Gleason Corporation

Director of Global Culture & Continual Improvement

Gleason Corporation$120K — $150K *
Business Services
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Minimum 8 years of experience in culture transformation and continuous improvement in a highly engineered product portfolio.
  • Four-year university degree with formal training in problem solving methodologies.
  • Prior experience in different disciplines, especially in Quality, is beneficial.
  • Strong facilitation, coaching, and change management skills required.
  • Empathetic leader with a focus on trust, transparency, and collaboration.
  • Data-driven decision maker with a continual learning mindset.

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute global culture initiatives aligned with company vision and values.
  • Champion training for the Gleason Business Principles and ensure daily practice by leadership.
  • Implement metrics to assess and demonstrate cultural progress biannually.
  • Conduct an annual Leadership Development Program focusing on structured problem-solving.
  • Partner with executives to embed cultural principles in business practices and employee interactions.
  • Lead global initiatives using data-driven insights and employee feedback to assess culture.
  • Drive continual improvement strategies and facilitate process optimization projects.

Benefits

  • Strong focus on cultural development and performance improvement.
  • Involvement in shaping training and leadership programs.
  • Opportunities for international travel and global collaboration.
  • Supportive work environment fostering diverse techniques for process improvement.
Full Job Description
The Director of Global Culture and Continual Improvement reports to the Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and is responsible for shaping and sustaining a high-performance values-driven culture aligned with the Gleason Business Principles while driving continuous improvement methodologies that support a structured problem-solving approach throughout the organization.

Key Responsibilities:
  • Culture Development and Assimilation
    • Develops and executes a global set of initiatives oriented around key elements of culture evolution which is aligned with the company's vision, values and strategies.
    • Is the global champion for supporting the creation and delivery of training for the Gleason Business Principles which is the foundation for the Company's cultural aspirations.
    • Leads a sustainable process to ensure the training is exhibited through action on a daily basis - supported and practiced by the Leadership team and aligned with Strategy Deployment goals and the Corporate Objectives.
    • Through established metrics, CEI (Culture Evolution Index) demonstrates progress (and countermeasures, where needed) on a semiannual basis.
    • Conducts the annual Leadership Development Program - ensuring that the content is relevant, drives improvements and most importantly, engages our high potential talent with Gleason's approach to the Core Behaviors and Process Principles - with a focus on structured problem-solving methodologies.
    • Partners with executive leadership to embed cultural principles into business practices, leadership behaviors and employee interactions.
    • Leads global initiatives to assess, evolve, and reinforce culture through data-driven insights and employee feedback.
    • Integrates culture into onboarding, training and leadership development programs.
    • Serves as a cultural ambassador, fostering inclusion, collaboration, and accountability across all levels of the organization.
    • Leads change management efforts to support cultural transformation and organizational agility.
  • Continual Improvement
    • Develops and leads continual improvement strategies based on structured problem-solving methodologies (Six Steps of Problem Solving).
    • Identifies specific areas for process optimization that could lead to global best practices throughout the organization.
    • Develops other leaders to become problem solving experts - thus, multiplying continual improvement efforts.
    • Facilitates cross-organizational continual improvement projects to optimize key processes.
    • Champions continual improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, PDCA, etc.) to enhance operational efficiency and innovation.
  • Talent Management Initiatives
    • Is responsible for supporting existing talent management efforts through a systemic and robust process, driven by metrics and countermeasures, where appropriate
    • Using KPI's and automation drives improvements to the existing TM process so that it is easily viewable, measurable and actionable.
    • Reports on the overall progress of our Talent Management initiative on a semiannual basis

Key Competencies:
  • PEOPLE - Comfortable with multiple cultures. Familiar with talent management best practices. Supports the company culture of continuous improvement by demonstrating a leadership role in a structured approach to global consistency (through the Gleason Business Principles). Strong communication skills both verbal and written with the ability to align multiple teams around a stated mission.
  • PROCESS - Passionate about business process improvement. Develops a detailed knowledge of key business processes within the organization. Provides the environment where employees collaboratively launch process improvement initiatives focused on ensuring the company's quality systems are robust and aligned with customer satisfaction metrics.
  • PERFORMANCE - drives a "results-oriented" culture where milestones and critical metrics are routinely achieved. When targeted goals are not reached, establishment of effective countermeasures ensures long term metrics are not compromised.


Education/Experience/Training:
  • The successful candidate will have a minimum of 8 years of experience in culture transformation and continuous improvement in a highly engineered product portfolio.
  • Candidates will have a four-year university degree with formalized training (and positive results) in problem solving methodologies.
  • Prior experience in different disciplines (especially in Quality) would be beneficial to understand all aspects of an organization's processes.
  • Extensive travel (20% to 30%) is essential for this job (internationally as well as domestic)
  • Strong facilitation, coaching and change management skills required.
  • Strategic thinker with a passion for people, processes and performance
  • Empathetic leader who fosters trust, transparency and collaboration.
  • Data-driven decision-maker with a continual learning mindset.
  • Must have a proven ability to develop training materials and to deliver these concepts to diverse teams and geographies, resulting in global process improvements.


The salary range in this posting depends on qualifications and experience. Actual compensation may vary, and this job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee, which is always dependent on relevant experience, qualifications/education, and other factors including work schedule, shift premiums, and overtime.

OFFICE ENVIRONMENT

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that would need to be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job in an office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job may include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job in an office environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to moving mechanical parts. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, experience and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed. Employees are required to follow any other instructions and to perform any other duties requested by their manager or supervisor.

DISCLAIMER

The duties listed in this job description are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed and is not an all inclusive summary of job duties and responsibilities. The omission of specific statements or duties and responsibilities does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the Company as the needs of the Company and requirements of the job change.

About Gleason Corporation

Gleason Corporation is a global leader in the technology of gearing. The company designs, manufactures and services a wide range of high-performance, high-precision gears and gear systems for automotive, aerospace, energy, mining, construction, and other industrial markets. Gleason’s products include gear cutting machines, gear grinding machines, gear inspection machines, gear hobs, gear shapers, gear shaving machines, and gear honing machines. The company also provides a range of aftermarket services, including spare parts, field service, and training. Gleason has manufacturing operations in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, India, China, and Japan, and sales and service offices in more than 50 countries.
Learn more about Gleason Corporation
Size
2,500 employees
Industry
Founded
1865

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