Process Improvement Project Specialist

Process Improvement Project Specialist

Join a team that nourishes life from farm to table! Upstate Niagara Cooperative, proudly owned by 200+ local family farms, is one of America's largest and most stable dairy cooperatives. Guided by farmer- and employee-led values, we process and market high-quality milk, yogurt, dips, sour cream, cottage cheese, and more under our trusted brands:
Upstate Farms®, Bison®, Milk for Life®, and Intense Milk®. Here, you'll support sustainable farming, strong communities, and the mission to deliver fresh, local dairy to families every day.

Position Summary

The Process Improvement Project Specialist is responsible for leading and supporting cross-functional projects designed to improve manufacturing operations, increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve quality and safety, and enhance overall business performance across Upstate Niagara Cooperative's manufacturing facilities.

This position combines project management, process improvement, data analysis, and operational problem-solving. The Process Improvement Project Specialist will work closely with Plant Managers, Operations, Maintenance, Quality, Safety, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, Human Resources, and other functional leaders to identify opportunities, develop solutions, implement improvements, and ensure sustainable results.

The ideal candidate is a strong project manager who can work effectively in a manufacturing environment, understand operational challenges, organize complex initiatives, engage employees at all levels, and translate data and observations into practical improvements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Project Management

• Lead assigned improvement projects from initial concept through implementation, stabilization, and project closeout.
• Develop project charters, objectives, timelines, milestones, resource requirements, and measures of success.
• Establish project plans and maintain schedules to ensure projects remain on track.
• Coordinate cross-functional project teams and facilitate project meetings.
• Identify project risks, barriers, dependencies, and resource needs and escalate issues when appropriate.
• Provide regular project updates to leadership, including progress, challenges, financial impact, and expected outcomes.
• Ensure project documentation, action items, decisions, and results are maintained throughout the project lifecycle.
• Coordinate multiple projects simultaneously while prioritizing initiatives based on business needs and expected impact.

Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve manufacturing processes, productivity, quality, safety, reliability, labor utilization, material usage, and operating costs.
• Observe and evaluate current-state processes to identify waste, inefficiencies, bottlenecks, duplication, and opportunities for standardization.
• Develop and document future-state processes and improvement recommendations.
• Utilize continuous improvement principles and tools such as Lean, root cause analysis, process mapping, 5S, standard work, and PDCA/A3 methodologies as appropriate.
• Facilitate root cause analysis and problem-solving activities for recurring operational issues.
• Partner with plant leadership and employees to develop practical solutions that can be effectively implemented in the manufacturing environment.
• Assist with the development and implementation of standard operating procedures, work instructions, and standardized processes.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology, automation, equipment, systems, or process changes to improve operational performance.

Manufacturing & Operational Improvement

• Work directly with manufacturing facilities to evaluate production processes and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Analyze production performance, downtime, labor utilization, yield, scrap, quality, throughput, and other operational measures.
• Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to identify opportunities to improve equipment reliability, preventative maintenance, downtime, and overall equipment effectiveness.
• Partner with Quality and Food Safety to ensure process improvements maintain compliance with regulatory, food safety, quality, and company requirements.
• Supp…