Director Asset Care North America

About Kerry

Kerry is the world's leading taste and nutrition company for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Every day we partner with customers to create healthier, tastier and more sustainable products that are consumed by billions of people across the world. Our vision is to be our customers' most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition. A career with Kerry offers you an opportunity to shape the future of food while providing you opportunities to explore and grow in a truly global environment.

The Director of Asset Care is a corporate leadership role responsible for defining, deploying, and sustaining the enterprise strategy for asset reliability, maintenance excellence, and lifecycle asset management across North America manufacturing operations. This role drives standardization, builds organizational capability, and partners with Operations, Engineering, Finance, and Procurement to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective asset performance.

The preferred location for this role is Beloit, WI or near a major airport. Remote applicants will be considered. This leader will need to have capability to operate through influence, governance, and capability building, enabling consistent performance and best-practice adoption across the network.

• Enterprise Strategy & Governance
  • Develop and own the North America Asset Care & Reliability strategy aligned with safety, quality, cost, and growth objectives.
  • Establish standards, frameworks, and governance for maintenance and reliability practices across all manufacturing sites.
  • Translate business strategy into scalable reliability programs and measurable performance outcomes.
  • Serve as a corporate subject matter leader and advisor to senior operations and engineering leadership.
• Maintenance & Reliability Excellence
  • Define and deploy enterprise maintenance excellence programs, including:
  • Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)
  • Preventive and Predictive Maintenance (PM / PdM)
  • Asset Criticality Analysis
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and FMEA
  • Spare parts and storeroom optimization
  • Drive consistent application of reliability principles in capital projects, equipment design, and commissioning.
  • Partner with sites to improve asset availability, reduce unplanned downtime, and optimize total cost of ownership.
  • Lead development of standard KPIs, performance dashboards, and benchmarking across the network.
• Systems, Data & Digital Enablement
  • Shepherd the enterprise maintenance and reliability CMMS system strategy for NA.
  • Ensure standardized processes, data quality, and performance reporting across sites.
  • Leverage analytics, statistical tools, and emerging digital technologies to improve asset health and decision-making.
• Capability Building & Change Leadership
  • Build enterprise capability in maintenance and reliability through training, coaching, and structured knowledge transfer.
  • Partner with site leaders to strengthen reliability leadership, problem-solving, and accountability.
  • Act as a change leader, driving adoption of new standards and ways of working through influence rather than authority.
  • Support development of high-potential talent within maintenance, reliability, and engineering functions.
• Supplier & External Partnerships
  • Collaborate with Procurement to define enterprise strategies for maintenance services, OEM support, and third-party providers.
  • Influence supplier performance standards and ensure effective knowledge transfer to internal teams.
  • Stay current on industry best practices, technologies, and innovations in asset care and reliability.
• Leadership Attributes
  • Strategic, systems-level thinker with the ability to connect asset reliability to business outcomes.
  • Strong influencing skills and credibility with senior leaders and site teams.
  • Commercially astute with a disciplined, data-driven approach to decision-making.
  • Curious, outward-looking, and committed to continuous improvement.
  • Courage to challenge the status quo and lead change at scale.
  • Collaborative, inclusive leader who builds trust across functions and geographies.

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related discipline)

• 10+ years of progressive experience in maintenance, reliability, manufacturing engineering, or operations.
• Experience leading enterprise or multi-site reliability and maintenance programs.
• Deep knowledge of reliability and maintenance methodologies (RCM, TPM, RCA, FMEA).
• Strong experience with CMMS / EAM systems (SAP PM preferred).
• Willingness to travel to manufacturing sites as required.

The typical hiring range for this role is $170,754 to $296,447 annually and is based on several factors including but not limited to education, work experience, certifications, location, etc. In addition to your pay, Kerry offers benefits such as a comprehensive benefits package, incentive and recognition programs, equity stock purchase and retirement contribution (all benefits and incentives are subject to eligibility…