Job Requirements

About Us!

Alkegen brings together two of the world’s leading specialty materials companies to create one new, innovation-driven leader focused on battery technologies, filtration media, and specialty insulation and sealing materials. Through global reach and breakthrough inventions, we’re delivering products
that enable the world to breathe easier, live greener, and go further than ever before. 
With over 60 manufacturing facilities with a global workforce of over 9,000 of the industry’s most experienced talent, including insulation and filtration experts, Alkegen is uniquely positioned to help customers impact the environment in meaningful ways.

Responsibilities:  Influencing Cost, Quality and Continuous Improvement

• The role holder is the focal point within the business unit that links the operational improvement plan to the financial improvement plan for the BU, driving improved financial performance for the BU.
• The role holder works closely with direct stakeholders such as plant managers who control plant resources that can deliver cost saving projects.  They hold plant managers accountable to meet/exceed their cost objectives for the financial year and ensure that they apply resources to meet cost objectives.
• The role holder ensures that a mid term focus is maintained to prepare cost reduction activates for future years as well as directing the objectives of the current financial period. 
• The role holder owns the loss intelligence process for the business unit and ensures that a full pipeline of ideas for future years, capable of delivering improvements of between 4 to 5% of the operational cost base per year through the P1-P3 pipeline gate.

• The roll holder will act as a champion of the customer in the organisation.
• The role holder will be the primary contact to understand and evaluate customer requirements and will represent Alkegen with the customer.  These customers have varied requirements, not limited to ISO9000 and IATF16949 compliance
• The roll holder will be a change agent and an advocate for a zero defects quality culture.  They will champion the benefits of quality assurance and control throughout the business unit; driving sites and teams to make improvements in quality performance, processes, and procedures.
• The role holder will implement proven improvement strategies supported by statistically rigorous methods and/or lean methodologies such as 8D, Ishikawa, 5Why, DMAIC, Six Sigma, risk-based quality principles (DFMEA, PFMEA).

• The role holder works across all sites in the segment to develop a robust “Loss Intelligence” view, using a range of improvement tools, such as VSM, Entitlement league tables, mass balance, energy balance to build a robust understanding of the cost of conversion in the manufacturing process in the segment sites.
• The role holder drives long term trend based metrics such as OEE, entitlement league tables, Value stream maps, Cost of Quality Metrics to define near and mid term cost reduction plans by continuous loss identification.
• The role holder deploys a data driven cascade of metrics inside the production plants to ensure quantitative data is available to drive change in the plants at all levels.
• The role holder supports a range of lean improvement activities from the lean / TPM toolset such as 5S, Quick Kaizen, BAT, Global 8D Short Interval Control to develop the sites in the business unit.

Expectations As a Leader

• The role holder must be an effective influencer of plant managers, quality managers and other operational stakeholders to ensure resources are allocated to the CI and Quality activities.
• The role holder will display excellent communication skills to a number of culturally diverse, global working population inside the BU.
• The role holder partners with the Operations Director and ensures that Plants operate with a sense of urgency and commitment to meet the objectives of the business unit, creating a “zero defect” approach to quality & cost.
• The role holder will drive a continuous improvement culture in all sites, ensuring a high level of engagement to ensuring that customers are satisfied with Alkegen processes.
• The role holder will be able to manage multiple priorities & foster strong collaboration and partnership: You will manage team members across multiple sites in a matrix organisation and be able to balance and effectively manage multiple responsibilities and goals.
• As a results focussed leader they will be a subject matter expert in CI & quality management processes inside the BU and will partner with the operations director and BU leadership to deliver improvements in performance

Competencies

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Focus on Results: Results oriented management style, Develops plans, utilizes resources, from inside and outside of the team to meet the objectives of the organization. Able to create a clear expectation and accountability system throughout the plant.
• Change Management: Proven, change management skills. Sets the scene for change, develops workable plans, communicates changes effectively; building commitment and overcoming resistance to change.
• Problem Solving: Demonstrated problem solving skills.  Quickly able to ascertain the cause of a problem through the use of disciplined, data driven problem solving techniques.  Not driven by emotional thinking when understanding problems.
• Deadline Management:  Is resilient under pressure and capable of meeting deadlines to ensure that the needs of the business are maintained.
• Communication & Influencing skills:  Demonstrates competence to effectively interact with all levels of the plant, maintains effective relationships with corporate functions and the leadership team “shop floor” and Unions. Communicates in a manner that unites team members with a sense of direction and team spirit in order to “get the job done” in an efficient and timely manner.

Qualifications

• BS Degree in engineering related discipline.
• Prior experience (5-10 year) in either manufacturing, quality, or process improvement.
• Six Sigma Green Belt.
• Program Management Skills: Excellent people, communication, team building and organisational skills are essential, ideally Prince2 certified.
• High level understanding of Continuous Improvement Techniques: Lean, Six Sigma, TPM, WCM.
• High Level Understanding of Quality Improvement Techniques: Process Capability, G8D, Root Cause Analysis, “Automotive Core Tools”.
• Significant prior experience in quality engineering / assurance with exposure to ISO9001 standards, ideally IATF16949 standards and VDA standards
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

If you are interested in being part of a world class team here at Alkegen then we would love to hear from you.
At Alkegen, we strive every day to help people – ALL PEOPLE – breathe easier, live greener and go further than ever before. We believe that diversity and inclusion is central to this mission and to our impact. Our diverse and inclusive culture drives our growth & innovation and we nurture it by actively embracing our differences and using our varied perspectives to solve the complex challenges facing our changing and diverse world.
Employment selection and related decisions are made without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, nation of origin, religion, color, gender identity and expression, age, disability, education, opinions, culture, languages spoken, veteran’s status, or any other protected class.