to carry out all your activities with reliability, integrity, compliance, and in a safe, environmentally responsible, and efficient manner. Job Responsibilities: * Evaluate current state site internal processes against industry trends and identify opportunities for improvements * Prioritize potential improvements based on return on investment and required effort * Execute both short-term and long-term improvement project lifecycle, creating plans, oversee implementation of process changes, tracking progress, validating financial return, & documenting process changes. * Gather data for key performance indicators and analyze results, modifying continuous improvement programs in response * Remove barriers to employee engagement and champion value engineering * Eliminate root causes of margin erosion and non-value-added tasks * Manage reports and metrics needed to show progress and sustained change * Lead efforts in change management through influential leadership * Assist in the delivery of continuous improvement related training programs and activities, including Lean, Six Sigma, and 5S Experience and Education: * Bachelor's degree in business administration, industrial engineering, mechanical engineer, or a related field or 4-6+ years of experience in Continuous Improvement for manufacturing * Experience with continuous improvement, 5S, lean manufacturing, kaizen, lean six sigma, root cause analysis, and value stream mapping * Technical acumen including systems and data visualization * Excellent written and verbal communication including facilitation skills * 1-2 years managing projects using project management tools or technology * Knowledge of capital expenditure process and requirements * Proficiency in using various operations systems * Leadership, coaching, and /or mentoring Good to Have: * Lean, Six Sigma, or related certification * Ability to work in a fast paced and changing environment * Ability to communicate with all levels of the organization * Experience delivering transactional process improvement * Flexibility and diplomacy with coworkers * Ability to make decisions as well as influence decision-making * Ability to weigh and manage priorities * Ability to manage multiple projects and programs simultaneously Physical Requirements and Working Conditions (With or without reasonable accommodation): * Ability to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as is required by the operating areas * Ability to work a machine paced continuous process that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with conditions which include: o Heat / cold temperatures (inclement weather) o Indoor/ outdoor environment o Dusty environment o Noisy environment o Frequent moving/ vibration/ or other motion of equipment / process o Elevated places, to include stairs/ladders Other Considerations: * Up to 40% travel Location: Lake City MN Address: 905 West Marion Street, Lake City MN, 55041 Additional Locations (if applicable): Employment Type: Full time Additional Information: EEO Commitment: At Ardent Mills, everyone matters and everyone has a voice. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal opportunities are available to all applicants and team members and the decisions will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran status, age, political affiliation, or any other non-merit characteristic protected by law or not. Together, celebrating our differences, we ma e Ardent Mills. The preceding position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and essential duties and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this position. It may not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees in this position. The description, duties, functions, and responsibilities are subject to change at the discretion of Ardent Mills. At Ardent Mills, everyone matters and everyone has a voice. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal opportunities are available to all applicants and team members and the decisions will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, aboriginality, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran status, age, political affiliation, or any other non-merit characteristic protected by law or not. Together, celebrating our differences, we make Ardent Mills.