Director of Operational Excellence & Optimization

Ergon, Inc - Refining & Marketing; Flowood (MS); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Ergon, Inc. is seeking a Director of Operational Excellence & Optimization within the Energy & Specialty Solutions division.

This leader will drive cross-functional improvement and technology-enabled initiatives to strengthen safety, reliability, profitability, and resilience across ESS operations. Reporting to the VP of ESS Business Operations, the role emphasizes scalable capabilities, governance, and strategic alignment with Ergon's values, while partnering with Finance and multi-disciplinary

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in operations, engineering, operational excellence, or business optimization.
• 5+ years leading cross-functional improvement or transformation initiatives.
• Experience guiding multi-function initiatives from discovery to measurement of results.
• Experience using performance metrics to identify opportunities and quantify impact.
• Experience presenting recommendations to senior leaders.
• Experience in refining, petrochemical, chemical processing, energy, or similar industries.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the ESS Operational Excellence strategy, standards, governance, priorities, and performance measures aligned with business objectives.
• Lead cross-functional optimization and continuous-improvement initiatives that improve safety, reliability, efficiency, profitability, and organizational effectiveness.
• Identify recurring operational and business performance issues and implement sustainable solutions using disciplined problem solving, standardization, and learning.
• Evaluate and advance technology, analytics, automation, and innovation opportunities based on business value and readiness.
• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Safety, and other functions to embed OE principles.
• Partner with Finance to quantify opportunities, prioritize initiatives, and validate realized value.
• Build organizational capability by strengthening continuous-improvement practices and change leadership.

Skills

Operational excellence

Continuous improvement

Cross-functional leadership

Problem solving

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Business/Operations Management

Job description

Position Summary

Ergon's Energy & Specialty Solutions (ESS) division is seeking a Director of Operational Excellence & Optimization to lead the business unit efforts that strengthen operational and business performance. Reporting to the Vice President – ESS Business Operations, this role integrates people, processes, systems, technology, and performance to improve safety, reliability, profitability, and organizational resilience.

The Director will lead cross-functional optimization, continuous improvement, innovation, and technology initiatives while building scalable capabilities that support Ergon's values of Respectful Relationships, Empowered Service, Purposeful Growth, and Selfless Leadership.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the ESS Operational Excellence strategy, standards, governance, priorities, and performance measures aligned with business objectives.

• Lead cross-functional optimization and continuous-improvement initiatives that improve safety, reliability, efficiency, profitability, and organizational effectiveness.

• Identify recurring operational and business performance issues and implement sustainable solutions using disciplined problem-solving, standardization, and organizational learning.

• Evaluate and advance technology, analytics, automation, and innovation opportunities based on business value, risk, scalability, and organizational readiness.

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Asset Integrity, Safety, and other functions to embed Operational Excellence principles and lifecycle thinking into operating and capital-project decisions.

• Partner with Finance and business leaders to quantify opportunities, prioritize initiatives, establish performance measures, and validate realized business value.

• Build organizational capability by strengthening continuous-improvement practices, change leadership, knowledge sharing, and adoption of scalable solutions across ESS.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, or a related field.

• 10+ years of experience in operations, engineering, operational excellence, continuous improvement, business optimization, or a related industrial discipline.

• 5+ years of experience leading cross-functional improvement, optimization, or transformation initiatives.

• Experience leading initiatives involving multiple operational or business functions from opportunity identification through implementation and performance measurement.

• Experience establishing and using operational or business performance metrics to identify opportunities and measure results.

• Experience presenting recommendations, performance results, and improvement priorities to senior business or operational leaders.

• Experience working within refining, petrochemical, chemical processing, energy, manufacturing, or a comparable industrial environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in industrial operations, engineering, operational excellence, or business optimization.

• 7+ years leading enterprise, multi-site, or business-unit-level continuous-improvement or optimization initiatives.

• Experience developing or implementing an Operational Excellence framework, governance model, or performance-management system.

• Experience implementing technology, analytics, automation, or digital solutions that produced measurable operational or business improvements.

• Experience developing business cases and partnering with Finance to quantify opportunities and validate realized financial or operational value.

• Experience leading organizational change or capability-building initiatives across multiple functions or operating locations.

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean certification, or comparable continuous-improvement certification.