Reporting to the Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain, the National Director, Operational Excellence will serve as a key architect of Groupe Touchette's transformation into a best-in-class, data-driven distribution organization. As the company continues its national expansion and pursues ambitious growth objectives, this role will lead the development and execution of an integrated operational excellence framework encompassing Health & Safety, Continuous Improvement, Operational Governance, Financial Compliance, and Project Management. The mandate is to create the structure, discipline, and capabilities required to deliver operational precision, agility, and efficiency across our national distribution network and seasonal execution cycles.

This role is a critical driver of scalable operational performance, risk mitigation, and enterprise-wide standardization, ensuring supply chain resilience and exceptional customer service from end to end. Leading a team of subject-matter experts, the Director will define strategic priorities, establish governance mechanisms, and execute initiatives that enhance productivity, service levels, safety performance, and financial discipline. A key focus of the role will be the design and deployment of a standardized operating model, leveraging best practices, performance management systems, and data-driven decision making to enable sustainable growth.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in continuous improvement, and supply chain operations, coupled with strong cross-functional leadership and change management capabilities. This individual is a builder and transformer, able to align people, processes, data, and technology to drive enterprise performance, embed a culture of accountability and continuous improvement, and deliver measurable business results at scale.

Job Summary

The National Director, Operational Excellence, will be responsible for defining, and implementing a continuous improvement playbook across all key areas of Groupe Touchette distribution. He or she will play a key role in developing and influencing a culture of excellence within operations, establishing a center of excellence, and working closely with the Regional Associate Vice Presidents to build and maintain key performance indicators. The candidate must have strong interpersonal communication skills and lean management expertise to successfully drive our Good to GREAT transformation.

 

Specific Responsibilities

• Center of Excellence -

• Champion and embed a culture of continuous improvement across Groupe Touchette's national distribution network, partnering with business leaders to align strategy, establishing the standards, governance, and capabilities required to support sustainable growth.
• Lead the design and execution of enterprise-wide operational excellence strategies that drive service performance, productivity, safety, quality, and cost optimization.
• Own the development, standardization, and governance of operating procedures across all distribution centers, ensuring consistency, compliance, and operational scalability.
• Serve as a key catalyst for performance improvement, leveraging data-driven decision-making to enhance service levels, on-time delivery, inventory accuracy, productivity, product integrity, and overall network efficiency.
• Define and execute the roadmap for operational transformation initiatives, ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and measurable business outcomes.
• Establish Lean Management principles, systems, and behaviors across the end-to-end supply chain to drive a culture of accountability, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.
• Identify, evaluate, and champion the adoption of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and advanced analytics, to accelerate Good to GREAT transformation, improve decision quality, and create competitive advantage.
• Provide strategic leadership for Health & Safety across the national network, fostering a proactive safety culture that prioritizes employee well-being, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience.
• Establish and govern enterprise-wide Health & Safety standards, programs, and performance metrics, driving continuous risk reduction, incident prevention, and accountability at all levels of the organization.

 

   - Governance and Management Framework -

• Lead the operational governance framework, driving accountability, execution discipline, and performance visibility across the national network.
• Influence and align cross-functional leaders to ensure strategic initiatives are properly prioritized, resourced, and executed.
• Champion change management and embed standardized management systems, routines, and best practices across all distribution centers.
• Partner with Sales, Supply Chain, and Operations to optimize seasonal planning, capacity, inventory, and service execution.
• Ensure process integrity, compliance, and operational consistency through audits, controls, and corrective action management.
• Establish project governance and portfolio management practices to ensure strategic initiatives are delivered on time, within scope, and on budget.
• Drive financial compliance and discipline through robust operational controls, CapEx governance, budget oversight, and benefits realization.
• Develop and govern KPI frameworks and performance dashboards to enable data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

 

Leadership and management:

• Define and communicate the vision, objectives, and strategic priorities for the department, ensuring alignment with corporate goals and business growth plans.
• Build, lead, mentor, and coach teams, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive employee engagement and organizational mobilization by inspiring teams, reinforcing a shared sense of purpose, and creating an environment that encourages ownership, empowerment, and high performance.
• Develop talent strategies, succession plans, and individual development plans to strengthen organizational capabilities and build leadership bench strength.
• Establish performance management processes, providing regular coaching, feedback, and development opportunities to maximize employee engagement and performance.
• Oversee day-to-day functional operations, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and achievement of key performance objectives.
• Establish KPIs, monitor performance, and provide actionable insights and recommendations to executive leadership to support data-driven decision-making.

 

 

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in supply chain management, engineering or the equivalent
• 15+ years of experience in Operations and Distribution.
• 7+ years of experience in a senior leadership position.
• Demonstrated experience implementing a system of excellence in a multi-site environment.
• Proven success in implementing digital tools and automation to optimize process performance and cost efficiency.
• Exemplary leadership and interpersonal skills (dynamic and inspiring).
• Ability to influence people at all levels, including organizational change.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Strong business transformation and change management skills.
• Results-oriented with a focus on KPI’s, customer satisfaction, and service excellence.
• Strong financial acumen.
• Digital Mindset.
• Bilingual: Preferable fluent in French and English.