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Associate Director, Operational Excellence in Springfield, MO

Build your future at Curia, where our work has the power to save lives

Curia is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience partnering with pharmaceutical and biotech companies to provide life-saving treatments to patients. At Curia, we are on a mission to advance our customers' therapies from curiosity to cure and ultimately to improve patients' lives.

We proudly offer

- Generous benefit options (eligible first day of employment)

- Paid training, vacation and holidays (vacation accrual begins on first day of employment)

- Career advancement opportunities

- Education reimbursement

- 401K program with matching contributions

- Learning platform

- And more!

Essential Responsibilities

Operational Excellence Strategy and Site Remediation

+ Partner with the Site Leadership Team to develop and execute an operational excellence strategy aligned with site remediation priorities, business objectives, and customer commitments.

+ Translate site goals into focused improvement plans with clear objectives, ownership, timelines, performance measures, and governance.

+ Conduct operational assessments and diagnostics to identify risks, performance gaps, process inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.

+ Support the development and implementation of effective management systems, standard work, escalation processes, and performance routines.

+ Ensure improvement efforts strengthen operational readiness, compliance, reliability, and the site's ability to consistently execute the production schedule.

+ Partner with Quality and other functional leaders to ensure operational improvements support cGMP requirements, inspection readiness, and sustainable remediation outcomes.

Continuous Improvement and Performance

+ Lead projects that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, capacity, productivity, and employee engagement.

+ Establish and mature the site's Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) program to identify, prioritize, and reduce sources of production loss.

+ Use data and structured problem-solving methods to identify root causes, evaluate solutions, and drive measurable business results.

+ Facilitate value stream mapping, process mapping, root cause analysis, and other improvement activities to simplify workflows and eliminate waste.

+ Apply Lean, Six Sigma, 5S, visual management, and other appropriate tools based on the needs of the process and organization.

+ Identify and lead cost-improvement opportunities while ensuring changes do not compromise employee safety, product quality, regulatory compliance, or supply reliability.

+ Develop performance measures and reporting tools that provide clear visibility to progress, risks, trends, and business impact.

+ Establish controls and follow-up processes to verify that improvements are adopted, effective, and sustained.

Leadership and Organizational Capability

+ Serve as a trusted coach and change leader for the Site Leadership Team, department leaders, supervisors, and employees.

+ Build site capability in structured problem-solving, daily management, change leadership, and continuous improvement.

+ Develop and deliver practical training, tools, and resources that help employees recognize problems, identify solutions, and improve their work.

+ Mentor project leaders and improvement teams, helping them establish clear objectives, manage priorities, remove barriers, and achieve sustainable results.

+ Engage employees closest to the work when assessing processes and developing solutions, recognizing that their knowledge and participation are essential to lasting improvement.

+ Encourage a culture in which employees raise concerns, challenge inefficient practices, learn from setbacks, and take ownership of results.

+ Model the Curia Way by demonstrating integrity, respect, collaboration, accountability, and a commitment to patients, customers, and one another.

+ Build cross-functional partnership and lead change management

+ Facilitate cross-functional teams through complex improvement and remediation initiatives, ensuring roles, expectations, decisions, and deliverables are clearly defined.

+ Develop stakeholder engagement and change-management plans that support understanding, adoption, and sustained use of new processes.

+ Communicate effectively with employees and leaders at all levels, translating complex information into clear priorities and practical actions.

+ Partner with other Curia sites and Operational Excellence leaders to share best practices, align approaches, and implement applicable enterprise initiatives.

+ Balance multiple priorities and adjust plans as site risks, customer needs, and business conditions evolve.

Safety, Quality, and Compliance

+ Promote a work environment in which safety, quality, and compliance are foundational to every improvement decision.

+ Identify and escalate risks that could affect employees, product quality, data integrity, compliance, customers, or business continuity.

+ Ensure operational excellence activities are appropriately documented and executed in accordance with applicable procedures, cGMP requirements, and regulatory expectations.

+ Participate in site inspections, audits, governance meetings, and remediation activities as needed.

+ Perform other duties in support of site and business needs

Good Manufacturing & Documentation Practices

Quality is something we take pride in together. You'll perform your work in alignment with cGMP requirements and Curia's standards, which means:

+ Perform all documentation in compliance with ALCOA++ principles and site SOPs.

+ Adhere to applicable cGMP documents including SOPs, batch records, protocols, change controls, and controlled forms.

+ Keep all required cGMP training current and escalate quality concerns along with proposed solutions to the Quality department.

Qualifications

Required

+ Bachelor's degree in science, engineering, operations, business, or a related field.

+ At least eight years of progressive experience leading operational excellence, continuous improvement, manufacturing excellence, or performance transformation initiatives in a manufacturing environment.

+ At least two years of experience in a formal leadership or management role.

+ Demonstrated success using Lean, Six Sigma, or comparable structured improvement methods to deliver measurable and sustainable business results.

+ Experience leading complex, cross-functional projects from problem definition through implementation and sustainment.

+ Demonstrated ability to influence leaders and employees without relying solely on direct reporting authority.

+ Experience supporting organizational change, developing employee capability, and improving management systems.

+ Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret operational data, identify trends, determine root causes, and translate findings into action.

+ Strong project-mana...

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