Continuous Improvement Specialist

Job Description Job Description About the Opportunity This seat is opening as the previous Continuous Improvement Specialist has moved on, so you're stepping into a running function with real infrastructure already in motion, not building from a blank page. You report directly to the NA Operations Manager and act as their right hand, a seat with visibility across the entire North American business, not one buried on a single production line. Three to five years of experience is the bar, not ten, so this is a genuine step up for someone who's been running Kaizen events and pulling reports on the floor and is ready to own the strategy behind them. The role spans warehouse, engineering, customer service, and purchasing, giving you cross functional reach that most floor based Lean roles never offer. Why Join Our Client Our client is a global leader in workplace safety solutions, a growing, financially stable business in a category that doesn't disappear when budgets tighten. They've already invested in building a real continuous improvement function, and this seat comes with established relationships and a working improvement pipeline already in place, not a program you have to justify from scratch. The Role This is a ground level, high impact position built for a Lean practitioner who's ready to move from executing improvement events to owning the reporting, strategy, and relationships that drive them. You'll embed across every operational department, from warehouse to engineering to purchasing, to build a real understanding of how the business runs, then use that vantage point to find inefficiencies, build the reporting that surfaces them, and lead the improvement work that fixes them. It's part analyst, part Lean practitioner, part right hand to the NA Operations Manager, a mix built for someone who's spent years close to the floor and now wants a seat close to leadership decision making too. Your Key Responsibilities Design and maintain KPI dashboards and reporting that give real time visibility across every business function Develop new metrics that surface opportunities leadership doesn't yet have visibility into Apply Lean methodology to identify waste and lead rapid improvement events across warehouse, engineering, customer service, and purchasing Document current state processes and drive future state recommendations through to measurable results Maintain an active improvement pipeline from identification through completion Investigate operational issues at the root cause using a hands on, technical approach Act as the NA Operations Manager's right hand on research, reporting, and cross functional project execution Build working relationships across departments that turn into real collaboration, not just reporting lines What Success Looks Like Real time KPI dashboards leadership actually uses to make decisions A visible, tracked pipeline of improvement initiatives moving from idea to completion Measurable process improvements across multiple departments, not just one Becoming the person the NA Operations Manager trusts to own a problem end to end What We're Looking For Required Experience 3 to 5 years in an operations, continuous improvement, or technical analyst role Working knowledge of Lean methodologies (5S, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, root cause analysis) Strong analytical and reporting skills, proficient in Excel plus at least one visualization tool (Power BI, Tableau, or similar) Technically capable and quick to pick up new systems and tools Excellent communication skills, comfortable presenting findings to leadership Self starter who manages multiple priorities and owns outcomes independently Preferred Experience Background in a warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, or industrial environment Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or higher) Exposure to ERP or WMS platforms Experience supporting senior operations leadership Work Environment Fully onsite in Buffalo, NY Standard schedule, 8am to 5pm Role spans warehouse, engineering, customer service, and purchasing environments Compensation & Benefits Base salary: $70K to $80K 401K: Incredible match Hiring Process Apply Confidential video interview Client interviews Behavioural assessment References MVC and background check Offer