Continuous Improvement Director

Description

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in environmental services and the development of food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company builds, owns, and operates on-farm anaerobic digestion facilities and continues to scale through an extensive national expansion of its Farm Powered ® platform. It is committed to advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative agriculture on partner farms. Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock.

The Continuous Improvement Director will lead the design, deployment, and governance of continuous improvement initiatives across Vanguard Renewables’ growing national footprint. Leveraging Lean, Six Sigma, quality management, and data-driven methodologies, this role ensures that Operations, Procurement, Engineering, and field teams are supported by best-in-class processes that increase efficiency, optimize production, and enable scalable growth.

This position plays a critical role in driving organizational excellence across a complex, distributed network of anaerobic digestion and recycling facilities; an environment requiring strong cross-functional leadership, deep analytical capability, and a hands-on approach to process optimization. The Director will help sustain the company’s expansion and operational excellence goals as it scales.

Responsibilities

Continuous Improvement Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and implement a companywide continuous improvement roadmap aligned with Vanguard’s expansion plans and operating model.
• Establish continuous improvement standards, governance, and reporting frameworks for all facilities and operational divisions.
• Lead improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, root cause analysis, and structured problem-solving methodologies.
• Build Continuous Improvement capability across the organization by training, coaching, and mentoring team members.
  
  

Operational Excellence & Process Optimization

• Partner with Operations, Procurement, and Engineering teams to evaluate performance, remove inefficiencies, and drive consistency across facilities.
• Analyze plant performance, reliability, and throughput to identify improvement priorities and maximize uptime.
• Standardize workflows, procedures, and performance indicators across multiple states and facility types, supporting the company’s operational strategy.
• Lead Kaizen events, value stream mapping, process redesign, and other continuous improvement focused workshops.
  
  

Data, Quality & Performance Management

• Develop tools, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms to track continuous improvement metrics, OEE, waste reduction, and process capability.
• Integrate data from SCADA systems, operational reports, and maintenance records to uncover trends and improvement opportunities.
• Champion a culture of data-driven decision making, accuracy, and transparency.
  
  

Project & Change Management

• Serve as continuous improvement project sponsor and facilitator for improvement initiatives across facility operations, corporate processes, supply chain, and engineering.
• Collaborate with project development and technical teams to ensure smooth transitions from commissioning to steady-state operations, supporting consistency as new facilities come online.
• Lead change management planning, communication, and adoption strategies.
  
  

Safety, Compliance & Sustainability Alignment

• Ensure continuous improvement practices reinforce high standards of EH&S compliance throughout all sites.
• Support the company’s decarbonization and sustainability objectives by reducing waste, optimizing energy use, and strengthening operational consistency.
  
  

Requirements

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain/Procurement, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• 8 years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, or Process Engineering.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification (or equivalent experience).
• Proven experience leading continuous improvement programs in manufacturing, industrial operations, logistics, engineering, or renewable energy.
• Strong analytical and statistical skills with the ability to interpret complex data sets.
• Demonstrated success managing cross-functional teams and driving change in a multi-site environment.
• Exceptional communication and facilitation abilities.
  
  

Preferred

• Experience with renewable energy, anaerobic digestion, or process-plant environments.
• Familiarity with SCADA, industrial automation data, or similar systems.
• Background in high-growth, entrepreneurial or scaling organizations.
  
  

What We Offer

• Comprehensive health insurance benefits, including HSA option, with substantial employer premium contributions.
• Competitive, employer-sponsored (100% paid) dental, vision, and wellness benefits.
• Basic employer-paid life and disability insurance, with optional supplemental life and AD&D coverage.
• 401(k) retirement program with employer match and immediate eligibility.
• Pre-tax Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options to support healthcare and dependent care expenses.
• Education and adoption assistance programs to support personal and family goals.
• Discretionary performance-based bonus opportunity in addition to competitive base salary.
• Robust paid time off supporting flexibility and work-life balance.
• Monthly cell phone and business expense reimbursement.
  
  

Vanguard Renewables is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a work environment that supports, inspires, and respects all individuals and in which personnel processes are merit-based and applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military service status, citizenship, or other protected characteristic.