What does a director of continuous improvement do?
A director of continuous improvement measures and tests corporate procedures to improve production efficiency. Directors of continuous improvement are responsible for the development, planning, scheduling, and budgeting projects to enhance the existing processes. It is part of their job to direct and oversee the department staff's work. They are experienced and highly analytical in terms of project coordination. They foresee hindrances and develop strategic decisions through problem-solving skills. Also, they are considered great mentors with the ability to understand complicated ideas.
Director of continuous improvement responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of continuous improvement resumes:
- Manage a staff of 30+ network, server, and NOC engineers
- Lead the implementation of new ERP systems at both the strategy and detail levels.
- Identify regulatory risk for Mexico technology requirements and lead in-flight RFP for new provider to meet government digital certification requirements.
- Implement ISO throughout the organization as appropriate.
- Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) require for meeting corporate objectives.
- Create and maintains various KPIs for the plasma and material handling departments.
- Identify opportunities and implement business process upgrades to improve ISO certification compliance.
- Assume responsibility for site purchasing controls immediately executing responses to certification audits and FDA preparation.
- Provide technical federal and state safety FDA manufacture regulations, with diverse activities and focuse on quality production.
- Perform as field representative and operational voice in the management and oversight of new and existing initiatives that effect center operations.
- Monitor, track and analyze ACD reports within customer call center.
- Lead Herndon NOC metrics collection, key performance indicator (KPI) definition, and ticket quality initiatives.
- Redesign company procedures establishing first system for GMP compliance.
- Career development including GMP training, technical training, and leadership/management development.
- Surpass all EBITDA projections and maximize incremental revenues through operating cost containment and labor controls.
Director of continuous improvement skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Directors Of Continuous Improvement are proficient in Lean Six Sigma, Healthcare, and Project Management. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Management skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Continuous Improvement that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Lean Six Sigma, 8%
Increased overall efficiency using Lean Six Sigma, significantly reducing test turnaround time.
- Healthcare, 7%
Acted as liaison for healthcare chief operating officer with insurance company representatives.
- Project Management, 6%
Developed standardized project management methodology and project tracking portfolio to assure a standardized approach and accountability to key operational initiatives.
- Six Sigma Training, 6%
Drive out waste (Lean) and variation (Six Sigma) in processes through proper use of tools and training.
- Lean Sigma, 6%
Trained the Lean Sigma body of knowledge to all Midwest Division employees.
- Performance Improvement, 5%
Oversee conduct of financial and service level audits and assessments of performance to identify areas for performance improvement and organizational change.
Common skills that a director of continuous improvement uses to do their job include "lean six sigma," "healthcare," and "project management." You can find details on the most important director of continuous improvement responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a director of continuous improvement to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "top executives must be able to convey information clearly and persuasively." Directors of continuous improvement often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "ensured execution and communication of performance improvement and patient safety activities occured from the department level to board of trustees. "
Leadership skills. This is an important skill for directors of continuous improvement to perform their duties. For an example of how director of continuous improvement responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "top executives must be able to shape and direct an organization by coordinating policies, people, and resources." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of continuous improvement: "collaborated with senior leadership to formulate and implement a performance improvement process for the division. ".
Problem-solving skills. A big part of what directors of continuous improvement do relies on "problem-solving skills." You can see how essential it is to director of continuous improvement responsibilities because "top executives need to identify and resolve issues within an organization." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical director of continuous improvement tasks: "trained over 1,000 employees in the six sigma problem-solving methodology in the first three years of the program. "
Time-management skills. Another common skill required for director of continuous improvement responsibilities is "time-management skills." This skill comes up in the duties of directors of continuous improvement all the time, as "top executives do many tasks concurrently to ensure that their work gets done and that the organization meets its goals." An excerpt from a real director of continuous improvement resume shows how this skill is central to what a director of continuous improvement does: "implemented production site compliance review process to ensure fda inspections were completed on time. "
The three companies that hire the most director of continuous improvements are:
- Sutherland49 directors of continuous improvement jobs
- Builders FirstSource11 directors of continuous improvement jobs
- Nordson7 directors of continuous improvement jobs
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Compare different directors of continuous improvement
Director of continuous improvement vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a director of continuous improvement are more likely to require skills like "lean six sigma," "healthcare," "project management," and "six sigma training." On the other hand, a job as a manager requires skills like "customer service," "payroll," "food safety," and "financial statements." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that managers earn slightly differ from directors of continuous improvement. In particular, managers are 16.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a director of continuous improvement. Additionally, they're 1.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of continuous improvement vs. General manager
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of continuous improvement responsibilities requires skills like "lean six sigma," "healthcare," "project management," and "six sigma training." But a general manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "cleanliness," "food safety," and "guest service."
General managers earn lower levels of education than directors of continuous improvement in general. They're 16.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of continuous improvement vs. Operations manager
Operations managers are in charge of running the main business of the organization. They ensure that the business is running smoothly from an operations standpoint. They make sure that the processes in place produce the necessary output by implementing quality control measures. They also manage finances and ensure that there is enough budget to keep the operations of the business running. They also ensure that the production of goods or services is cost-efficient. Operations managers also handle people-related concerns. They are responsible for interviewing candidates, choosing the ones to hire, and ensuring that individuals assigned to operations are properly trained.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of continuous improvement are more likely to have skills like "lean six sigma," "healthcare," "six sigma training," and "lean sigma." But a operations manager is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "logistics," "payroll," and "powerpoint."
When it comes to education, operations managers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to directors of continuous improvement. In fact, they're 15.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of continuous improvement vs. Assistant store manager
Assistant store managers are considered second-in-command to store managers. They help oversee operations and take over when the manager is unavailable. Assistant store managers may be assigned to focus on certain aspects of store operations such as marketing, finance, human resources, or quality control. They should be familiar with running the store and with all the other tasks needed to be done. Assistant store managers should have decision-making skills, interpersonal skills, and business acumen. They should also be able to do the work usually done on the operations floor in case of a lack of manpower.
Types of director of continuous improvement
Updated January 8, 2025
