National Director of Continuous Improvement and Plant Operations

Company: Daniels Health
Location: Chicago
Posted on: January 17, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description What is your Purpose Spearhead strategic direction and operational excellence of the company’s plant network while advancing business infrastructure development to support growth. This role is key to not only optimizing plant equipment performance and reliability but also building resilience and scalable foundation that propels business growth. By integrating state-of-the-art infrastructure initiatives with daily operational practices, the director ensures the company remains at the forefront of the medical waste sector in efficiency, innovation, and sustainability. The role will support multiple Business Unit Plant Managers through implementing industry leading metrics, practices, process safety and compliance standards. What you will do: Strategic Leadership -Develop and execute a national plant infrastructure strategy aligned with short term target and long term organizational objectives -Develop strategic plant infrastructure growth-centric plans to support business expansion initiatives -Drive plant operational excellence and continuous improvement initiatives -Manage capital expenditure for plant infrastructure -Lead national standardization of plant and equipment across all business units -Develop and improve Computerized Maintenance Management Systems -Lead a Safety Culture pertaining to process safety -Collaborate with internal stakeholders to achieve organizational grow strategies Operational Management -Optimize workflow and processes in plant operations -Establish and monitor plant and equipment KPIs to drive equipment performance and reliabilityEnsure awareness and compliance with all regulations -Develop organizational safety and compliance process safety programs -Implement proactive risk management and contingency planning measures to ensure that infrastructure upgrades do not disrupt ongoing operations and can support business scalability Team Leadership -Foster a culture of safety and operational excellence -Coach high-performing transport teams across the Business Units -Develop and mentor direct report and Business Unit Directors and Operations Managers Business Improvement and Growth -Lead infrastructure location selection, development and investment projects -Steer capital project initiatives that focus on modernizing plant facilities and integrating digital tools and automation, aligning infrastructure investments with long-term business growth objectives -Identifying opportunities to integrate new infrastructure technologies that drive competitive advantage -Collaborate with Sales and to ensure plant location and capacity in line with new business opportunities pipeline -Collaborate with National Director Transport to improve centroid positioning, improving access to market opportunities and reducing average mile per route -Develop internal strategic partnerships and coordinate with key stakeholders (P&C, Sales, National support roles across the business) to deploy business learnings within the business unit, accelerate improvement and growth opportunities What are you responsible for: Strategic Objectives -Develop and deploy plant infrastructure strategies to ensure capacity and serviceability in line with projected opportunity pipeline -Enhance competitive positioning, leverage infrastructure modernization to maintain industry leadership, enabling quicker adaptation to market opportunities and evolving regulatory environments -Support business growth and expansion initiatives -Drive strategic planning in line with business development objectives -Continuously optimize workflow design to minimize cost and improve performance -Drive safety performance improvement strategies -Develop and improve plant equipment efficiency metrics -Implement standardized operations processes in line with national objectives -Implement equipment management and maintenance strategies -Implement new, and manage and improve existing equipment -Develop transport policies, procedures, and best practices Team Leadership -Provide direction and coordinate plant continuous improvement, engineering and property teams -Coordinate staff onboarding, training and development programs -Lead performance evaluations and team development initiatives -Foster a culture of safety and plant operational excellence -Build strong relationships with key stakeholders -Coordinate with National Functional Teams (National Transport, Sales, P&C, Legal and Finance) Performance Management -Monitor and manage the 4 pillars of operation management Safety, Compliance, Service, and Efficiency -Develop key plant equipment performance indicators (KPIs) -Analyze and improve plant equipment metrics -Analyze plant equipment uptime breakdown ratios -Implement cost reduction and efficiency improvementsImprove process workflow -Manage plant equipment related vendor relationships and contracts -Report on plant equipment reliability and performance to leadership Key Performance Indicators -Successful implementation of infrastructure upgrades, ROI on capital projects, and integration of technology solutions that reduce operational costs and or drive new revenue -Plant equipment processing rates and times -New business plant capacity -Plant centroid location to customer base -Plant utilization metrics -Safety and compliance performance indicators -Team engagement and retention rates Candidate Profile Skills & Qualifications -Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Mathematics, Operations Management, Engineering or related field preferred -10 years of senior plant or infrastructure experience at management level -Maintenance systems implementation experience -Business growth experience -Capital budgeting experience -Proven leadership and team development capabilities Core Competencies -Strategic planning and execution -Complex business analytics -Systems, process and technology implementation -Change management -Exceptional multistakeholder management -Team leadership, influence and inspiration -Team mentoring and development -Transport capital planning and budgeting -Risk and compliance management Work Environment Hybrid – Support Office and work from home, remote travel as required “The pay range for this position is $170,000 to $190,000 base salary with potential eligible bonus incentive. Actual compensation within this range will depend on factors unique to each candidate, such as prior experience, skill, certifications, and work location. Pay variations by location reflect local conditions and differences in the cost of labor. At Daniels Health, we are committed to supporting our employees’ well-being, work-life balance, and career growth through a comprehensive benefit package. Eligible employees enjoy benefits such as medical, dental, and vision insurance, retirement savings plans with company match contributions, paid vacation and sick time, wellness resources, life insurance, and professional development opportunities.” We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Keywords: Daniels Health, South Bend , National Director of Continuous Improvement and Plant Operations, Engineering , Chicago, Indiana