Director of Continuous Improvement

About Welch Equipment 

Welch Equipment Company is the premier provider of material handling solutions and represents equipment from the world's #1 manufacturers. Our culture of continuous improvement, or Kaizen, is embedded throughout the organization and is only one of the many “tools” to our success in supporting our employees. 

 
Our core values are: 

• Customer Commitment 
• Integrity & Accountability 
• Teamwork 
• Respect 
• Act with Urgency 

Our goal is to provide our employees with the tools needed to build a successful career, not just a job. We provide top notch support for our technicians in the form of manufacturer training, tech support, field service supervisors, on the job training in a controlled environment, cutting-edge technology and leaders trained to support. 

We are seeking employees who are ready to join a culture of continuous improvement, positive attitude, and servant leadership. If that’s you come build your career with us at Welch Equipment Company and let’s continue to set the standard! 

Benefits 

• Low-cost Medical, Dental, Vision insurance 
• STD, LTD, and Life insurance 
• Paid Sick Leave and PTO 
• 401(k) match 
• Compensation Range: $174,000 - $195,000 depending on experience and eligible for company bonus plan

Position Description 

The Continuous Improvement Director leads the organization's enterprise-wide continuous improvement strategy by driving Lean initiatives, operational excellence, and a culture of Kaizen across all departments. This role partners with executive leadership and cross-functional teams to identify improvement opportunities, eliminate waste, optimize processes, and implement sustainable solutions that enhance operational performance, employee engagement, customer experience, and business results. The position is responsible for building organizational capability in Lean principles, managing continuous improvement programs, tracking outcomes through performance metrics, and ensuring long-term adoption of standardized processes and ASEC practices. 

Essential Job Functions 

• Lead Welch’s company-wide continuous-improvement strategy and strengthen a culture of Kaizen. 
• Lead lean management initiatives, including RLM/TLM, ASEC/5S, A3 problem solving, standard work, process optimization, waste reduction, and cross-functional improvement projects. 
• Partner with executive and department leaders to identify bottlenecks, prioritize improvement opportunities, create project charters, and establish measurable targets. 
• Develop dashboards and operating reviews that show baseline performance, implementation progress, verified outcomes, and sustainment of improvements. 
• Build internal capability by coaching leaders and associates in continuous-improvement methods, facilitating workshops, and developing lean champions across departments. 
• Coordinate with training and instructional-design resources so new processes are documented, trained, adopted, and maintained. 
• Ensure improvement work supports customer experience, employee success, operating efficiency, cost reduction, cash flow, and bottom-line profitability. 
• Provide clear communication to leadership on project risks, resource needs, obstacles, achieved results, and next actions. 
• Lead all ASEC operations and directions for the company.  Work with all leaders to sustain ASEC standards in all areas 
• Ability to work in a constant state of alertness and safe manner 
• Additional duties as assigned 

Education and Experience 

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, or a related field; Master's degree preferred. 
• 5+ years of progressive experience leading continuous improvement, Lean, operational excellence, or business transformation initiatives. 
• Demonstrated expertise in Lean methodologies and tools, including Kaizen, A3 problem solving, 5S, standard work, visual management, waste reduction, and process optimization. 
• Experience leading cross-functional projects and influencing stakeholders at all levels of the organization, including executive leadership. 
• Strong analytical skills with experience developing KPIs, dashboards, scorecards, and performance reporting. 
• Proven track record of achieving measurable improvements in productivity, quality, cost savings, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction. 
• Experience coaching, facilitating workshops, and developing internal continuous improvement capabilities. 
• Strong project management skills, including project charter development, prioritization, risk management, and change management. 
• Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills. 
• Lean Six Sigma experience preferred 
• Experience with ASEC, TPM, Lean Management Systems, or similar operational excellence frameworks preferred.