Director of Lean – East Region

LOCATION: Clifton, NJ

TRAVEL: Limited domestic travel (East)

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Lean will be a key member of the regional Business Transformation team. They will drive end-to-end analysis of Business Operations and performance and identify opportunities for profitable growth through system thinking, Continuous Improvement, and AI-driven analytics.

The role requires strong operational and financial acumen, with the ability to lead cross-functional collaboration and transformation. They will lead and build a team to oversee business analytics, transformation projects, Lean implementation, and establish effective operating cadences.

The ideal candidate will have significant experience driving Lean tools and methodologies while fostering a culture of Continuous Improvement. As a proven shop floor leader, they will be hands-on in Lean deployment activities including the introduction of foundational Lean tools (5S, Standard Work, TPI, Value Stream Mapping, and Problem Solving). They will balance the strategical elements of the Lean Business System with tactical deployment.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Driving and owning Lean transformation, adoption, and training throughout the East region to build localized self-sufficiency and sustainability
• Driving development of continuous improvement, process management, and value stream thinking through facilitating cross-functional discussions, targeted workshops, and Kaizen events to achieve strategic and operational objectives
• Leading cultural shift from dashboards and analytics towards actions and results
• Driving and owning strategic business transformation projects and operational execution that results in large-scale improvements across multiple functions in the business
• Aligning corporate strategy with site-based goals, needs, and improvement priorities; partnering in Hoshin and breakthrough planning
• Leading and influencing at the senior leadership level without direct authority in driving change
• Capturing, quantifying, and reapplying best-in-class practices between laboratories, businesses, and regions
• Acting as a change agent to guide the regional team toward success
• Leading, coaching, and guiding a regional team of 5+ CI specialists, project managers, and data analysts; facilitating their development and career planning
• Developing training materials and effectively delivering in a team environment
• Collaborating with functional and site leaders as a thought leader to create future state improvement roadmaps with clear executable plans that are in line with the business strategies and improvement needs
• Contributing toward building a grassroots culture of continuous improvement, use of big data analytics techniques, system thinking, and cross-functional collaboration
• Documenting best practices and sharing improvements to leverage results across the business

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business or technical field; Masters Degree beneficial
• Minimum 10 years of relevant work experience across Continuous Improvement and Operations within a manufacturing or industrial environment
• Prior experience leading a team of direct reports in a Lean or Operations Management role
• Proven experience utilizing and deploying Lean tools including Hoshin, Strategy Deployment, Value Stream Mapping, KPI development, Transactional Process Improvement, 6S, Standard Work, FMEA, Problem Solving, Kanban, Visual Daily Management, 80/20, etc.
• Experience working in an organization with a mature and rigorous Lean Business System
• Previous experience designing and deploying Lean and Kaizen culture
• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, cross-functional change initiatives across manufacturing operations
• Ability to foster leadership alignment and influence across all levels of the organization
• Poise and leadership presence when facilitating discussions and leading workshops
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams preferred
• Advanced data analysis skills; financial and business acumen
• Effective written and verbal communication skills across multiple formats
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously
• Excellent written and verbal skills, results oriented, and collaborative

Lean Focus LLC is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, or protected Veteran status.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

At Lean Focus, we help businesses overcome their biggest challenges by transforming them for the better, and for the long-term. A "who's who" of global leaders in every industry, our clients include some of the world's most respected brands and several members of the Fortune 1000.