Job Description
Job DescriptionDescription:
Salem Sports Events is hiring! Come join one of the fastest growing teams in Winston Salem (or in The Triad).
Who We Are: Since its establishment in 1984, Salem Sports Events has undergone remarkable growth, expanding its clientele and expertise. Salem partners with professional sports leagues, experiential marketing agencies, Fortune 500 corporations to deliver fully custom turnkey solutions for temporary VIP hospitality environments, brand activations, signage, and design-build construction projects.
At our core, our main focus is our team with a focus on developing our people, creating meaningful growth opportunities, and building an environment where everyone can learn, lead, and thrive!
What We’re Looking For: This is a crucial, high-impact position that will play a key role in shaping how our company operates and scales. The ideal candidate will be a LEAN EXPERT and operational problem solver who thrives on safely turning inefficiency into opportunity and leading cross-functional teams toward measurable, lasting improvement. We need a Lean focused leader who not only understands process improvement but knows how to teach, coach, and empower teams to think critically, solve problems, and continuously get better together.
- Proactive and self-driven — someone who does not wait for direction but identifies inefficiencies, opportunities, and solutions across departments.
- Deeply engaged and hands-on — visible on the floor, collaborating with teams, and actively leading change rather than just observing it.
- Passionate about Lean principles — with a strong understanding of process improvement, standard work, 5S, Kaizen, and value stream mapping.
- Analytical and data-oriented — able to evaluate workflows, measure impact, and present clear performance metrics that drive results.
- A natural coach and mentor — skilled in training and inspiring others to adopt Lean thinking, empowering every team member to contribute to improvement.
- Cross-functional collaborator — comfortable working across departments (production, design, estimating, logistics, etc.) to streamline processes and enhance communication.
- Change agent — embraces transformation and helps others see the “why” behind each improvement initiative.
- Focused on scalability and sustainability — ensures new systems not only work today but will support our continued growth tomorrow.
- Excellent communicator — able to translate complex operational challenges into actionable, team-friendly solutions.
- Culturally aligned — embodies our core belief that excellence is not achieved on game day. It is built every single day through smart systems, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
Position Summary: The Lean Manager’s job is to optimize the Production process, train the team on Lean principles, and support the business transformation plan. As such the Lean Manager would need to go beyond departmental borders while analyzing the current processes, designing production with lean management concepts, and implementing the changes in the operation.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities (other duties may be assigned):
- Implement lean manufacturing principles to achieve continuous improvement in the production processes.
- Review and update the current state value stream map which includes all the value streams in the process.
- Utilize Lean techniques to optimize the value stream map including identifying and reducing/eliminating areas of waste.
- In line with the implementation, the lean manager must mobilize the stakeholders, including employees of the various departments, suppliers, and customers. They should be appraised of the required changes as the plan is implemented.
- Mentor the team on the application of Lean principles and provide additional training where needed.
- Drive full implementation of “single piece flow” from order through Field Operations delivery.
- Improve the material management and inventory flow within the manufacturing department. Identify bottlenecks in the process and work with the teams to reduce the impact and improve the overall flow.
- Provide information on cost performance and financial opportunities and develop KPIs to be tracked in the transformation plan bowling charts (X-charts) through 2 levels in the organization.
- Continue to improve and drive the use of MDI (Manage for Daily Improvement) boards throughout the organization.
- Mentor and develop personnel, collaborating with VSM peers and other operational managers to improve overall goals achievement.
- Continue to work with the teams to audit existing Standard Work documents, to develop new Standard Work documents and to conduct RCCMs to resolve issues and conflicts within the processes.
- Revised/Reviewed/Implement assembly instructions, BOM, and QC inspection reports.
- Provide leadership in the day-to-day operations of the value stream. This ensures that the stakeholders meet the current production demands, at the same time the changes are improvements are also met.
- Lead and support Kaizen events as needed.
- Be a leader in Environmental, Health, and Safety in the workplace.
Knowledge and Skills:
- LEAN principles and House of Quality
- Fundamental project and business financials for analysis.
- Strong skills in MS Office products.
- Experience with Monday considered an advantage.
Education and Work Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree preferred.
- 5+ years working in a LEAN manufacturing environment.
- 3+ years’ experience in LEAN continuous improvement including value stream mapping, kaizen events, RCCMs, and identifying waste.
- Experience in directly or indirectly leading teams of 5 or more personnel on a project.
Reporting to this Position: None
Physical Demands and Work Environment: 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. Must be at least 18 years of age due to work conditions.
- Physical Demands: This position sits and walks in an office environment. This position involves computer use.
- Work Environment: This position regularly works in an office environment. The noise level in the work environment is commensurate with an office site.
Expected Hours of Work/Travel: This is a full-time position in the Winston Salem office during regular business hours. Days and hours of work are dictated by the nature of the scope of work which can include long hours and weekend work.
General: The employee is expected to adhere to all company policies.
NOTE: This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job, not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks, and duties. The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder may be revised or modified at any time by the Company without prior notice.
Requirements: