Senior Continuous Improvement Manager

About this role

We’re Watts. Together, we’re reimagining the future of water. We feel proud every day about what we do. We're all part of the same crucial mission, no matter what function we support -- it's to provide safe, clean water for the world, and to protect our planet's most valuable resource.

What we do: For 150 years, Watts has built best-in-class products that are trusted by customers in residential and commercial settings across the world. We are at the forefront of innovation, working with cutting-edge technology to provide smart and connected, sustainable water solutions for the future. Watts is a leading brand with a quality reputation — and we have a dynamic future ahead.​

Scope of Position

The Senior Continuous Improvement Manager is a high-energy, multi-site leader responsible for 3–6 manufacturing locations. While Watts enjoys CEO-level CI engagement and a robust toolkit, your mission is to bridge the "last mile": helping the plant floor connect our tools to tangible, winning results.

You will act as the "Coach of Coaches," providing dotted-line leadership to onsite CI Managers, hourly leads, and technicians. This role is for a "finisher"—someone who isn't satisfied with just launching an initiative but is obsessed with completing it and sustaining the gains. For a leader with deep manufacturing operations experience, this position offers high visibility and development.

Reports to: Director of Continuous Improvement (Americas) Location: Hybrid, North Andover, MA, Groveport, OH, or St. Paul’s NC Travel: Up to 50%

Primary Job Duties and Responsibilities • Strategic Mentorship & Matrix Leadership: Provide dotted-line leadership and coaching to onsite CI Managers and hourly leads across your assigned sites. Ensure a consistent, high standard of excellence across the complex. • Bridge Tools to Results: Turn the One Watts Performance System (OWPS) from a set of tools into the "heartbeat" of the factory. Your focus is on making the connection between CI activities and real-world shop floor wins. • High-Energy Gemba Execution: Lead by doing. Personally facilitate high-impact Kaizens and complex problem-solving events. You set the "gold standard" for visible, role-model behavior on the manufacturing floor. • Strategy Deployment: Facilitate the translation of top-level business goals into a concrete, cross-functional improvement funnel that the shop floor understands, owns, and executes. • Drive P&L & Business Impact: Identify and prioritize high-value opportunities. Track and communicate balanced-scorecard results to ensure CI work drives measurable AOP (Annual Operating Plan) success. • Site Governance: Lead CI Steering Committees to remove organizational barriers and ensure total alignment between Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Finance. • Floor Leadership: Spend 40 – 60% of time on the shop floor actively coaching, observing, and guiding transformation activities in real time.

Required Qualifications • Education: Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related technical field, or in lieu of a degree, a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience. • Operations Leadership: 10+ years in manufacturing/operations. You must have a track record of "owning" results and leading through influence. • Leadership Depth: Direct experience in Operations Supervision or Production Management is essential. You must understand the daily pressures of a production schedule. • The "Finisher" Mindset: A high-energy personality with an intense focus on completion and sustainment. You are passionate about seeing a project through to the finish line. • Technical Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of Lean methods (VSM, SMED, TPM, Material Flow). • Matrix Fluency: Proven ability to build engagement and drive outcomes with teams (CI Managers, hourly leads, and technicians) that do not report to you directly. • Communication & Data Sense: Ability to tell a compelling story with numbers (Excel/PowerPoint) to influence everyone from the shop floor to senior leadership

Preferred Qualifications • Lean Transformation expertise or Six Sigma Black Belt is strongly preferred. • SAP experience preferred.

General Applicable Company Competencies  

• Commitment to Watts’ values of integrity, accountability, continuous improvement and innovation, and transparency.  

• Punctuality and dependability.  

• Ability to be flexible and adapt to changing work priorities and stressful conditions.  

• Adherence to all personnel policies, procedures, and standards of process as implemented by Watts.  

• Maintain productive and collaborative relationships with other Watts employees.  

• Adherence to Watts ’   seven cultural beliefs :   Growth Mindset, Customer-Focused Innovation, Constant Communication, Clear Goals, Collaborate Globally, Be Inclusive, and Take Action.   

Working Conditions

While performing the job duties, you will be working in an office environment. You will be required to work in the office at the North Andover, MA location, Groveport, OH, or St. Paul’s, NC three days per week (Monday – Wednesday) and can work remotely two days per week (Thursday and Friday). 

Physical Requirements Specific physical abilities required for this position include, but are not limited to: • Ability to remain seated at a desk or workstation for extended periods.

• Ability to perform repetitive tasks like typing on a keyboard or using a mouse for extended periods. • Ability to physically move around the office, organize or transport files, packages, or other office-related materials.

• Ability to read documents, use a computer, and perform data entry tasks. • Ability to communicate clearly with management and coworkers, particularly in meetings or phone calls.

• Ability to operate standard office equipment such as computers, printers, phones, and copiers. • Ability to occasionally lift and carry light objects, such as office supplies, documents, or small equipment.

• Ability to stand fo

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