Manager - Operational Excellence

Stiles Machinery

$95K — $115K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Project Management, Quality or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Five or more years of experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, quality, management systems, compliance, internal controls, auditing or a related function.
  • Working knowledge of ISO management systems, internal auditing, corrective action, root-cause analysis, process documentation and performance management.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders without relying on direct authority.
  • Strong analytical, facilitation, written communication, presentation, project-management and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

  • Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives that enhance safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash, and customer outcomes.
  • Identify operational issues, facilitate root-cause analysis, and drive corrective actions to resolution.
  • Lead project closeout sessions to convert findings into reusable standards and tracked improvements.
  • Establish methods to prioritize and monitor continuous-improvement activities and report measurable benefits.
  • Own and champion the Business Operating System, including governance and deployment activities.
  • Coordinate the company goal-setting process to align strategic objectives and performance measures.
  • Conduct management systems audits and support external audit processes.

Benefits

  • Influence the organization's operational practices through scalable processes and sustainability.
  • Collaborate with leaders across functions on impactful initiatives with measurable results.
  • Translate strategic priorities into clear goals and accountable execution.
  • Gain experience in a global engineering and manufacturing context where excellence enhances performance.
  • Tackle complex, high-visibility challenges with structure and continuous-improvement leadership.
Full Job Description
What You'll Do:

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

  • Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives that strengthen safety, quality, delivery, cost, cash and customer outcomes.
  • Identify recurring operational and project issues, facilitate root-cause analysis, and drive corrective and preventive actions through verified closure.
  • Lead project closeout and lessons-learned sessions, converting findings into reusable standards and tracked improvement actions.
  • Establish methods to prioritize, charter, monitor and report continuous-improvement activities and measurable benefits.
  • Promote accountability, standard work, fact-based decision-making and sustained improvement.


Business Operating System Governance

  • Own and serve as the local champion for the Business Operating System (BOS), including governance, deployment, maintenance and periodic review.
  • Partner with process owners to develop and improve policies, procedures, work instructions, process maps, templates and standard work.
  • Define document ownership, review cycles, approval requirements and change-control expectations.
  • Coordinate the local implementation of global business-system and continuous-improvement requirements, escalating gaps when local operational needs differ.
  • Facilitate process standardization across functions and sites while maintaining necessary customer, regulatory and operational requirements.


Strategy Deployment and Performance Management

  • Coordinate the annual company goal-setting and deployment process, including alignment, ownership, measures, targets and review cadence.
  • Maintain visibility into progress against strategic objectives and facilitate escalation and recovery planning for off-track goals.
  • Coordinate leadership dashboards, KPI reporting and performance updates with clear definitions, ownership, data sources and action tracking.
  • Analyze performance trends and translate findings into focused improvement priorities and leadership decisions.


Management Systems, Audits and Internal Controls

  • Coordinate certification, surveillance and recertification activities for applicable management systems, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
  • Develop and maintain the internal audit program, including schedules, auditor coordination, findings, corrective actions and closure verification.
  • Coordinate quarterly Internal Control System audits and track findings, owners, deadlines, supporting evidence and completion.
  • Support external audits and information requests by coordinating documentation, subject-matter experts, responses and follow-up actions.
  • Monitor audit readiness and communicate material risks, recurring findings, systemic issues and overdue actions to leadership.
  • Preserve audit objectivity by coordinating with process owners and independent auditors when directly responsible for the process being reviewed.


Customer and Cross-Functional Improvement

  • Coordinate customer-experience improvement activities with Sales and other responsible functions, including issue trends, ownership and progress reporting.
  • Build cross-functional and multi-site partnerships to remove barriers, clarify accountability and sustain improvements.
  • Facilitate workshops, process reviews and leadership discussions with clear decisions, action owners and deadlines.
  • Perform other related duties as assigned.


What You'll Bring

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Project Management, Quality or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Five or more years of experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, quality, management systems, compliance, internal controls, auditing or a related function.
  • Working knowledge of ISO management systems, internal auditing, corrective action, root-cause analysis, process documentation and performance management.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence stakeholders without relying on direct authority.
  • Strong analytical, facilitation, written communication, presentation, project-management and organizational skills.
  • Ability to manage competing priorities, maintain accurate records and drive actions through completion.
  • Sound judgment, integrity, attention to detail and the ability to provide constructive challenge.


Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience within a manufacturing, engineering, automotive or project-based environment.
  • Lean, Six Sigma, ISO auditing, quality management, project management or change management training or certification.
  • Experience with KPI dashboards, data visualization, workflow tools and document-control systems.
  • Experience coordinating global or multi-site process deployments.
  • Experience presenting performance insights, risks and improvement recommendations to senior leadership.


Why Join Us

  • Influence how the organization operates by building scalable processes, stronger governance and sustainable improvement practices.
  • Partner with leaders and teams across functions and locations on initiatives with measurable business and customer impact.
  • Help translate strategic priorities into clear goals, performance measures and accountable execution.
  • Work within a global engineering and manufacturing environment where operational excellence directly supports business performance.
  • Bring structure, insight and continuous-improvement leadership to complex, high-visibility challenges.


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