Continuous Improvement Specialist

Position Summary

The Supply Chain Continuous Improvement Process Analyst drives continuous improvement across supply chain international operations, identifying inefficiencies and leading small-to-medium improvement projects across the APAC, EMEA, and LATAM regions. This role applies Lean methodologies to reduce waste, cost, and lead times, while working closely with regional teams that operate across different time zones, languages, and business cultures. It works to harmonize processes across regions, ensuring consistent standards and ways of working while respecting local operational realities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Work with regional teams across planning, and logistics (transport and warehousing) in APAC, EMEA, and LATAM to identify process improvement opportunities, and align with the Supply Chain Director to prioritize and lead small-scale improvement projects.

• Apply Lean tools (5S, Value Stream Mapping, Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis, PDCA) to diagnose inefficiencies and design solutions adapted to regional constraints.

• Map current-state processes and design future-state workflows with measurable KPIs (cost, lead time, quality, service level, etc.), consistent across regions but flexible to local realities.

• Facilitate Kaizen events and improvement workshops with cross-functional, cross-regional, and often virtual teams.

• Track and report project progress, savings, and impact to global and regional management.

• Support standardization of best practices and documentation (processes, work instructions, etc.) while allowing for necessary regional adaptations.

• Coach and train regional team members on Lean principles and a continuous-improvement mindset, considering cultural and language differences.

• Collaborate with other departments’ teams (IT, Sales, Finance, etc.) to identify opportunities.

• Monitor post-implementation results across regions to ensure sustained improvements (control phase).

• Manage stakeholder communication across multiple time zones, adjusting meeting schedules and communication style as needed.

Note: The responsibilities listed above are not exhaustive and may be subject to updates or periodic review.

Education & Experience

Educational Requirements & Skills:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, Supply Chain Management, Logistics, or related field.

• Solid knowledge of Lean/Continuous Improvement methodologies

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification (or working toward it) is a plus.

• Strong analytical skills; comfortable working with Excel, data analysis tools, and process mapping software (Visio, Bizagi, etc.).

• Good project management skills — able to plan, execute, and close small projects independently, often remotely.

• Strong cross-cultural communication and facilitation skills; comfortable working with stakeholders across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM.

• Proactive, hands-on, and detail-oriented, with a structured problem-solving approach

Professional Experience

More specifically, we are looking for the following attributes and competencies:

• 5+ years of experience in supply chain, operations, or process improvement roles.

• Prior experience working in or with international/multi-regional teams is a strong plus.

• Proven experience leading or supporting small improvement projects.

• Experience with ERP systems (SAP and Sage) used across multiple regional entities, is a plus, but not required.

• Exposure to digital transformation / automation projects in supply chain, is a plus, but not required.   

• Languages: Candidates must be fluent in both English and Spanish. Additional languages relevant to APAC or EMEA operations (e.g., Mandarin, German, French) are a plus but not required.

Pay and Benefits

The estimated base pay for this position is EUR 36.000 annually.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Vantage is an equal opportunity employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected category. 

About Vantage

Vantage provides natural solutions to our customers’ technical performance and marketing needs through a unique combination of chemistry, application expertise and service. Underpinned by our broad portfolio of formulations, ingredients and actives that are built on a backbone of sustainable oils, fats and their derivatives, Vantage targets selected markets and applications including personal care, food, surface treatment, agriculture, pharma, and consumer and industrial performance. Vantage is headquartered in Deerfield, IL., operates in 11 countries worldwide and employs more than 1,000 talented professionals focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences with every interaction.

We are a dynamic people-centered organization where you’ll be part of a collaborative global team. Embracing our cultural diversity, we learn from each other to constantly improve, adapt and iterate. We value the voices and talents of our colleagues, empowering them to drive their unique ideas to completion. We’re convinced that exceptionally motivated employees produce outstanding results and we celebrate them by fostering a culture of recognition, development, learning, excellence and shared achievement. Most importantly, we know you’re going to like it here.  For more information visit: vantagegrp.com or LinkedIn/vantage.