Director of Specialized Services

Join the Carolina Cat Team

As a family-owned company under our fourth generation of leadership, we have built our business based on the principles of trust, integrity, and a desire to help our customers and employees succeed.

Since 1926, we've supported our communities by supplying equipment for critical infrastructure and commerce and by donating our time and resources to area nonprofits. We make smart investments in our company and continuously improve as part of our vision to be a trailblazing company that's built to last.

We're looking for hard-working, team-oriented professionals who enjoy working on new challenges every day. We believe our employees are the key to our success, and we're committed to providing a work experience that helps our team grow to their full potential.

Collectively, our employees work together to make a difference for our customers, our communities, and our company. Learn more about what it means to become a team member with Carolina Cat.

Summary

The Director of Specialized Services plays a key leadership role in advancing our company's lean operating system and sustaining operational excellence across multiple high-impact service functions - including the Component Rebuild Center, Compact Construction Equipment Service, Hydraulics Express, and Technical Service departments.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Service, this role is responsible for driving safety, quality, efficiency, profitability and customer satisfaction through disciplined execution, structured problem-solving, and visual management. The Director will model and reinforce lean behaviors - ensuring standardized work, SQDC boards, and tiered accountability processes are consistently practiced across all service operations.

This position also serves as a succession role within the organization, and candidates should demonstrate strong leadership capability, commitment to personal development, and potential for future advancement.

Essential Functions

Leadership and Strategy

• Provide strategic direction and leadership for the Specialized Services team, ensuring alignment with the company's Service growth, profitability, and customer loyalty objectives.
• Partner closely with the VP of Service and cross-functional leaders in Sales, Rental, HR, IT, and FP&A to ensure seamless integration of processes and enterprise-wide collaboration.
• Champion the company's lean management system, ensuring standardized processes, visual controls, and problem-solving routines are embedded, sustained, and continuously reinforced.

Safety and Environmental Health

• Partner with EHS leadership and the Service Safety Manager to ensure all operations maintain compliance with regulatory and company safety standards.
• Lead by example in promoting a safety-first culture, leveraging tools such as Job Safety Analysis (JSA), Near-Miss Reporting, and Stop Work Authority to identify and control risk.
• Conduct layered safety checks, Gemba safety walks, and periodic safety stand-downs to reinforce safe behaviors, correct hazards, and strengthen workplace safety practices.
• Collaborate with department leaders to ensure consistent execution of safe work procedures, contamination control measures, and environmental compliance across all Specialized Services departments.
• Ensure all employees, leaders, and technicians receive proper safety training and are held accountable for maintaining a clean, organized, and hazard-free work environment.

Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement

• Conduct regular Gemba walks to engage directly with front-line employees, verify adherence to standard work, and identify opportunities to sustain performance and eliminate waste.
• Deploy and coach the use of visual management tools such as SQDC boards, tiered huddles, and KPI dashboards to drive clarity, communication, and accountability.
• Facilitate and mentor structured problem-solving activities (Root Cause Analysis, 5 Whys, Fishbone, A3 Thinking) to maintain process stability and address recurring challenges.
• Lead Kaizen events and Rapid Improvement Workshops (RIWs) targeting value streams such as work order flow, technician utilization, and parts coordination.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to standardize best practices, maintain process control, and ensure performance consistency across all locations.

Performance and People Development

• Sustain top-tier performance across key operational metrics, maintaining excellence in:
  • Safety - Zero injuries and proactive risk management
  • Quality - Minimal rework and defect rates
  • Delivery - Consistent turnaround times and efficient work order flow
  • Cost - Strong labor efficiency and disciplined cost control
  • Engagement - High Employee Opinion Survey (EOS) results and technician satisfaction
• Ensure that daily management routines-such as tiered huddles, Gemba walks, and KPI reviews-are executed consistently and aligned with our lean operating model.
• Coach leaders and supervisors on standard work for leadership, reinforcing accountability, communication, and alignment with company goals.
• Partner with the Training Department to sustain robust technical and leadership development programs that support career progression and workforce readiness.
• Promote a culture of stability, consistency, and continuous discipline-where every employee understands standard work, visual management, and their role in maintaining excellence.

Technology and Data-Driven Management

• Utilize technology, data analytics, and digital tools to monitor performance trends, identify waste, and enable fact-based decision-making.
• Lead the adoption and integration of new systems that enhance scheduling, work order management, and service efficiency across all Specialized Services operations.

Core Competencies

• Lean Systems Thinking and Process Discipline
• Safety Leadership and Risk Management
• Data Analysis and Performance Management
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Strategic Planning and Execution
• Employee Engagement and Development

Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has supervisory responsibilities.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualifying individuals to perform the essential functions.

Education and/or Experience

• Four Year College Degree or Ten+ years Product Support experience including three years of managerial responsibility.
• Demonstrates creativity, ingenuity and inventiveness.
• Has the ability to think outside current circumstances, develop new and effective solutions and also recognize unique opportunities.
• Able to generate ideas, brainstorm, and conceive multiple solutions.
• Excellent planning ability which ties corporate vision to all decisions.
• Maintains a current knowledge and appreciation of all Product Support functions
• Effectively delegate responsibility to others
• Uncompromising integrity, moral values, ethics, honest, truthful and straightforward
• Strong management skills, including motivating, change management, conflict resolution, performance enhancement, organizational, coordinating and project management skills

Computer Skills

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint)
• Strong experience with Operational Software (SAP, DBS, Uptake applications, Power BI, etc.) is a must

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, and proportions.

Reasoning Ability

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Workplace Requirements

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit. The employee must frequently lift, carry, push, pull and /or otherwise move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

While performing the duties of this Job, depending on site location, the employee may be exposed to moving mechanical parts and equipment. The employee may occasionally be exposed to high, precarious places, fumes or airborne particles; outside weather conditions and vibration. The employee may occasionally be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions; toxic or caustic chemicals; extreme cold; extreme heat and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in some work environments is occasionally loud.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer

We require all employees to treat all our employees and candidates as equals. All personnel actions are conducted in the spirit of equal employment. We're committed to recruit, train, promote and retain associates without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identification and expression, national origin, marital status, age, disability, genetic information, military status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.

#CarolinaCAT

EEO/AA Employer. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.