Industrial Specialist

At Russell Stover, not only do we love chocolate, but we love our jobs! Every day we go to work exhibiting our values of excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, responsibility, and collaboration. Working at Russell Stover you’ll be part of the leading manufacturer of boxed, seasonal, and sugar-free chocolates. For over 100 years, Russell Stover Chocolates, Whitman’s, and Pangburn’s have been crafted with the finest ingredients to bring happiness to generations.

Today, we produce over 55 million pounds of chocolate annually, and our legacy brands can be found in 13 company-owned stores and over 9,000 wholesale accounts. Join our team and let’s continue making chocolate lovers happy!

As the Industrial Performance (IP) Specialist, you will serve as a catalyst for change within our Abilene, KS manufacturing facility, driving continuous improvement and operational excellence across the organization. You will lead and support the execution of the TPM Program, helping to strengthen a culture of high performance, accountability, and continuous learning. Working collaboratively with Engineering, Production Planning, Human Resources, EH&S, Finance, Logistics, Procurement, and QA/R&D, you will identify opportunities to improve productivity, quality, and efficiency while delivering sustainable business results.

You will champion performance-driven people development by coaching teams, promoting best practices, and supporting the adoption of standardized processes, performance management systems, and continuous improvement methodologies. Through strong partnership and influence across all levels of the organization, you will help foster a data-driven, results-oriented culture focused on achieving operational and business objectives.

• Drive TPM and Lean manufacturing practices, including 5S, visual management, shopfloor performance routines, loss elimination, and standardized work.
• Analyze manufacturing performance data to identify operational losses, prioritize improvement opportunities, and deliver measurable business results. Lead and support continuous improvement initiatives focused on productivity, OEE, waste reduction, labor efficiency, quality, throughput, and equipment performance.
• Coordinate and sustain Performance Control Systems (PCS), Obeya, and daily management processes, including KPI tracking, performance boards, tiered meetings, and action follow-up.
• Facilitate structured problem-solving activities and cross-functional improvement workshops to address downtime, process variability, and operational challenges.
• Lead SMED and changeover reduction initiatives by analyzing setup losses, implementing best practices, and improving line flexibility and efficiency.
• Utilize SAP and other manufacturing systems to extract, validate, report, and translate operational data into actionable insights for plant leadership.
• Partner closely with Production, Maintenance, Engineering, Quality, Planning, and Supply Chain teams to improve equipment effectiveness, process stability, and operational performance.
• Act as a change agent by coaching teams on KPIs, operational standards, continuous improvement methodologies, and performance-driven behaviors.
• Support the deployment and sustainability of the plant’s Industrial Performance strategy while fostering accountability, collaboration, and a culture of operational excellence.

This job posting is not all inclusive and other duties may be assigned.

(Basic Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Industrial Management, Operations Management, Supply Chain, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum of 3+ years of experience in manufacturing, industrial performance, continuous improvement, or operational excellence roles.
• Experience working within Lean Manufacturing, TPM, or Operational Excellence systems.
• Practical SAP or ERP system experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Knowledge of financial analysis and manufacturing performance metrics.
• Advanced computer literacy including Microsoft Office, Excel, and integrated business systems.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to convert data into…