IT Continuous Improvement Leader

About Us:

Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of engineering consulting and manufacturing technology for the packaging, corrugating, sheeting and paper-converting industries. By blending people-centric leadership with disciplined operational strategies and purpose-driven growth, Barry-Wehmiller has become a $3 billion organization with nearly 12,000 team members united by a common belief: to use the power of business to build a better world.

Job Description:

The IT Continuous Improvement Leader is responsible for establishing, leading, governing and maturing the IT Continuous Improvement (ITCI) program across the global IT organization. This role serves as the functional owner of the ITCI framework, including associated governance structures, methodologies, assessment models, management systems, standards, and improvement portfolio processes.

The role partners with IT and business leaders and teams to improve services, processes, systems, governance, and ways of working through structured Continuous Improvement practices. While operational leaders retain ownership of their respective functions, the ITCI leader establishes and governs the framework through which improvement activities are identified, evaluated, prioritized, executed, measured, and sustained. The position is responsible for defining and implementing the foundational elements of the ITCI program, including governance, methodologies, management systems, assessment frameworks, capability development, program roadmaps and reporting. The role works across all IT functions to identify improvement opportunities, facilitate organizational change, and create sustainable mechanisms that embed continuous improvement into daily operations.

The ITCI Leader also serves as IT's representative within enterprise Continuous Improvement governance structures, as a member of the BW CI Steering Committee and partners with corporate Continuous Improvement leaders to ensure alignment with enterprise standards while contributing IT perspectives, priorities, and expertise to broader organizational initiatives.

Functional Ownership

The ITCI Leader serves as the designated functional owner of:

• •ITCI methodologies and practices.
• •ITCI governance processes.
• •ITCI assessment and maturity models.
• •ITCI intake, prioritization, and portfolio management processes.
• •ITCI reporting, measurement, and value realization standards.
• •ITCI training materials, toolkits, templates, and supporting resources.
• •ITCI policies, standards, and procedural guidance.

Operational ownership of IT functions, services, processes and teams remains with designated IT leaders. The ITCI Leader owns the framework through which improvement activities are governed and executed and is accountable for maintaining the effectiveness, adoption, and ongoing maturation of the ITCI framework across the IT organization.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

Continuous Improvement Program Leadership (Build the System)

• •Define, implement, maintain, and govern the ITCI strategy, roadmap, and operating model.
• •Establish and maintain governance, methodologies, assessment frameworks, management systems, and operating standards for Continuous Improvement activities across IT.
• •Develop and maintain the official framework for identifying, evaluating, prioritizing, governing, and tracking ITCI opportunities.
• •Establish minimum requirements for Continuous Improvement initiatives, including intake, documentation, measurement, and reporting expectations.
• •Govern the ITCI portfolio and the associated prioritization, evaluation, and benefit realization processes.
• •Approve and maintain methodologies, standards, tools, templates, and guidance supporting Continuous Improvement activities.

Organizational Assessment and Improvement (Identify & Design Improvements)

Define and maintain assessment methodologies, maturity models, evaluation criteria, and measurement approaches used to assess IT capabilities, services, and operating practices.

Conduct enterprise-level assessments to identify improvement opportunities and organizational maturity gaps.

Facilitate current-state and future-state analysis to define practical improvement roadmaps.

Partner with IT leaders and teams to design and implement sustainable improvements that increase organizational effectiveness and operational maturity.

Identify patterns, systemic issues, bottlenecks, and process variation that impact performance and service delivery.

Facilitation and Change Leadership (Help Teams Execute)

• •Facilitate Kaizen events, workshops, value stream mapping sessions, root cause analyses, and other structured improvement activities.
• •Lead cross-functional improvement efforts that span organizational boundaries and stakeholder groups.
• •Direct the application of approved Continuous Improvement methodologies within sponsored initiatives.
• •Guide teams through structured problem-solving, decision-making, and change adoption activities.
• •Build alignment among stakeholders to support successful implementation and sustainment of improvements.

Capability Development (Teach and Enable)

• •Establish organizational Continuous Improvement competency expectations and capability development pathways.
• •Develop Continuous Improvement capability across IT leadership and staff through training, coaching, mentoring, and hands-on facilitation.
• •Create, approve, and maintain Continuous Improvement toolkits, templates, methodologies, and supporting resources.
• •Promote a culture of learning, accountability, and continuous improvement throughout the IT organization.
• •Develop and support a network of Continuous Improvement practitioners and advocates across IT.

Enterprise Partnership and Governance (Align/Liaison with Corp CI)

• •Serve as IT's designated representative for Continuous Improvement matters within enterprise governance, steering committees, and strategic initiatives.
• •Act as the liaison between IT and enterprise Continuous Improvement functions.
• •Contribute to the development and maturation of enterprise Continuous Improvement standards, frameworks, and management systems.
• •Establish alignment between ITCI practices and enterprise governance expectations.
• •Share best practices, lessons learned, and successful improvement approaches across the enterprise.
• •Exercise designated decision-making authority for ITCI methodologies, assessment models, governance practices, and portfolio management processes.

Measurement and Reporting (Demonstrate Value)

• •Define and maintain maturity assessments, performance metrics, and program effectiveness measures.
• •Analyze organizational and operational data to identify trends, opportunities, and areas requiring attention.
• •Track and report the outcomes and realized benefits of ITCI initiatives.
• •Communicate program progress, risks, recommendations, and results to leadership.

Job Specifications:

• •Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and drive results without direct authority.
• •Strong facilitation, coaching, mentoring, and organizational development skills.
• •Ability to build alignment and foster collaboration across diverse stakeholders, teams, and functional areas.
• •Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and stakeholder management skills, including engagement with senior leadership.
• •Strong analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving, and systems-thinking capabilities.
• •Ability to translate strategic objectives into practical, measurable, and Strong understanding of Continuous Improvement principles, methodologies, and tools, including Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, Value Stream Mapping, and structured problem-solving techniques.
• •Ability to assess organizational, process, and operational maturity and identify opportunities for improvement.
• •Ability to navigate complex, highly matrixed, decentralized, and rapidly evolving environments.
• •Ability to balance strategic plan