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Operational Excellence Manager (OPEX)

Spartan Fire, LLC
United States, South Dakota, Brandon
Mar 05, 2025
Additional Locations:
Requisition ID: 23717
Spartan Emergency Response (Spartan ER) is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of custom emergency response vehicles, cabs, and chassis. Driven by a commitment to quality and innovation, Spartan and its portfolio of brands Spartan Fire Apparatus and Chassis, Smeal Fire Apparatus, and Ladder Tower (LT) offer a broad range of apparatus to meet specific requirements and demands of the fire service industry. Spartan has a rich history in fire apparatus manufacturing with over 250 years of combined experience.
Spartan Emergency Response is part of the larger REV Group (NYSE: REVG), a leading manufacturer of specialty vehicles for the fire & emergency, commercial, and recreation markets. REV Group's extensive vehicle line-up includes models such as ambulances, fire trucks, school buses, terminal trucks, RV's, luxury buses, and much more. Our 6,500+ employees continuously demonstrate their commitment to building innovative and reliable vehicles that our customers can depend on whether for a family trip across the U.S. or when responding to an emergency. Rev Group is a veteran friendly employer and hires over 200 veterans and or those transferring out of the military each year.

The Spartan ER Operational Excellence Manager will identify, prioritize, resource, and execute critical operational excellence process improvements focused on hard savings and improved performance across quality, delivery, cost out, and overall leadership & teamwork in the facility. The OpEx Manager's role will be focused on leading continuous improvement projects that support the business goals of Spartan ER through their Goal Deployment Plan (GDP). The improvement projects will be focused on specific/cross-functional areas involving cross-functional departments such as EHS, Sales, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality and Operations. The intent will be to improve outcomes of the entire Spartan ER value stream processes to improve efficiencies, reduce cost, and increase customer satisfaction.

Responsibilities

  • Work with the REV Segment Operations Excellence Director, the Operational Excellence Corporate Team, and the Spartan ER senior staff to identify and facilitate improvement projects.
  • Assists in the development and deployment of our REV Operations Excellence program (a pilar of our REV Business System), and helps provide visibility of the program across the entire Spartan ER organization.
  • Leads complex, high-priority improvement projects, as directed by the Spartan ER staff, to provide the right level of leadership on critical projects and initiatives.
    • Leads continuous improvement projects through focused Kaizens to achieve measured results and targeted savings.
    • Conducts root cause analysis to eliminate waste, troubleshoot manufacturing and assembly issues, material flow, and informational inputs that may lead to inefficiencies.
  • Responsible for driving the successful delivery of the Spartan ER GDP benefits and the completion of Advanced Lean Practitioners projects. Lean projects vary in size but typically will be three to nine months in length with an average benefit of 10 to 20% of the operational costs per project.
  • Leads & offers a clear sense of direction, motivating and empowering Advanced Lean Practitioners to carry out their responsibilities with confidence
  • Coaches and trains both hourly and salary employees on any specific related OpEx improvements.
  • Helps support and develop a culture that promotes operational excellence and continuous improvements.
  • Provides on-going coaching and support to the Advanced Lean Practitioners in learning and using the REV's Operations Excellence methodology in their projects and activities at Spartan ER.
  • Builds teamwork through engagement. Aligns teams by sharing information, tying their work and goals to Spartan ER's and REV's vision and values.
  • Serves as the technical expert on the use and training of Lean Six Sigma. Supports and/or delivers the initial OpEx training to the Advanced Lean Practitioners, and, as needed, throughout the organization.
  • Acts as a coach and on-going teacher to the site staff, managers, and, as needed, in the organization.
  • Develops tools and models that will enable Spartan ER to learn and continuously improve knowledge, engagement, and use of L6S in daily activities.
  • Must be able to effectively communicate the scope of projects and report to upper management with weekly status reports.

Requirements (education, experience, travel, physical, work environment):

  • Bachelor's degree minimum, Master's degree preferred. Degrees related to technical, business, manufacturing, and engineering fields are most appropriate.
  • Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt (preferred). At a minimum - Certified Senior Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with over 2 years of OpEx or Continuous Improvements experience OR Lean Sensei/Practitioner with over 2 years of experience in Lean.
  • Two to five years of prior project work demonstrating knowledge and expert use of Lean Six Sigma, Change, and Business Management tools and methodologies.
  • Ability to work with personnel at all organizational levels.
  • Advanced problem solving and project management skills.
  • Extensive experience in training and coaching; able to impart knowledge to others.
  • Team management skills and the capability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.
  • Demonstrated skills & passion for innovation, change, and continuous improvement.
  • Proven ability to plan and prioritize work.
  • Experienced project manager.
  • Demonstrated high-performance levels and the ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment.
  • Effective communicator, which is essential for the OpEx Manager's role as a trainer, coach, and mentor. The OpEx Manager should be able to communicate with diverse audiences, from shop floor employees to executive management levels.
  • Able to work effectively across different organizational levels, from operational to management.
  • Minimum travel, only as needed to complete projects.

Summary of competencies required:

  • Customer-focused
  • Competent team leader
  • Experienced project manager and driver for change and continuous improvement
  • Self-motivated, independent, high self- confidence
  • Active listener, excellent communication skills, able to inspire others to work together and effectively
  • Engaging public speaking skills; highly developed presentation abilities
  • Innovative, open-minded, problem solver
  • Able to effectively interact with all levels in the organization
  • Strong computer skills (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, SharePoint, Minitab)

REV Group is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. The Company conducts all employment practices without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran's status, pregnancy, genetic information, sexual orientation, or any other basis prohibited by law. REV Group also undertakes affirmative action to assure equal employment opportunities for minorities and women, for persons with disabilities, and for protected veterans.

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