Director, Continuous Improvement

About the role

Leads continuous improvement initiatives for one or more areas of the organization. Identifies and develops process improvement and business transformation opportunities based on business priorities that result in a better customer experience, top-line growth, and bottom-line profitability.

Responsibilities

• Directs a team of process improvement professionals (e.g., Lean Six Sigma), including hiring talent, providing coaching and feedback to direct and indirect reports, and delegating work tasks to associates.
• Leads the development and implementation of continuous improvement initiatives to improve business operations and processes within the organization.
• Manages all project activities for continuous improvement and performance enhancements.
• Directs project selection, tracking, and management reporting for all continuous improvement projects.
• Stays current and up to date on process improvement benchmarking and market activity.
• Leads the development of continuous improvement programs and provides direction and strategy for translating results into actionable improvements that enhance the customer experience.
• Develops and maintains continuous improvement success scorecards and related metrics.

Nature and Scope

• Problems are typically defined by higher level leadership. Problems are difficult. Solutions require analysis and investigation.
• Decides how to achieve planned results within an organization's plans, policies, and guidelines.
• May set or change plans/goals within respective department or area.
• May manage department via multiple layers of managers OR directly supervise a staff of professional individual contributors at the senior or technical advisor level.

Work Environment

• Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.
• Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about.
• On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.
• Typically requires overnight travel 20% to 50% of the time.

Requirements

• BS/BA in a related discipline.
• Generally 9+ years of experience in a related field, including several years in a management/supervisory capacity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced Process Leadership: 8+ years of progressive management experience with a proven track record of scaling teams from the ground up. Must have direct experience navigating and leading within complex, highly matrixed corporate environments.
• Full-Lifecycle Execution (Industry Experience): Deep operational experience in B2B distribution, wholesale, or retail. Hands-on operators who have owned the full lifecycle of process improvement internally. Candidates coming exclusively from external consulting firms without internal industry execution experience are not a fit.
• Methodology Mastery: Advanced expertise (Black Belt/Master Black Belt preferred) in Six Sigma, Lean, or similar methodologies, with demonstrable evidence of translating abstract strategy into bottom-line profitability and top-line growth.
• Cross-Functional Influence & Disruption: Demonstrated ability to act as a self-starter and healthy disruptor. Must possess the executive presence to influence senior leadership without direct authority or constant supervision, challenging the status quo constructively.
• Collaborative Servant-Leadership: A strong, ego-free commitment to knowledge sharing and team development. A strategic thinker who is equally comfortable rolling up their sleeves to execute tactically while building out their organizational footprint.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Project Management, Engineering, or a related field (MBA preferred).