Process Excellence Manager Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Novolex is a leading manufacturer of food, beverage, and specialty packaging that supports multiple industries including foodservice, restaurant delivery and carryout, food processing, grocery and retail, and industrial sectors. Novolex manufacturing and sourcing expertise spans a diverse range of substrates including resin, paper, molded fiber, aluminum and more. We provide customers a broad array of stock and customized solutions with 120 product categories, 250 brands and over 39,000 SKUs.

The Novolex sustainability vision is built upon three pillars: our products, our operations and our people. Each is critically important to our growth and future as a business. These pillars form the foundation of our company-wide commitment to sustainability, helping us achieve our ambitious goals through our wide-ranging initiatives.

This is a hybrid role with 2-3 days a week in our Lake Forest, IL office.

Role Overview

The Process Manager, Process Excellence is responsible for establishing, governing, and continuously improving enterprise planning processes, policies, standards, and operating disciplines across the SIOP ecosystem. This role ensures planning processes are standardized, policy-compliant, decision-ready, and aligned to enterprise objectives.

The Process Manager serves as the governance authority for assigned planning domains, including Demand, Inventory, Supply, Capacity, Scheduling, Performance Management, and SIOP Governance. The roles does not own day-to-day planning execution; rather, it ensures planning processes operate consistently, effectively, and with the rigor required to support enterprise decision-making.

By driving process discipline, governance, readiness, and continuous improvement, this role enables trusted plans, informed decisions, and improved business performance.  

Key Responsibilities

Process Governance & Standards

• Define, maintain, and continuously improve enterprise planning standards, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Establish and govern process requirements, operating procedures, readiness criteria, and compliance expectations.
• Ensure consistent application of planning standards across business units, functions, and operating locations.
• Maintain documentation, policies, governance models, and audit frameworks supporting enterprise planning processes.

Planning Assurance & Compliance

• Audit planning processes, outputs, assumptions, and decisions for adherence to enterprise standards.
• Evaluate process effectiveness, discipline, and compliance across assigned planning domains.
• Identify process gaps, risks, inconsistencies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Certify planning readiness and compliance for executive review and decision-making forums.
• Develop corrective action plans and monitor resolution of governance findings.

SIOP Integration & Decision Support

• Serve as a Process Excellence representative within the SIOP operating model.
• Ensure planning outputs entering consensus and executive forums are complete, aligned, and decision-ready.
• Facilitate alignment across Commercial, Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and Analytics teams.
• Escalate structural process issues, policy conflicts, and governance risks requiring leadership attention.
• Support development of decision frameworks that improve transparency and accountability.

Performance & Continuous Improvement

• Assess process maturity and identify opportunities to improve planning effectiveness and business outcomes.
• Drive initiatives that improve planning discipline, governance rigor, process efficiency, and organizational capability.
• Support enterprise maturity assessments, scorecards, and roadmap development.
• Benchmark best practices and recommend enhancements to planning processes and governance models.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Planning, Operations, Commercial, Finance, Analytics, and Technology teams to ensure alignment between process design and execution.
• Promote consistent ownership, accountability, and understanding of enterprise planning processes.
• Facilitate issue resolution and drive alignment across competing priorities and stakeholder groups.
• Support organizational change management and adoption of new planning capabilities.

Capability Development

• Establish priorities and manage workload across multiple initiatives and process areas.
• Develop governance tools, audit methodologies, templates, training materials, and standards documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, Analytics, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in supply chain planning, integrated business planning, S&OP/SIOP, operations, process excellence, or related disciplines.
• Experience designing, governing, auditing, or improving enterprise business processes.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional initiatives in complex organizations.
• Experience working within integrated planning environments and enterprise decision-making processes.

Core Competencies

• Process Governance & Policy Development
• SIOP / Integrated Business Planning
• Process Auditing & Compliance
• Performance Management & KPI Governance
• Continuous Improvement & Operational Excellence
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Influence
• Change Management
• Structured Problem Solving
• Risk Assessment & Decision Support
• Executive Communication & Facilitation

Success Measures

• Consistent adherence to enterprise planning standards and governance requirements.
• Improved process maturity and compliance across assigned planning domains.
• Increased readiness and quality of planning inputs entering SIOP forums.
• Closure of identified process gaps and governance findings.
• Enhanced cross-functional alignment and decision effectiveness.
• Increased executive confidence in planning processes, data integrity, and governance discipline.
• Measurable improvements in planning performance, accountability, and business outcomes.

A reasonable estimate of the current range is $105,000 - $115,000 + bonus + benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target salaries for the position across all US locations. Within the range, individual pay is determined by job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. At Novolex, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.

The benefits for this role include 401(k) plan with company match, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending and health savings accounts, paid vacation, and sick days, paid parental leave, paid holidays and wellness program.

#LI-Hybrid

#INDSalaried

With safety as our top priority and a commitment to employee well-being an important focus, we offer comprehensive and competitive benefits that include medical, dental and vision insurance as well as a variety of other well-being resources focused on mental, physical and financial health. Specific benefits and well-being programs may vary depending on where you work.

At Novolex, giving back to the local communities that support us is important. Our Focused Giving Program prioritizes support for organizations whose missions promote sustainability initiatives or address food and hunger needs. We also encourage facility level support of activities in the communities where our employees live and work.

We offer constant opportunities for advancement. From skills development to advanced education programs, training and development programs and courses are available through MyLearning. Programs include company and industry training curricula, support for formal education through the Tuition Reimbursement Program (Non-Union), and a Learning Management System that supports and enhances employee skills at all levels of the organization.

Novolex is committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all employment practices, including but not limited to selection, hiring, promotion, transfer, and compensation to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, handicap or disability, genetics, citizenship status, service member or veteran status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law. Any individual who, because of his or her disability, needs an accommodation in connection with an aspect of the Company's application process should contact myHRservices@novolex.com.

Formerly Pactiv Evergreen