Operational Excellence Manager

As the Operational Excellence Manager, Americas for PPG, you will help build a culture of Operational Excellence across multiple manufacturing sites within your region. Working with the Americas Continuous Improvement Director and Plant Managers, you will lead the deployment of Lean methodologies and Continuous Improvement plans that align with PPG’s strategic goals. Reporting directly to the Regional Operational Excellence leader, your efforts will focus on driving operational improvements, standardizing best practices, and promoting a sustainable culture through coaching and program management.

• Support local plants with the completion of Operational Excellence maturity assessments, developing roadmaps, and supporting implementation to promote improvement capabilities across sites.
• Lead internal campaigns and programs to strengthen the use of Continuous Improvement tools and systems; facilitate the regional Continuous Improvement committee to monitor progress, validate savings, and guide accountability.
• Provide hands‑on support for CI project execution, workshops, and implementation of best practices aimed at increasing productivity, eliminating waste, reducing costs, and standardizing operations.
• Work with local plants to analyze strategic goals and identify CI projects with measurable impact. Manage the regional manufacturing CI project portfolio, which includes Kaizen, DMAIC, PDCA, and Just Do It projects.
• Be comfortable extracting, consolidating, and analyzing operational data to support structured performance improvement across manufacturing sites.
• Navigate enterprise systems such as Oracle ERP and MES platforms to retrieve data on production, inventory, quality, and cost. Translate that information into meaningful insights using tools such as Power BI and advanced Excel.
• Implement regional OpEx training plan; deliver Lean tool training and improvement coaching to project leaders and local teams.
• Be a mentor by guiding project leaders and teams in Lean methodologies and CI best practices.
• Promote active participation of local staff in generating and implementing improvement ideas; facilitate communication between management and work teams to ensure agreement and engagement.

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Chemical, Industrial, Mechanical) or a related field.
• 8 years’ experience in improvement, Lean, and Operational Excellence within a manufacturing environment.
• Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt required;
  Black Belt certification preferred.
• Expertise in Lean Manufacturing principles and Lean methodologies.
• Experience driving cultural change and operational improvements at a regional or multi‑site level.
• Willingness to travel 25‑35 % to assigned facilities within the region to provide on‑site support and leadership.

PPG provides equal opportunity to all candidates and employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, pregnancy, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability status, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.