Director, Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

About the role

The Director, Operational Excellence & Business Enablement leads the development and deployment of the BlueLinx operating system across the branch network. This role converts operational strategy, performance data, and technology investments into standard processes, measurable performance improvement, and sustained branch adoption. Reporting to the Sr. Director, Logistics Systems, the Director partners across Regional Operations, Branch Operations, Commercial, Inventory, Finance, Human Resources, Safety, and Information Technology to improve customer service, labor productivity, cost performance, process consistency, and the adoption of new operating capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Understands the company’s vision, mission, and strategy; translates business and functional objectives into clear Operational Excellence priorities and measurable outcomes.
• Leads the enterprise operations performance-management process, including metric definitions, monthly reporting, trend analysis, performance reviews, corrective-action follow-up, and continuous improvement of dashboards and reporting methods.
• Owns governance and continuous improvement for On-Time and In-Full delivery performance, including failure-reason categories, functional ownership, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and branch adoption.
• Develops and maintains the BlueLinx branch operating system, including standard work, daily and weekly management routines, branch assessment methods, operating playbooks, and sustainment reviews.
• Leads the operational labor-management strategy, including common productivity measures, labor standards, reporting requirements, and branch improvement plans developed in partnership with Regional Operations and Human Resources.
• Serves as the business process and adoption leader for operations, logistics and warehouse technology-enabled improvement initiatives, including transportation, warehouse management, scanning, labeling, automation, data, and artificial intelligence capabilities.
• Translates operational needs into clear business requirements; leads current-state and future-state process design, operational pilots, field testing, readiness, rollout planning, training, adoption measurement, and post-launch sustainment.
• Maintains the enterprise Operational Excellence project portfolio and prioritizes work based on customer impact, business value, risk, available resources, and alignment with company strategy.
• Partners with Finance to validate expected and realized financial benefits, including direct savings, cost avoidance, productivity improvements, and working-capital opportunities.
• Provides structured problem-solving support for complex, cross-functional, or recurring branch issues while ensuring the accountable function retains ownership of execution and sustainment.
• Builds organizational capability through practical training and coaching in standard work, root-cause analysis, process improvement, visual management, and leader operating routines.
• Identifies proven branch practices and creates repeatable methods to scale those practices across regions and locations.
• Builds strong working relationships with regional, branch, and functional leadership; influences decisions through clear data, practical recommendations, and disciplined follow-through.
• Leads and develops assigned Operational Excellence, analytics, process improvement, or industrial engineering resources and actively supports talent acquisition and succession planning.

Requirements

• Certifications: Lean, Six Sigma Black Belt, or comparable process-improvement certification preferred.
• Educational Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, Business, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Years of Experience: Generally 5+ years of relevant experience in distribution, manufacturing, logistics, or multi-site operations; demonstrated experience leading people and cross-functional business process improvement.