Director, VITAL Deployment & Continuous Improvement (CI) – North America

Barnes Group; Midwest (WY); On-site; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

HSA with company contributions

401(k) with company matching

Life and disability insurance

Paid vacation and holidays

Employee discounts

Job summary

Barnes Aerospace seeks a Director, VITAL Deployment & CI – North America to define and execute the regional continuous improvement strategy. This role owns the CI roadmap, governance, portfolio, and benefits realization to deliver measurable business impact.

You will advise operations executives and site leaders on investments, readiness, resources, and change management to accelerate operational excellence across multiple sites.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in continuous improvement, operations, or transformation.
• 5+ years leading multi-site CI or transformation initiatives.
• Proven ability to influence senior leaders and manage cross-functional teams.
• Experience developing CI strategy, governance, and executive reporting.
• Financial acumen with savings and productivity validation.

Responsibilities

• Own the North America CI strategy, roadmap, and deployment priorities.
• Lead regional CI governance, portfolio reviews, and executive updates.
• Partner with executives to focus resources on high-value opportunities.
• Oversee regional CI portfolio alignment with financial commitments.
• Escalate barriers and risks with clear countermeasures.
• Define CI competency expectations and development paths.
• Build regional CI talent and support organizational design needs.

Skills

CI strategy

Operational excellence

Leadership

Change management

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or Engineering

Master’s Degree or MBA preferred

Tools

MS Project

ERP systems

Job description

The Director, VITAL Deployment & CI – North America defines and executes the regional continuous improvement strategy aligned to enterprise objectives, regional priorities, and site maturity. This role owns the regional CI roadmap, governance model, improvement portfolio, and benefit realization process to ensure measurable, sustained business impact. This role advises operations executives, general managers, and functional leaders on investment priorities, readiness, resources, and change strategies to accelerate operational excellence.

Core Responsibilities:

• Own the North America CI strategy, roadmap, and deployment priorities aligned to enterprise standards and regional objectives.
• Lead regional CI governance, including portfolio reviews, maturity assessments, benefit validation, operating system reviews, and executive updates.
• Partner with operations executives and site general managers to focus resources on the highest-value opportunities.
• Oversee the regional CI portfolio to align initiatives with financial commitments, risk reduction, customer performance, and capability building.
• Escalate systemic barriers, resource constraints, and performance risks with clear recommendations and countermeasures.
• Define CI competency expectations and development paths for site CI leaders, operations leaders, and functional partners.
• Build regional CI talent by identifying skill gaps, developing future leaders, and supporting organizational design needs.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10+years of progressive experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, manufacturing operations, or business transformation.
• Minimum of 5+ years leading multi-site CI, operational excellence, or transformation initiatives in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leaders and leading through direct, matrixed, and cross-functional teams.
• Proven experience developing CI strategy, governance models, deployment roadmaps, and executive-level performance reporting.
• Demonstrated financial acumen with experience validating savings, productivity gains, cost avoidance, and working capital improvements.
• Experience leading cultural change and operating system deployment across multiple sites or business units.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Master Black Belt, Lean certification, or equivalent experience preferred.
• Project/program management experience required; certification preferred.

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, or a related technical discipline preferred.
• Master’s Degree or MBA preferred.

Barnes Aerospace offers eligible employees a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; a Health Savings Account (HSA) with company contributions for eligible medical plan participants; flexible spending accounts (FSAs); a 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions; life and disability insurance; and paid vacation and holidays. Additional offerings include an employee assistance program (EAP), wellness programs, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, voluntary accident and critical illness coverage, pet insurance, and work-life support resources.Benefits are subject to applicable plan terms and eligibility requirements, which may vary based on employment status, position, and location.

This job position may include access to controlled information or technology subject to U.S. export control laws. If an applicant does not meet the definition of a “U.S. Person” (which includes U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and those granted U.S. asylum or refugee status), the Company may be required to obtain an export control license. If the position for which you applied involves access to controlled information or technology subject to U.S. export control laws, then any offer is also contingent on verification of appropriate documentation for the Company to assess whether an export license will be required to employ you in that role, and if it is determined that an export license is required, the offer is also contingent on the Company’s determination, in its sole discretion, whether a license application and ongoing administration is prudent under the project’s contract parameters and whether an export license can be successfully obtained before you can start.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.