Associate Director Continuous Improvement

This is a remote role managing an on-site team tied to production in our US-based sites, Bar Harbor, ME Ellsworth, ME, Sacramento, CA and Gainesville, FL. As a result, up to 50% domestic travel may be required for this manager to work with their team, particularly in the beginning.

What You'll Do

• Develop operational excellence team members and drive continuous improvement of our continuous improvement program.
• Coach team members on Kaizen and core Lean tools, including Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Daily Management, and Problem Solving.
• Manage the Kaizen funnel and the completed-Kaizen sustainment bowler to ensure improvements are institutionalized.
• Lead the team to identify, facilitate, and track operational improvement initiatives that lift safety, quality, delivery, productivity, and cost performance across JMCRS Operations.
• Partner with managers across JMCRS Operations to define project scope, uncover innovative opportunities, and set goals, objectives, timelines, strategy, and project plans.
• Provide leadership, coaching, performance management, and development for a distributed team of Operational Excellence professionals supporting domestic U.S. operations.
• Model organizational change management practices for operational excellence initiatives across sites.
• Prepare analyses, flow charts, presentations, and reports per project specifications, and deliver scheduled status reports to the leadership team.
• Collaborate with management to collect, validate, and organize financial, statistical, and operational data to evaluate and communicate operational processes.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a scientific field required; Master's degree preferred. An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
• 10 years of relevant experience required; 12+ years preferred.
• 6 years of supervisory experience required; 8+ years preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Extensive experience in operational excellence and process improvement, including leadership driving operational improvements in a complex and/or emerging organization.
• Strong working knowledge of Lean tools and methodologies — Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Daily Management, Problem Solving, Kaizen, 5S, 3P — with a track record of leading and facilitating improvement events across multiple operational environments.
• Demonstrated success leading diverse, cross-functional groups through complex operational challenges, with a proven record of coaching and developing leaders in Lean and Continuous Improvement methodologies.
• Strong analytical, technical, and statistical skills, with the ability to identify root causes of complex, cross-functional issues and drive data-based solutions.
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills, able to plan and deliver multiple concurrent projects within scope, budget, and timeline with minimal supervision.
• Experience designing and implementing large-scale change management strategies and governance processes across multiple functions and sites, with the ability to influence senior leaders.
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and facilitation skills; comfortable engaging with personnel at all levels, including executives.
• Flexibility to manage competing demands and shifting priorities while working under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software, with strong reporting and process-mapping experience.
• Experience within a mature Lean management system (e.g., Toyota Production System, Danaher Business System, or a comparable framework) preferred.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide improvement programs and managing managers and/or geographically dispersed teams across multiple sites.