Continuous Improvement Leader - North America

Passionate to eat better, Infarm was founded in Berlin in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. With the aim to share the goodness of own-grown produce with everyone, they developed a smart modular farming system, that allows distribution of farms throughout the urban environment, growing fresh produce in any available space and fulfilling any market demand. 

Today, with cutting edge R&D, patented technologies, and a leading multi-disciplinary team, Infarm is growing a global farming network helping cities become self-sufficient in their food production while significantly improving the safety, quality, and environmental footprint of our food. 

Be part of the Infarm (r)evolution and help people to take back ownership of their food. 

Who you are

• You're excited about our vision to reshape the food industry.
• You believe diversity, collaboration and teamwork are key drivers for success.
• You thrive in an environment where you can take ownership and solve hard problems.
• You love a challenge and want to do well while doing good.
• You want to expand your horizons and grow with us as we grow.

Responsibilities

As Infarm's “Continuous Improvement Leader - NA” you will:

• Head of Continuous Improvement Coaching group, driving business results by providing a broad perspective on the practical application of OES-Six Sigma and delivering accelerated learning opportunities to all employees.
• As a Continuous Improvement Leader, work closely with the operations team and functional leaders, to ensure successful deployment of Operations Excellence System and to shape the Continuous Improvement strategies for NA.
• Identify, Coach and develop the next generation of Coaches in the organization.
• Create, lead or significantly contribute to formal training programs for a wide range of audiences, including Black Belt, Green Belt, White Belt and Employee Engagement training.
• Expertise in Six Sigma and Lean tools and methods (including Kaizens), on both technical and Change Management.
• Assist OES-Six Sigma and Operations Leadership team with the identification and quantification of Critical Business Needs and primary opportunities for improvement. Engage in areas of highest business need.
• Develop, implement and drive project management procedures and methodologies to achieve business goals. Provide effective team and project management duties, including overseeing project completion timelines, monitoring project costs, and communicating progress status
• Suport the Director of Operations when required on specific activities and projects to drive profitability, efficiency and quality across North American markets.
• Devise comprehensive performance status reports and internal ops playbooks that capture progress and best practices, viewable at Executive level and below
• Identify and resolve issues or roadblocks that could impact schedule, costs or team progress
• Lead cross functional project teams with purpose and direction, coordinating activities across the North American Ops, Expansion, Finance, Sales, People, Marketing – organising the appropriate forums to control and monitor progress and help cascade to North America the global initiatives
• Manage and provide clear, consistent communication to the regions includes newsletters, recognitions, and projects overview
• Develop tools that drive consistency & efficiency in collaboration with other departments 
• Oversee North American meetings cadence that includes Monthly & Quarterly Business Review, All hands and team meetings
• You have the ownership for driving projects through a defined stage-gate process, and evaluating success post-launch.
• Coaches functional leaders across the network on use of Six Sigma, Operations Excellence and Lean methodologies. Ensure cross-functional teams are utilizing the appropriate improvement methodology (Six Sigma, Lean, OpEx tools) including training on tools, application support as required and coaching Operations Leaders in their application.
• Assess, design and execute training and development initiatives required to certify future White Belts, Green Belts, and Black Belts.
• Gatekeeper of our reporting process to our global team and our North American team. 
• Responsible for supporting the Director of Operations and his direct report in the standardization of our operational KPI’s.

Requirements

• A University degree (BSc. Engineering or Operations Management).
• Black Belt Certification or Lean Implementation Certification is a requirement.
• Significant experience in Coaching and training Six Sigma-Lean tools and methods, including Change Management, is a requirement.
• Minimum 10 years of full-time Six Sigma-Lean and direct Continuous Improvement work experience in manufacturing or supply chain, as well as commercial and finance.
• Demonstrated ability to inspire teams to deliver winning results against organizational priorities.
• Track record of developing, coaching and leading teams of direct and indirect reports.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results, taking a hands-on approach leading the team with a deep understanding of the manufacturing processes.      
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Routinely applies Six Sigma-Lean tools (Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, 5S, Gemba, DMAIC, DMADV, PDCA) to identify and eliminate waste, reduce variability and improve performance. 
• Strong ability to communicate effectively (verbal and written) with all levels of the organization, especially senior leadership.            
• Demonstrated ability to affect behavioral change across the network, through influence, using Change Management methodologies.
• Has led and/or coached prior manufacturing continuous improvement projects. Considered a strong coach on continuous improvement concepts. 
• Experience in leading complex projects that require strong leadership, initiative, and change management is a requirement.       
• Strong project management background.
• Strong skill set in business operations modelling and analysis including financial statements, expense management, ROI, business development, strategy, and/or management consulting
• 7+ years of work experience and track record of delivering products to market in a fast-paced environment. 
• You can turn incomplete, conflicting, or ambiguous inputs into solid action plans and have the ability to step back and connect the dots
• The ability to lead and inspire others, and influence cross-functionally
• The ability to manage key relationships and stakeholders, both internal and external, whilst keeping a clear focus on the end consumer
• Experience of working cross-functionally across multiple departments and/or geographies with an ability to influence and drive decisions.
• Prior experience of managing team members would be a bonus.
• You’re able to communicate proactively, clearly and concisely, tailoring messages to different audiences to aid understanding.
• High resilience, a “can do” attitude and a desire to look for alternative solutions to problems vs. accepting the status quo
• A high level of commercial awareness and the ability to deliver against defined KPI’s
• Excellent skills with Excel/Google Sheets, Google Slides/Power Point Presentation & Template Creation, is a requirement.

What we offer

• The opportunity to join Infarm as we expand across the globe and help change the future of farming
• The ability to drive impact and be a true partner to the business, working closely with top-level managers
• A friendly work environment with a diverse group of motivated, talented, and visionary
• Comprehensive healthcare benefits fully paid medical, dental and vision for eligible employees
• 20 days of accrued paid time off annually
• Retirement savings plan with company matching contributions
• Fresh herbs to take home 

We strive to grow an inclusive environment, where everyone can thrive, regardless of your background and circumstances. We nurture diversity because we appreciate the uniqueness and differences between people. Each employee’s distinctive experiences, perspectives, and viewpoints helps us build a resilient environment, where we can all learn, grow, and create great things together.  

Infarm is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. Infarm does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state, provincial or federal laws or prohibited by Company policy. Infarm also strives for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibits harassment of any kind.

Your health and ours are very important to us! In times of COVID-19, we have fully adapted and digitized our application process so we can continue to be there for our applicants. Stay healthy! 

To all recruitment agencies: Infarm does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias or Infarm employees. Infarm is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.