Director of Continuous Improvement & Organizational Development

Acadia Landscape Co.
Knoxville, TN

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Job Details

Full-time
13 days ago

Benefits

Employee stock ownership plan

Qualifications

Hardscape
Practicing in a sourcing or procurement role
Driver's License
Construction experience
New irrigation system installation projects

Full Job Description

Purpose

The Director of Continuous Improvement & Organizational Development is responsible for systematically improving every aspect of Acadias business. Their mission is to make the company more efficient, more profitable, easier to manage, and less dependent on the owner by continually improving systems, processes, technology, training, accountability, and organizational structure.

Success is measured not by how much work they personally perform, but by how much better the organization performs because of their work.

Primary Responsibilities

Process Improvement

Continuously improve and document existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Eliminate unnecessary work and reduce waste.
Standardize field operations across all divisions.
Improve estimating processes.
Improve sales workflows.
Improve production workflows.
Improve warranty processes.
Improve project closeout procedures.
Improve communication between departments.
Develop scalable systems that reduce dependency on individual employees.

Systems & Technology

Own the implementation, optimization, and adoption of company technology, including:

Aspire
Team Engine
Slack
CRM systems
AI tools
Automation software
Reporting dashboards
Learning Management Systems (LMS)

KPI Development

Design, maintain, and continuously improve company scorecards.

Sales

Close rate
Gross margin
Lead response time
Proposal turnaround time
Average sale size
Sales cycle length

Production

Labor efficiency
Gross profit
Schedule adherence
Callbacks
Change orders
Customer satisfaction

Operations

Safety incidents
Warranty costs
Equipment downtime
Fleet utilization
Inventory accuracy

Financial

EBITDA
Cash conversion cycle
Overhead percentage
Revenue per employee
Net profit
Return on invested capital

Training & Leadership Development

Develop training systems for every role.

Examples include:

Crew Leader Academy
Project Manager Academy
Sales Academy
Aspire Training
AI Training
Equipment Training
Safety Training
Customer Service Training
Leadership Development Program

Responsibilities include:

Build Acadia University.
Maintain learning management systems.
Create quizzes and certifications.
Standardize onboarding.
Measure training effectiveness.
Develop future leaders.

Hiring Systems

Rather than personally recruiting everyone, build a world-class hiring system.

Responsibilities include:

Write job descriptions.
Maintain interview guides.
Develop hiring scorecards.
Improve recruiting systems.
Improve onboarding.
Improve orientation.
Build career paths.
Improve employee retention.
Develop succession plans.

Organizational Development

Study every department and continuously improve organizational effectiveness.

Regularly ask:

Where are the bottlenecks?
Where is work being duplicated?
What decisions only owner makes that someone else should?
What systems need to exist?
What positions should exist next?
How can departments work together more effectively?
What organizational changes increase scalability?

Lean Operations

Implement Lean principles throughout the company.

Examples include:

Reduce waiting.
Reduce transportation.
Reduce defects.
Reduce rework.
Reduce inventory waste.
Improve jobsite organization.
Improve equipment utilization.
Improve scheduling.
Reduce unnecessary motion.
Reduce overprocessing.

Quality Control

Develop and continuously improve company quality standards.

Cross-Department Projects

Lead major company-wide initiatives, including:

Aspire implementation
AI implementation
New compensation systems
Warehouse improvements
Fleet optimization
Inventory control
Internal communication improvements
Leadership development
SOP standardization
Digital transformation
Process automation
Acquisition integration planning
Post-acquisition process standardization
ESOP implementation support
Organizational restructuring for growth
Enterprise value improvement initiatives

Strategic Growth, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Support Acadias long-term growth strategy through acquisitions and strategic expansion.

Responsibilities include:

Identify operational improvement opportunities that increase enterprise value.
Assist leadership in identifying acquisition opportunities.
Participate in operational due diligence of acquisition targets.
Evaluate organizational structures, technology platforms, financial reporting systems, and operational processes of prospective acquisitions.
Develop post-acquisition integration plans.
Standardize systems and operating procedures across acquired companies.
Integrate technology platforms, reporting systems, KPIs, and workflows.
Preserve company culture while implementing operational best practices.
Develop integration scorecards and measure post-acquisition success.
Assist with strategic planning for future geographic and service-line expansion.

Employee Ownership (ESOP) Development

Support Acadias long-term employee ownership strategy.

Data & Reporting

Develop executive dashboards.

Weekly

Revenue
Gross profit
Labor
Backlog
Sales pipeline
Cash position
Safety
Production efficiency

Monthly

Department performance
KPI trends
Improvement initiatives
Opportunities
Risks
Financial performance

Continuous Improvement Meetings

Facilitate regular improvement meetings.

Questions include:

What frustrated people this week?
What process failed?
What wasted time?
What can be automated?
What should become an SOP?
What technology should we implement?
What can we stop doing?
What can we improve next?

First-Year Projects

Complete Aspire implementation.
Improve the SOP library for every department.
Build Acadia University.
Develop executive KPI dashboards.
Implement standardized hiring systems.
Launch quarterly quality audits.
Reduce production inefficiencies.
Improve onboarding.
Create manager scorecards.
Build leadership development programs.
Develop Acadias acquisition integration playbook.
Create standardized operational due diligence processes.
Evaluate organizational readiness for an ESOP.
Develop employee ownership education materials.
Identify operational improvements that increase enterprise value.

Characteristics

The ideal candidate is:

Highly organized
Analytical
Process-oriented
Curious
Technologically savvy
Strong communicator
Excellent teacher
Excellent project manager
Comfortable challenging the status quo
Respected by both field and office staff
Data-driven
Relentless about execution
Passionate about building systems rather than solving the same problem twice

Long-Term Vision

Within three to five years, this role should become the architect of Acadias operating system.

While the Operations Director focuses on executing todays work and department leaders focus on leading their teams, the Director of Continuous Improvement & Organizational Development ensures the company is continually becoming more efficient, more scalable, more profitable, and more valuable.

As Acadia grows, this leader will play a central role in mergers and acquisitions by evaluating acquisition targets, leading operational due diligence, integrating newly acquired businesses, and standardizing systems while preserving each companys strengths and culture.

If Acadia transitions to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), this role will help build the operational discipline, reporting systems, training programs, governance processes, and ownership culture necessary for a successful employee-owned organization.

Experience and License Requirements

Construction
Driver's License
Hardscape Installation
Irrigation Installation
Landscape Foreman
Landscape Installation
Plant Procurement

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