Manager, Strategic Programs & Operations

Heritage - Crystal Clean LLC•Hoffman Estates, IL

About The Position

Crystal Clean is a leading provider of parts cleaning, used oil re-refining, and environmental services to industrial and automotive customers across North America. Backed by a private equity sponsor with an active value creation agenda, we are in the middle of an ambitious multi-year growth program — expanding service lines, acquiring and integrating businesses, deploying enterprise technology, and driving EBITDA performance across a growing national operation. This is not a company in maintenance mode. This is a company building. The Manager, Strategic Programs & Operations will sit at the center of that work. Reporting directly to the Director of Corporate Development & Strategic Initiatives, this is a high-visibility individual contributor role with direct C-suite exposure from day one. You will own major strategic workstreams end-to-end — not support them, not coordinate around them — own them. That means driving outcomes, managing executive stakeholders, building the materials that inform major decisions, and ensuring that the company's most critical initiatives actually land. This is not an administrative or project coordination role. It is an execution and judgment role. The right candidate will be someone who has built the analytical and communication toolkit in consulting or a similar environment, and is now ready to apply it with real operating ownership — where the work you do directly shapes how the business performs and how it grows. If you have spent the last several years in consulting building the toolkit — structured problem-solving, executive communication, financial analysis, stakeholder management — and you are ready to apply it somewhere the work actually sticks, this role is worth a serious look. You will have direct exposure to the CEO, CFO, COO, and private equity sponsors from day one. You will work on live M&A deal flow, multi-year value creation programs, and enterprise transformation initiatives — not case studies, not decks that get handed off. The decisions you help structure and the programs you help execute will have real EBITDA consequences and show up in how this business performs. The function is growing. The expectation is that the right person grows with it — taking on greater ownership, developing functional expertise, and building a track record in an environment where strong performers get noticed quickly. If you want stability without sacrificing intellectual challenge, operating ownership without the chaos of a startup, and the opportunity to genuinely influence major decisions inside a growing enterprise — this is the role. Crystal Clean LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Crystal Clean expressly values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and encourages the applications of individuals from diverse backgrounds, so that Crystal Clean reflects the communities and customers that we serve.

Requirements

4–7 years of progressive experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, or corporate development. Big 4 or strategy consulting backgrounds are strongly preferred — particularly candidates ready to transition from advisory work to in-house operating ownership.
Proven ability to independently manage complex, cross-functional workstreams with senior stakeholders and competing priorities.
Ownership mindset: You drive workstreams to completion. You don't wait to be told what to do next, and you don't hand things back unfinished.
Structured thinking: You break ambiguous problems into clear frameworks and build analyses that lead to decisions — not more analysis.
Executive communication: You write and present with precision. Your materials go to leadership as-is.
Influence without authority: You move cross-functional work forward through relationships and credibility, not a reporting line. You know when to push, when to build consensus, and when to escalate.
Financial fluency: Comfortable with EBITDA analysis, acquisition multiples, and business case construction. Analytically rigorous without needing to be a full financial modeler.
Adaptability: You perform when priorities shift, scope expands, and multiple high-stakes workstreams are running simultaneously.
Technical proficiency: Advanced PowerPoint and Excel, SharePoint, business intelligence tools. Comfort with AI productivity tools is a genuine plus in this environment.
Bachelor's degree required.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to value creation, M&A, or deal support processes — in a consulting, advisory, or corporate development context — is a strong plus.
Experience in PE-backed or high-growth operating environments is beneficial but not required.
MBA or equivalent graduate degree is a strong plus, particularly for candidates transitioning from consulting.
Comfort with AI productivity tools is a genuine plus in this environment.

Responsibilities

Take direct ownership of execution management for Crystal Clean's highest-priority strategic growth initiatives — translating leadership direction into structured programs with clear milestones, accountability, and measurable EBITDA impact.
Drive workstream-level execution across multi-year value creation programs, coordinating across commercial, operational, and functional leaders to ensure initiative commitments are met on time and on target.
Build and maintain the program infrastructure — governance cadences, progress reporting, risk tracking, and stakeholder alignment — that gives leadership real-time visibility into initiative health.
Operate without formal authority across a matrixed organization; move work forward through relationships, credibility, and the quality of your thinking.
Support active M&A deal execution: target screening, financial analysis (EBITDA normalization, acquisition multiples, return modeling), due diligence coordination, and preparation of deal materials for senior leadership review.
Maintain pipeline tracking and coordinate across legal, finance, and operations on live processes, serving as the connective tissue that keeps deal timelines intact.
Contribute to acquisition memos, investment summaries, and post-close integration planning.
Develop C-suite and board-level deliverables independently — strategy memos, leadership presentations, operating review materials, and analytical frameworks — that drive alignment and inform major decisions.
Translate complex, multi-workstream initiatives into clear, structured narratives that land with senior executives and PE sponsors.
Prepare materials for leadership operating reviews, strategic planning sessions, and sponsor meetings with minimal oversight.
Own the execution of major enterprise deployments — including technology platform rollouts, CRM implementations, and AI program workstreams — from planning through adoption measurement.
Manage vendor relationships, milestone accountability, and stakeholder communications; surface risks early and drive resolution.
Build the analytical frameworks and financial analyses that underpin major strategic decisions: business cases, scenario models, initiative ROI, and market benchmarking.
Synthesize inputs from across the business into clear, structured outputs that inform where leadership places its bets.