Continuous Improvement Manager

Regal Rexnord•Downers Grove, IL

26d•Onsite

About The Position

The Site RBS Manager is responsible for deploying the Regal Rexnord Business System at the Downers Grove site to drive operational excellence, improve business performance, and build a sustainable culture of continuous improvement. This role partners with the Plant Manager and site leadership team to translate business priorities into an actionable CI Roadmap, apply Lean and RBS methodologies, coach structured problem solving, develop site capability, and deliver measurable improvements in Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, Inventory, and Growth outcomes. Reporting to the Downers Grove Plant Manager, the Site RBS Manager will work closely with site operations, functional leaders, the Director of RBS, and division or segment RBS leadership as needed to align improvement priorities, build leader standard work, strengthen daily management, and sustain results through disciplined execution.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, operations, supply chain, business, or a related technical field required.
Minimum of five years of relevant experience in manufacturing, operations, continuous improvement, Lean deployment, operational excellence, or a related business transformation environment.
Demonstrated hands-on experience applying Lean, continuous improvement, or business system methods in a manufacturing or operations setting.
Strong knowledge of Daily Management, KPI leadership, Standard Work, Gemba walks, visual management, structured problem solving, and PDCA-based execution.
Experience leading kaizen events, improvement workshops, cross-functional projects, and action plans that produce measurable operational and financial results.
Strong facilitation, coaching, communication, and change leadership skills with the ability to influence leaders and associates across functions.
Ability to use data and facts to define performance gaps, prioritize improvement activity, communicate business impact, and sustain results.
Demonstrated ability to develop people, build capability, and create engagement around continuous improvement practices.
Strong business acumen, analytical capability, and understanding of manufacturing operations, supply chain, quality, and financial performance drivers.
A proactive, collaborative, and hands-on leader who models continuous improvement behaviors and helps teams build ownership for results.

Nice To Haves

Travel required (0-25%)

Responsibilities

Lead deployment of the Regal Rexnord Business System at the site, including one common framework, one common language, and consistent expectations for daily management, problem solving, standard work, and continuous improvement.
Partner with the Plant Manager and site leadership team to develop, maintain, and execute the site CI Roadmap aligned to business priorities, Core Value Drivers, and measurable SQDCG performance gaps.
Coach leaders and teams in structured problem solving, Gemba-based observation, PDCA thinking, root cause analysis, countermeasure development, and sustainment of improvements.
Facilitate improvement events, kaizen activities, workshops, and cross-functional initiatives that improve safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, growth, customer experience, and associate engagement.
Deploy and strengthen Lean and RBS practices across the site, including Daily Management, Hour-by-Hour tracking, Andon systems, Standard Work, visual management, 5S, value stream thinking, and KPI leadership.
Identify and support opportunities for flow improvement, layout optimization, SKU optimization, inventory reduction, productivity improvement, and supply chain resilience.
Build site capability by identifying, coaching, and developing Tool Champions and by helping leaders and associates become more self-sufficient in applying RBS methods.
Develop and maintain strong working relationships with operations, quality, supply chain, engineering, finance, human resources, and other functional stakeholders to align priorities and remove barriers to execution.
Measure, report, and communicate progress against CI Roadmap actions, site KPIs, project benefits, and sustainment metrics using clear data, facts, and business impact.
Support change management and adoption of new or improved processes by engaging stakeholders, communicating expectations, coaching leaders, and ensuring improvements are embedded into standard work.
Maintain appropriate project documentation, action plans, status updates, executive summaries, and records needed to track progress, escalate risks, and sustain improvement work.