Division Manager

Division Manager of Controlled Environments

Location: Milwaukee Wisconsin (Hybrid) ( ~25%% travel to branches)

Compensation: $175,000 to $200,000 base salary, plus $500,000 Ownership Equity (Management Incentive Units).

Scope: All branches in a new SSA division or geography, starting with its first acquired platform.

About SSA

Scientific Safety Alliance (SSA) exists to Accelerate Science. Delightfully. We provide mission-critical safety and compliance services to pharmaceutical, biotech, hospital and research organizations across the US, Puerto Rico, the UK and Europe. Since 2023 we have grown from $0 to $20M EBITDA with no outside equity (#175 on the Inc. 5000).

$20M EBITDA | ~30 acquisitions | 95% gross revenue retention | 20+ sites | 350+ people | $10m EBITDA in 3 to 5 years

The Opportunity

Controlled Environments is SSA’s largest division and the model for how every other division will run. Today it is about $20M in revenue, serving pharmaceutical, biotech, hospital and research customers from branches across the Midwest and East Coast. Over the next five years it will grow to about $60M, mostly organically. That means going national and adding a small number of acquisitions.

We need the leader who understands how to own a business end-to-end. You’ll take control of a rapidly growing division and continue to scale it to meet growth expectations.

You’ll have real support: an Associate Division Manager leading the East and A-Players at the other branches chasing after our dream of Accelerating Science. Delightfully. This role reports to the Head of US Operations.

Role Summary

Lead, improve and grow an SSA division: integrate each acquisition, make every branch measurably better year after year, and turn them into one high-performing business. You own the division’s P&L and team, share ownership of organic growth with Sales, and partner with Strategy and Corporate Development on investment and expansion.

Key Responsibilities

• Install KPIs Fast: Daily safety, quality, delivery, utilization and lead-time KPIs at every branch within 30 days of close.
• Protect Customers, Partner with Founders: Keep 100% of customers and capture what the founders know.

Improve

• Move the KPIs, Year After Year: Set targets, beat them, and prove it with before-and-after numbers.
• Lead Continuous Improvement: Eliminate waste and build daily problem-solving with SSA’s operating system.
• Own the P&L: Hold every branch at or above prior-year margin, then improve it. Run a monthly business review with each.

Standardize

• Build One Way of Working: Roll out SSA’s standards at every branch and hold them to it.
• Scale What Works: Make the best practice in any branch the division standard, and share it across SSA.

Build the Team

• Upgrade the Team: Own your roster, coach to the standard, and act fast when someone won’t get there.
• Plan and Develop the Workforce: Hire ahead of demand and grow future branch leaders.
• Be with the People: Walk the work at every branch and model SSA’s values.

Grow

• Grow Organically: Support Sales in winning share of wallet, new accounts and cross-sell.
• Invest and Expand: Make the investment case and partner with Strategy and Corporate Development on new niches and acquisitions.

What We’re Looking For

• Proven operational and P&L improvement, with the numbers to show it: KPIs moved, margins improved, or organic growth delivered.
• 5–15 years leading people and managing operations — in manufacturing, field service, or a comparable technical service environment.
• A track record of developing people: coaching employees within a high-performance organization, and being willing to act when someone will not get there.
• Comfortable running small. You may come from a large organization, but you must be someone who gets into the detail — builds the report, walks the schedule, sits with a technician.
• Fluent in English and the division’s local business language, and willing to travel 50%+ at the outset (around 25% later).
• Strong leader and communicator; process-oriented, data-driven, with a bias for action.

A Plus, But Not Required

• Experience running multiple sites at once.
• Lean practitioner background — Kaizen, DMAIC, 5S, Value Stream Mapping, Kanban.
• M&A experience: diligence, integration, or working alongside a deal team.
• Experience in life sciences, cleanroom, HVAC, calibration or technical field service.

Compensation and Benefits

• Equity: $500,000 in Management Incentive Units, 100% performance-based vesting over 5 years; liquidity through a minority sale of SSA.
• Benefits: Medical insurance for you and your family, life insurance, retirement plan and family leave per local law, and travel expenses paid. Tailored by country.

Scientific Safety Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.