Continuous Improvement Manager

The Continuous Improvement Manager is responsible for driving operational excellence initiatives across the organization's aviation distribution, warehousing, and manufacturing network. This role serves as a change agent, partnering with operations, supply chain, quality, engineering, and leadership teams to improve safety, quality, delivery, inventory performance, productivity, and cost. The ideal candidate will be a hands-on Lean practitioner with experience leading cross-functional process improvement initiatives across multiple locations. This individual will deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and structured problem-solving methodologies to eliminate waste, improve customer service levels, optimize inventory flow, and build a culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization. 

This position is based at our Corporate Headquarters in Wood Dale, IL, with a planned relocation to the Merchandise Mart (Chicago) in early 2027.

What you will be responsible for:

• Develop and execute the company's Continuous Improvement strategy aligned with business goals.
• Lead Lean transformation initiatives across distribution, warehouse, and manufacturing operations. 
• Facilitate Kaizen events, Value Stream Mapping workshops, Gemba walks, and root cause analysis activities. 
• Drive measurable improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, and Productivity metrics. 
• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert on Lean Manufacturing and Operational Excellence principles. 
• Analyze operational processes to identify bottlenecks, waste, inefficiencies, and cost reduction opportunities. Improve warehouse layout, material flow, inventory management, receiving, picking, packing, and shipping processes. 
• Partner with supply chain teams to improve forecasting, inventory accuracy, cycle counting, and replenishment strategies. 
• Support facility expansions, automation projects, and process standardization initiatives. 
• Develop and implement standard work and best practices across multiple sites. 
• Establish and maintain operational KPIs and visual management systems. 
• Utilize data analysis to identify trends, drive accountability, and prioritize improvement opportunities. 
• Develop dashboards and reporting tools to measure project impact and financial savings. 
• Present performance updates and recommendations to executive leadership. 
• Build Continuous Improvement capability throughout the organization through coaching and training. 
• Lead employee engagement efforts supporting Lean culture adoption. 
• Mentor managers and supervisors in problem-solving methodologies and leadership behaviors. 
• Support organizational change initiatives and ensure sustainability of improvement efforts. 
• Support improvement initiatives within aviation distribution and manufacturing environments. 
• Ensure processes comply with applicable quality, safety, regulatory, and customer requirements. 
• Collaborate with Quality and Supply Chain teams to improve supplier and inventory performance supporting aviation customers.