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

Barnes Aerospace; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

HSA with company contributions

401(k) retirement plan with company-m

Paid vacation and holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

BARNES Aerospace NA is seeking a Director of VITAL Deployment & CI to define and execute the regional continuous improvement strategy across North America, aligning with enterprise objectives and site maturity. You will own the CI roadmap, governance, portfolio, and benefit realization to deliver measurable business impact.

The role partners with operations executives and site GMs to allocate resources to high-value opportunities, drive governance reviews, and report progress to executives.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, manufacturing operations, or business transformation.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Own the North America CI strategy, roadmap, and deployment priorities aligned to enterprise standards and regional objectives.
• Lead regional CI governance, 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.

Skills

Continuous improvement

Operational excellence

Manufacturing operations

Business transformation

Leadership

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration

Master’s Degree or MBA

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.

Salary: $140,000-$218,000

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.