Country Continuous Improvement Manager

Company Description

Louis Dreyfus Company is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Our activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines, we leverage our global reach and extensive asset network to serve our customers and consumers around the world. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and ten platforms, Louis Dreyfus Company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.

Job Description

1. Continuous Improvement Strategy & Governance

• Develop and execute the country-wide Continuous Improvement roadmap aligned with business objectives.
• Establish CI governance structure, standards, methodologies, and reporting systems.
• Lead annual productivity and cost-saving program development.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement across manufacturing and support functions.
• Ensure alignment between country initiatives and regional/global excellence programs.

2. Operational Excellence Deployment

• Lead Lean Manufacturing implementation across all plants.
• Drive TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) implementation and equipment reliability improvement.
• Facilitate Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and waste elimination programs.
• Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) across critical production lines.
• Deploy best practices and standardization among manufacturing sites. 

3. Cost Reduction & Productivity Improvement

• Identify and execute manufacturing cost optimization opportunities.
• Lead annual savings delivery targets.
• Drive reductions in:
  • Oil losses
  • Chemical consumption
  • Energy consumption
  • Packaging material losses
  • Product giveaway
  • Labor inefficiencies
  • Maintenance costs

Typical projects may include:

• Yield improvement
• Utility optimization
• Packaging line productivity enhancement
• Process automation
• Inventory reduction

4. Manufacturing Performance Improvement

• Analyse plant performance data and identify bottlenecks.
• Facilitate root cause analysis for chronic operational issues.
• Implement corrective and preventive actions.
• Improve:
  • OEE
  • Throughput and Yield
  • Variable Cost : Consumption x Price
  • Capacity utilization
  • Plant reliability
  • Asset utilization

5. Quality & Food Safety Improvement

• Support improvement initiatives related to:
  • GMP
  • HACCP
  • FSSC 22000
  • RSPO requirements
  • Halal compliance
• Lead defect reduction and customer complaint reduction projects.
• Improve process capability and quality consistency.

6. Digital Transformation & Industry 4.0

• Identify opportunities for digitalization and automation.
• Lead implementation of:
  • Digital dashboards
  • Manufacturing KPI systems
  • Energy monitoring systems
  • Real-time performance tracking
  • Data analytics tools
• Promote data-driven decision making across manufacturing sites.

7. Capability Development

• Develop CI training curriculum.
• Coach plant managers and functional leaders on Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
• Build internal CI champions and Green Belt projects.
• Facilitate Kaizen events and problem-solving workshops.

9. Benchmarking & Best Practice Sharing

• Conduct internal and external benchmarking studies.
• Identify industry best practices applicable to palm oil downstream manufacturing.
• Standardize successful projects across multiple sites.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in:
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Manufacturing Engineering
• Master's Degree preferred.

Experience

• 10-15 years manufacturing experience.
• Minimum 5 years in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Manufacturing Excellence, or Transformation roles.
• Strong exposure to palm oil downstream operations:
  • Refinery
  • Fractionation
  • Biodiesel
  • Consumer Packaging
  • Specialty Fats

Technical Competencies

• Lean Manufacturing
• TPM
• Six Sigma (Green Belt/Black Belt preferred)
• Root Cause Analysis
• Value Stream Mapping
• Statistical Process Control
• Project Management
• Manufacturing Analytics

Leadership Competencies

• Influencing without authority
• Stakeholder management
• Strategic thinking
• Change management
• Problem solving
• Coaching and mentoring

Additional Information

Diversity & Inclusion

LDC is driven by a set of shared values and high ethical standards, with diversity and inclusion being part of our DNA. LDC is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a working environment that embraces and values diversity, equity and inclusion.

LDC encourages diversity, supports local communities and environmental initiatives. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.

Sustainability

Sustainable value is at the heart of our purpose as a company.

We are passionate about creating fair and sustainable value, both for our business and for other value chain stakeholders: our people, our business partners, the communities we touch and the environment around us

What We Offer

We provide a dynamic and stimulating international environment, which will stretch and develop your abilities and channel your skills and expertise with outstanding career development opportunities in one of the largest and most solid private companies in the world.

We offer

• Competitive salary and benefits​​​​​​
• Social and health insurance
• Access to Training and Development