How to hire a continuous improvement & operational excellence team
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Hiring in continuous improvement & operational excellence starts with the work your team cannot leave uncovered.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Manufacturing only
- We reach people who aren't on job boards
- Replacement guarantee on standard searches
Start with responsibility
Hiring in continuous improvement & operational excellence starts with the work your team cannot leave uncovered. Related jobs can require different judgment about the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network. Decide which decisions about improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints this hire must own and which stay with a manager or specialist. That distinction keeps an impressive title from becoming the wrong answer to a vacancy involving the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network.
Build the continuous improvement & operational excellence brief with the manager who will use the hire's judgment. Agree the operating conditions and approval limits around the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network before interviews. The roles below help separate responsibility for the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network from responsibility for improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints. Use those differences to design your team, not to assume every continuous improvement & operational excellence position must be added.
VP of Operational Excellence
In the VP of Operational Excellence opening, establish who owns the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network. A candidate can contribute to the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a deployment decision that changed how plant leaders managed daily work and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for VP of Operational Excellence is executive operating-system ownership rather than facilitation of isolated workshops. Explain executive operating-system ownership rather than facilitation of isolated workshops in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in operational excellence executives with accountable manufacturing networks may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Director of Continuous Improvement
In the Director of Continuous Improvement opening, establish who owns improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints. A candidate can contribute to improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a project selection decision that rejected unsupported savings and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Director of Continuous Improvement is a defined improvement portfolio rather than every business transformation. Explain a defined improvement portfolio rather than every business transformation in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in continuous improvement directors leading plant-based improvement teams may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Lean Specialist / Coordinator
In the Lean Specialist / Coordinator opening, establish who owns improvement work with operators and supervisors at the process. A candidate can contribute to improvement work with operators and supervisors at the process without being accountable for the decision. Ask for a standard-work change that operators could actually maintain and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for improvement work with operators and supervisors at the process, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Lean Specialist / Coordinator is facilitation and coaching rather than unilateral production authority. Explain facilitation and coaching rather than unilateral production authority in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in lean specialists working inside plants with practical daily-management routines may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for improvement work with operators and supervisors at the process, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Master Black Belt
In the Master Black Belt opening, establish who owns technical coaching and statistical review of improvement projects. A candidate can contribute to technical coaching and statistical review of improvement projects without being accountable for the decision. Ask for an analysis that challenged the project's data or causal explanation and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for technical coaching and statistical review of improvement projects, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for Master Black Belt is project coaching rather than claiming personal ownership of all savings. Explain project coaching rather than claiming personal ownership of all savings in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in experienced improvement practitioners mentoring technical project leaders may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for technical coaching and statistical review of improvement projects, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
TPM Manager / Coordinator
In the TPM Manager / Coordinator opening, establish who owns equipment-care routines shared by production and maintenance. A candidate can contribute to equipment-care routines shared by production and maintenance without being accountable for the decision. Ask for an autonomous-maintenance task that identified a real deterioration mechanism and identify the part they personally controlled. That helps you choose the independence needed for equipment-care routines shared by production and maintenance, instead of using seniority words as a substitute for the remit.
The important boundary for TPM Manager / Coordinator is operator care versus repairs requiring qualified maintenance personnel. Explain operator care versus repairs requiring qualified maintenance personnel in the interview and in the offer. Someone working in TPM leaders in equipment-intensive plants with joint maintenance routines may be familiar with similar work but have different authority. Ask what support they would need for equipment-care routines shared by production and maintenance, then check whether that support exists rather than assuming the transfer is automatic.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Choose the handoff and hiring sequence
A move from the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network to improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints is not automatically a seniority ladder. Your organization may need both the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network and improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints, or may divide the work differently. State the handoff for the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network before deciding which vacancy goes first. A candidate should understand who decides when the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network conflicts with improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints. That is a continuous improvement & operational excellence team-design question, not something to answer by choosing the more impressive title.
Find the relevant background
The continuous improvement & operational excellence search should use a different qualification discussion for each remit. For VP of Operational Excellence, start with a deployment decision that changed how plant leaders managed daily work. For Director of Continuous Improvement, start with a project selection decision that rejected unsupported savings. Then ask whether the person wants responsibility for the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network under your working conditions. Moving from operational excellence executives with accountable manufacturing networks may bring useful experience, but it does not automatically establish a defined improvement portfolio rather than every business transformation. Investigate the gap around improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints rather than stretching the candidate's title.
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Agree the interview before outreach
Before starting the continuous improvement & operational excellence search, agree the practical interview your team will use. Choose a decision about the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network and let the person explain the evidence behind it. Check credentials relevant to improvement leaders and projects tied to plant operating constraints, rather than collecting unrelated certificates. Keep confidential plant information out of the the operating system and improvement priorities across a plant network exercise. We approach people doing comparable continuous improvement & operational excellence work now and discuss whether the actual remit and working conditions make a move sensible.
Discuss the role you need to fill
Ready to start? Tell us the seat.
Executive-search discipline, on every assignment
What do you get from the Six-Step Search?
Plant leaders, engineers and skilled technicians receive the same care in defining the work, researching relevant backgrounds and understanding the individual. Pulling a list and sending messages is not the hard part. The value is doing the research and qualification well enough to support a sound hiring decision.
Calibrate the work and the decision
We start with the operating problem, what the hire must improve and the decisions they will own. We agree what experience matters, who supports the role and what you can realistically offer. A maintenance leader inheriting reactive breakdowns needs a different brief from one building a reliability program.
Research relevant plants and people
We research manufacturing environments where people have handled comparable work. Process, equipment and decision authority matter more than a matching title. We look for relevant professionals, including people who are not applying, rather than treating an exported list as a completed search.
Make respectful, targeted contact
We explain why the work may be relevant and invite a conversation without pressure. We agree what information may be shared on a confidential search. Contact is the start of qualification, not evidence that someone wants the job or fits it.
Discuss the work they personally performed
Our conversations separate an individual's decisions and responsibilities from the team's results. We explore judgment under pressure, reasons for considering a move and practical expectations. For technicians, that includes equipment background, shift, commute and the support available. Candidate accounts are identified as such; a conversation is not a technical certification.
Write down fit, gaps and open questions
You receive a written candidate brief connecting the person's background to your operating problem. It explains motivation and practical fit, the gaps we have identified and what remains to assess. We distinguish candidate-reported information from supporting evidence rather than presenting every statement as independently verified.
Stay involved through interviews and offers
We use your interview feedback to clarify gaps and keep both sides informed about the work and expectations. We help address offer questions, counteroffers and practical concerns without promising an acceptance. Your team makes the hiring decision and assesses technical capability and site-specific requirements. A shortlist is an output of this work, not the whole service.
Questions before starting a search
When do you pay a recruiting fee?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement sets the fee basis and payment terms. Sending an opening does not itself commit you to a fee or an exclusive arrangement.
How long does it take to see a short list?
We discuss the search conditions before describing a realistic next step. Shift, location, equipment match and the candidate's reasons for moving all matter. We do not promise a shortlist date before understanding the opening.
How do you handle counteroffers?
We ask what is driving the move before introducing a candidate. We discuss what might change if the current employer offers more money or a different job. Your team still decides whether that person's motivation fits the opening.
What replacement terms apply?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What do you not do?
We do not bill hourly for a standard permanent search, repost a job-board ad as a search, or supply high-volume general labor. Retainers are not the default. Any different arrangement must be agreed in writing.
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