Associate Director, Operational Excellence

Job Description
In this role, you would work as a Lean Practitioner/Coach and Project/Program Manager.
As an internal lean practitioner and coach, you will identify, analyze, act upon, and instruct others on improvements both strategically and based on daily problems. In this position, you will lead or be involved with teams on all facets of the value stream to improve business outcomes.-- You will apply lean tools, thinking, and change management methodologies as you develop colleagues at all levels so that continuous improvement is in everyone's DNA.
As a project and program manager, you will lead projects to improve supply, increase productivity/reduce cost. You will lead teams with value-scouting exercises and lead more complex projects to achieve business outcomes. Primary Responsibilities Lean Practitioner/Coach Initiate and implement improvement projects using Lean tools (Standardization, 5S, Poke Yoke, Kaizens, Value Stream Mapping, Visual Management, etc.) to create flow and work smarter to improve performance, safety, quality, delivery, and cost.
Hands-on support for operational problems and cross-functional investigations by conducting thorough scientific problem-solving techniques.
Coach lean roadmaps and provide training.
Continue to develop yourself in lean, inclusion, and change management. With this knowledge, you develop colleagues at all organizational levels by leading by example during improvement initiatives and coaching sponsors and stakeholders.
Primary Responsibilities of Project/Program Manager Facilitating value scouting workshops at sites.
Project lead on larger cost savings projects.
Lead regional cost-saving project governance and reporting.
Required Experience and Skills Bachelor's degree in project management, biology, engineering, or a relevant field.
7-10- years of demonstrable work experience with continuous improvement in one of the following fields: biopharmaceuticals, manufacturing, or quality. Military service, coursework, and degrees may be considered in lieu of experience.
Experience in facilitating project teams and project management.
Result-oriented and able to manage many different tasks/projects and demonstrated ability to adapt to changes in priorities.
Proficient in working with data, making trends visible, and performing data analysis
Proficient with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Project, etc.)
Team player with a 'go-to-the-gemba' attitude, analytical & eager to learn.
A pleasant, communicative skilled personality who can connect and coach colleagues in production as well as within management. Demonstrated ability to coach and influence management and change management.
Experience with deploying lean in multiple environments.
Demonstrated use of all commonly used lean tools and concepts.
Experience deploying strategy (Hoshin Kanri, Policy Deployment) and A3 Thinking in multiple levels of an organization.
NOTICE FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS
In accordance with Managers' Policy - Job Posting and Employee Placement, all employees subject to this policy are required to have a minimum of twelve (12) months of service in current position prior to applying for open positions.
If you have been offered a separation benefits package, but have not yet reached your separation date and are offered a position within the salary and geographical parameters as set forth in the Summary Plan Description (SPD) of your separation package, then you are no longer eligible for your separation benefits package. To discuss in more detail, please contact your HRBP or Talent Acquisition Advisor. Employees working in roles that the Company determines require routine collaboration with external stakeholders, such as customer-facing commercial, or research-based roles, will be expected to comply not only with Company policy but also with policies established by such external stakeholders (for example, a requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to access a facility or meet with stakeholders). -Please understand that, as permitted by applicable law, if you have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 and an essential function of your job is to call on external stakeholders who require vaccination to enter their premises or engage in face-to-face meetings, then your employment may pose an undue burden to business operations, in which case you may not be offered employment, or your employment could be terminated. Please also note that, where permitted by applicable law, the Company reserves the right to require COVID-19 vaccinations for positions, such as in Global Employee Health, where the Company determines in its discretion that the nature of the role presents an increased risk of disease transmission.
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Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will be working a Hybrid work consisting of three total days on-site per week, generally Tuesday, Wednesday and either Monday or Thursday, although the specific days may vary by site or organization, with Friday designated as a remote-working day, unless business critical tasks require an on-site presence. -This Hybrid work model does not apply to, and daily in-person attendance is required for, field-based positions; facility-based, manufacturing-based, or research-based positions where the work to be performed is located at a Company site; positions covered by a collective-bargaining agreement (unless the agreement provides for hybrid work); or any other position for which the Company has determined the job requirements cannot be reasonably met working remotely. Please note, this Hybrid work model guidance also does not apply to roles that have been designated as "remote". Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully-
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. -No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place. Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.- Employee Status:
Regular Relocation:
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50% Flexible Work Arrangements:
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N/A Job Posting End Date: 05/14/2024
A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date. Requisition ID: R291442