About the Role
The Manufacturing Excellence Manager is responsible for leading and sustaining world-class manufacturing performance through the Barry Callebaut Operating System (BCOS), which is fully grounded in Integrated Work Systems (IWS) principles. This role drives continuous improvement, capability building, and cultural transformation across the site, ensuring operational excellence and zero-loss mindset adoption.
The role partners closely with the Plant Leadership Team, BCOS pillar leaders, and cross-functional teams to embed standardized work processes, develop people capabilities, and deliver measurable improvements aligned with safety, quality, service, cost, and sustainability objectives.
Job Responsibilities Include
• Lead deployment and sustainability of BCOS, ensuring strong alignment with Global Customer Supply & Development organization and the Global ‘Go for Zero’ ambition.
• Assess site maturity against BCOS/IWS standards and develop a multi-year manufacturing excellence roadmap aligned with regional and global priorities.
• Coach and develop BCOS pillar leaders, Cell Teams, and plant leadership on work processes, certification expectations, and behavioral standards.
• Drive change management and cultural transformation, promoting a zero-loss mindset and 100% employee engagement across all levels.
• Conduct regular assessments of routine management, pillar execution, and performance KPIs, ensuring follow-up on corrective actions.
• Use data analytics and business KPIs to prioritize improvement initiatives that directly improve safety, quality, service, cost, cash, and sustainability performance.
• Facilitate hands-on continuous improvement activities including workshops, kaizen events, Gemba coaching, and standardization of best practices.
• Enable horizontal learning and replication of best practices across sites through strong collaboration with global Manufacturing Excellence and technical communities.
• Support digital transformation initiatives that enhance manufacturing performance and contribute toward smart factory maturity.
• Act as a visible role model for continuous improvement leadership, shop-floor engagement, and BCOS oriented thinking.
About You
Education Requirements
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, or a related technical field is required.
• Advanced certifications in Continuous Improvement, Lean, or IWS frameworks are strongly preferred.
Experience Requirements
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in a manufacturing environment, with demonstrated leadership in continuous improvement, operational excellence, and capability-building initiatives within complex, multinational operations. Proven experience deploying Lean, TPM, IWS, or equivalent operating systems is required.
Skills and Competencies
• Deep expertise in Lean Manufacturing, Integrated Work Systems (IWS), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Strong coaching, facilitation, and change leadership abilities with a hands-on, Gemba-centric approach.
• Highly adaptable and agile leader with a proven track record of driving change and sustaining cultural transformation in complex manufacturing environments.
• Advanced analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills across all organizational levels.
• Project and portfolio management capability to prioritize and deliver multiple initiatives in parallel.
• Strong digital and systems awareness, including MES, SAP/ERP, CMMS, and manufacturing analytics platforms.
• Proven ability to influence cultural change and sustain performance improvements over time.
What You Can Expect from Barry Callebaut
• Competitive salary, annual bonus, and comprehensive benefits package.
• Generous paid time off, holidays, and flexible work arrangements.
• An inclusive, diverse culture grounded in the #OneBC mindset.
• Exposure to global best practices and opportunities for professional growth and internal mobility.
With annual sales of about CHF 14.8 billion in fiscal year 2024/25, the Zurich-based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading solutions provider of high-quality chocolate experiences across the full spectrum of chocolate, cocoa, cacao coatings and non-cocoa alternatives – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to crafting premium chocolates, fillings and decorations.
The Group operates more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse, committed workforce of over 13,000 people. Barry Callebaut serves as a trusted partner for the entire food industry, from large-scale food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants and caterers with Callebaut® as its main global brand.
The Barry Callebaut Group is dedicated to making sustainable chocolate the norm – helping secure the future of cocoa and improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, which aims to shape a sustainable future for cocoa and chocolate.
