Continuous Improvement Leader

Job Description

A part of Colgate-Palmolive since 1976, Hill's Pet Nutrition offers the highest-quality pet nutrition available through product lines Prescription Diet® and Science Diet®. Veterinarians worldwide recommend and feed their own pets Hill's products more than any other brand of pet food.

Available in approximately 80 countries around the world, our extensive line of products includes more than 60 Prescription Diet brand pet foods and more than 50 Science Diet brand pet foods.

We believe all animals should be loved and cared for during their lifetimes. That is why we are proud our pet foods can make a difference in your pet's life.

A career at Hill’s Pet Nutrition or Colgate-Palmolive is an excellent opportunity if you seek a global experience, constant challenge, and development opportunities in an environment that respects work/life effectiveness.

Information at a Glance

Job Title: Continuous Improvement Leader

Travel Required?: Travel - up to 10% of time

Posting Start Date: 8/21/25

On-site

Relocation Assistance Offered Within Country
Job Number #168820 - Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States

Who We Are

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company operating in over 200 countries specializing in Oral Care, Personal Care, Home Care, Skin Care, and Pet Nutrition. Our products are trusted in more households than any other brand in the world, making us a household name!

Join Colgate-Palmolive, a caring, innovative growth company reimagining a healthier future for people, their pets, and our planet. Guided by our core values—Caring, Inclusive, and Courageous—we foster a culture that inspires our people to achieve common goals. Together, let's build a brighter, healthier future for all.

The Continuous Improvement Leader has overall responsibility for the site-wide progression of all eight manufacturing excellence standards to maintain and improve the plant’s quality, productivity, and reliability. The person in this role will work closely with the standard owners and site leadership on the development and execution of the FP&R Roadmap and its strategies. In addition this position will ensure data integrity, oversight of the tracking of Key Performance Indicators & Mass Balances. Continuous Improvement works within a structure that requires interface with all levels and functions of the organization, and as such has to be able to build and nurture relationships with a wide variety of organizational partners. Factory Performance & Reliability (FP&R) is Colgate’s internal version of a Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Program. The Colgate Factory Performance & Reliability (FP&R) program requires the implementation of a series of Standards aimed at increasing plant capability and throughput, reducing variability, ensuring capacity is available to support the production plans and deliver targeted service levels. The eight FP&R standards include Management Systems, 5S, Autonomous Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Continuous Improvement, Production Planning, People Capability and Engineering Documentation.

Core Responsibilities:

Leads site-wide progression of the Factory Performance & Reliability (FP&R) Standards working closely with standard owners on the development and execution of Roadmaps.
Executes and supports standard owners with FP&R Roadmap items including Kaizen Events, LSS Projects, Certification Packet Revisions, and other key actions.
Oversees the calculation and publication of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and identifies applications for analytics reporting while ensuring data integrity is maintained through a governance process. Builds a site-wide analytics strategy using the leading Colgate approved platform.
Functions as standard owner for one of the eight FP&R Standards with responsibility for overall progression of that standard.
Analyzes trends & mass balances while making recommendations for optimizing performance including quality, productivity, and reliability.
Partners with plant management to ensure that FP&R activities are aligned with the site’s Capacity Growth Plan – Equipment Master Plan, Operational Strategy, Labor and People Strategy and Communication Strategies.
Supports the plant in driving resolution of quality, safety, and operations issues internally and with external partners.
Assists in achievement of plant targets by translating business needs into sustainable operational and technical solutions with the plant teams.
Establishes, maintains, audits and analyzes data to drive improvement.
Implements specific standardization, simplification and improvement projects through FP&R Best Practices.
Leads planning and execution of site Factory Performance & Reliability audits while also participating in external audits.
Supports implementation and adherence to Quality Assurance and Food Safety initiatives. Ensure that personnel adheres to Hill’s policies, safety standards, and Good Manufacturing Practices, including Quality Assurance and Food Safety.

Requiered Qualifications:

BS in Mechanical Engineering, Food Science, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management or a related field
3 + years’ work experience in a manufacturing, production or operation environment.
2 + years supervisory experience.
2 + years experience in Plant Wide Systems by working with FP&R Guidelines, lean manufacturing, Continuous Improvement Plans, and establishing Key Performance Indicators’ and SPI’s.

Preferred Qualifications:

Operations Team Leader experience.
Food Related Production experience.
Maintenance Team Leader experience.
Technical proficiency including:
Experience using Continuous Improvement Tools or FMEA tools - understanding of FP&R or TPM framework application.
Lean Six Sigma certified.
Understanding of financial measures.
AIB, FDA, USDA and other regulatory agency design requirements.
Proficient in Statistical Process Control, CPk and Continuous Improvement Methodologies.

Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range $94,000.00 - $133,000.00 USD

Pay is determined based on experience, qualifications, and location. Salaried employees may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, profit-sharing, and long-term incentives for Executive-level roles.

Benefits: Salaried employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, paid parental leave, disability coverage, and participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions subject to eligibility requirements. Additional benefits include a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days (hourly employees receive a minimum of 120 hours) and 13 paid holidays (vacation days are prorated based on the employee's hire date within the calendar year). Paid sick leave is adjusted based on role and location in accordance with local laws. Detailed information regarding paid sick leave entitlements will be provided to employees upon hiring and may be subject to adjustments based on changes in legislation or company policies.

Our Commitment to Inclusion
Our journey begins with our people—developing strong talent with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to best serve our consumers around the world and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels a true sense of belonging. We are dedicated to ensuring that each individual can be their authentic self, is treated with respect, and is empowered by leadership to contribute meaningfully to our business.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Colgate is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, marital status, veteran status (United States positions), or any other characteristic protected by law.

Reasonable accommodation during the application process is available for persons with disabilities. Please complete this request form should you require accommodation.

For additional Colgate terms and conditions, please click here.

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