Value Stream Director - Lean Manufacturing Excellence

AmeriQual Group; Evansville (IN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

AmeriQual Group is seeking a Business Unit Director (Value Stream Leader) to own end-to-end performance of a value stream from raw material receipt to finished product handoff. You will lead safety, quality, delivery, cost, people, and continuous improvement while aligning cross-functional resources and driving the AmeriQual Operating System.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree, 10+ years in manufacturing with leadership of large teams, fluency in Lean/Toyota principles, strong financial

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations Management, Business, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, or related field required; advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive manufacturing experience, including at least 5 years leading managers and large cross-functional teams.
• Experience with Lean manufacturing, Toyota Production System principles, operational excellence, or a comparable continuous improvement system.
• Strong financial and business acumen, including budgets, operating plans, cost management, performance metrics, and capital justification.
• Proven ability to lead organizational change, develop people, solve complex operating problems, and influence across functions.
• Excellent communication, decision-making, analytical, coaching, and execution skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the assigned value stream and serve as the single point of accountability for results.
• Own performance across safety, quality, service, delivery, cost, productivity, throughput, and people metrics.
• Develop and execute annual operating plans, budgets, staffing strategies, and improvement priorities aligned with company objectives.
• Lead daily management, visual performance reviews, escalation processes, root-cause problem solving, and corrective action follow-through.
• Drive implementation and sustainment of AOS, Lean manufacturing, standard work, waste elimination, flow, and continuous improvement practices.
• Coordinate Operations, Quality, Maintenance, Engineering, Planning, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Finance, and Technical Services support for the value stream.
• Improve labor and material utilization, equipment performance, operating cost, capacity, yield, schedule attainment, and customer service.
• Partner with Maintenance and Engineering to reduce downtime, improve reliability, prioritize capital needs, and remove operational constraints.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and applicable employee safety, food safety, quality, customer, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead, coach, and develop value stream leaders and team members; strengthen accountability, engagement, succession readiness, and problem-solving capability.
• Build a culture of ownership, teamwork, respect, transparency, disciplined execution, and continuous learning.
• Support new products, business growth, demand changes, and cross-functional initiatives affecting the value stream.

Skills

Lean manufacturing

Operational excellence

Cost management

Communication

Problem solving

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Job description

AmeriQual Group is seeking a Business Unit Director (Value Stream Leader) to own end-to-end performance of a value stream from raw material receipt to finished product handoff. You will lead safety, quality, delivery, cost, people, and continuous improvement while aligning cross-functional resources and driving the AmeriQual Operating System.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree, 10+ years in manufacturing with leadership of large teams, fluency in Lean/Toyota principles, strong financial