Business Systems and Continuous Improvement Manager

Job Summary:

The Business Systems & Continuous Improvement Manager is responsible for the strategic oversight, governance, support, and continuous improvement of the business systems, business processes, reporting, knowledge management, and organizational change initiatives that support Vann Brothers operations.

This position serves as the connection point between technology and business operations, ensuring systems, people, processes, and information work together as a scalable and sustainable business ecosystem.

The role extends beyond traditional information technology responsibilities. The successful candidate will lead business process standardization, system adoption, continuous improvement initiatives, training programs, change management efforts, and technology governance while supporting day-to-day operational needs across orchard operations, production, warehouse, quality, accounting, and administration.

The Business Systems & Continuous Improvement Manager will champion a culture of operational excellence and ensure Vann Brothers' business infrastructure evolves to support long-term growth, efficiency, and innovation.

Primary Responsibilities

Business Systems Leadership & Governance

Serve as the owner of Vann Brothers' business systems ecosystem, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 and related enterprise applications, reporting environments, Microsoft technologies, custom applications, and supporting business systems.

Responsibilities include:

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive business systems roadmap.
• Establish system governance processes and ownership structures.
• Manage application lifecycle planning and system modernization initiatives.
• Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies, automation opportunities, and AI solutions.
• Oversee software licensing, compliance, renewals, and vendor relationships.
• Maintain a complete business systems inventory and architecture map.
• Ensure system scalability aligns with business growth objectives.

Business Process Excellence

Lead the development and maintenance of standardized business processes across all departments.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish and maintain the Vann Business Process Library.
• Facilitate process documentation, mapping, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Partner with department leaders to standardize workflows and eliminate inefficiencies.
• Define process ownership and accountability structures.
• Develop process performance metrics and KPI frameworks.
• Promote operational consistency across all business functions.

Change Management & Release Governance

Create a disciplined framework for managing organizational and system changes.

Responsibilities include:

• Develop and manage enterprise change management procedures.
• Chair or facilitate Change Advisory Board (CAB) meetings.
• Maintain a company-wide release calendar.
• Conduct impact assessments for system and process changes.
• Coordinate testing, validation, training, and deployment activities.
• Ensure stakeholder communication and adoption planning are incorporated into all major initiatives.
• Lead post-implementation reviews and lessons learned activities.

Continuous Improvement Program Leadership

Build and sustain a culture of ongoing improvement.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish an enterprise-wide continuous improvement program.
• Develop an improvement intake and prioritization process.
• Evaluate opportunities for automation, workflow optimization, and process simplification.
• Define and measure return-on-investment for improvement projects.
• Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives.
• Facilitate strategic planning workshops and process review sessions.

Data, Reporting & Analytics Governance

Ensure business decisions are supported by accurate, trusted, and actionable information.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish data ownership and data governance standards.
• Standardize KPI definitions and reporting methodologies.
• Promote a "single source of truth" reporting strategy.
• Partner with business leaders to develop dashboards and performance reporting.
• Improve data quality, accessibility, and visibility across the organization.
• Support business intelligence and analytics initiatives.

Learning, Training & Knowledge Management

Develop systems that promote organizational learning and user adoption.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee the development of learning and training resources.
• Establish role-based training and certification programs.
• Create and maintain a centralized knowledge management framework.
• Develop onboarding pathways for new employees.
• Coordinate user adoption efforts for new systems and business practices.
• Support super-user and departmental champion programs.

Information Security & Risk Management

Responsibilities include:

• Establish cybersecurity governance.
• Manage user access controls.
• Coordinate disaster recovery planning.
• Maintain business continuity procedures.
• Conduct periodic access reviews.
• Partner with external security providers.

Vendor & Partner Management

Manage strategic relationships with software providers, consultants, and service partners.

Responsibilities include:

• Negotiate and manage software and service agreements.
• Monitor licensing compliance and utilization.
• Manage vendor performance and service delivery expectations.
• Facilitate escalations and issue resolution.
• Identify opportunities to improve value and reduce costs.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with leaders across:

• Farm Operations
• Production
• Warehouse Operations
• Quality Assurance
• Finance
• Human Resources
• Executive Leadership

to ensure systems and processes support business objectives and operational excellence.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Information Systems, Operations Management, Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum 7-10 years of experience leading business systems, ERP environments, operational excellence programs, or business process improvement initiatives.
• Experience leading enterprise software implementations or major system enhancements.
• Strong understanding of business process mapping and workflow optimization.
• Demonstrated success managing organizational change initiatives.
• Experience working with third-party vendors and software providers.
• Strong project and program management capabilities.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience in agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, supply chain, or distribution environments.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or similar ERP platforms.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence methodologies.
• Experience with Power Platform, Business Intelligence, and workflow automation tools.
• Change Management certification (Prosci, CCMP, or equivalent).
• Project Management certification (PMP or equivalent).

Core Competencies

The ideal candidate is:

Strategic

• Systems thinker
• Long-term planner
• Business-focused decision maker

Operational

• Process improvement leader
• Change manager
• Program manager

Technical

• Strong understanding of enterprise systems
• Data and analytics mindset
• Technology roadmap development

Leadership

• Influences across departments
• Builds trust and accountability
• Develops future leaders and champions

Communication

• Excellent facilitator
• Skilled trainer and coach
• Effective communicator with executive leadership and frontline employees

Success Metrics

First 12 Months

• Complete enterprise systems inventory.
• Establish system ownership framework.
• Launch Business Process Library.
• Implement formal change governance process.
• Create training and knowledge management strategy.

Years 2–3

• Establish continuous improvement portfolio.
• Improve user adoption metrics for core systems.
• Implement integrated knowledge base and training framework.
• Reduce business disruption from poorly governed changes.
• Increase operational efficiency through automation and process standardization.
• Deliver measurable ROI from technology and process improvement investments.

Position Mission Statement

The Business Systems & Continuous Improvement Manager is responsible for aligning technology, business processes, people, and information to create a scalable, efficient, and continuously improving operating environment. The position ensures that enterprise systems enable informed decision-making, operational excellence, and long-term business growth.