THE COMPANY:
Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Danville, IL, Watchfire Signs (“Watchfire” or the “Company”) is a leading manufacturer of premium digital signage backed by H.I.G. Capital. The Company’s high-tech portfolio of indoor & outdoor LED signage, digital billboards, and video scoreboards serves a wide breadth of end clients from small business owners to nationwide chains and billboard operators. Watchfire’s strong brand reputation and expansive customer network have allowed the Company to establish an installed base of over 68,000 LED displays, highlighting its position as a leader in the large and growing digital display market. Watchfire has over $200M in revenues
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SPONSOR BACKGROUND:
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $70+ billion of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1993 and has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide, developing an extensive track record for creating value for its partners and investors. H.I.G.’s portfolio is diverse, spanning a wide spectrum of industries, including Distribution, Industrial Services, Manufacturing, Technology/IT, Healthcare, Consumer Products, and more
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Watchfire is seeking a highly capable and execution-oriented Director of Strategic Projects to partner directly with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team to drive the Company’s most critical, enterprise-wide strategic initiatives. This role will serve as the central owner for a portfolio of high-impact strategic projects spanning both product development and major commercial initiatives, each essential to Watchfire’s growth, scalability, and long-term value creation.
Approximately half or more of the role will focus on non-product, commercially oriented initiatives, including go-to-market programs, sales effectiveness initiatives, channel strategy, and the deployment of advanced tools and capabilities to improve commercial execution. Examples include the launch of a loyalty program for third-party dealer representatives in the on-premise channel, scaling and professionalizing the Sports salesforce, and implementing AI-enabled tools to improve sales call preparation, targeting, and customer engagement.
In parallel, the Director of Strategic Projects will lead select complex product development and commercialization programs, working closely with R&D, Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Supply Chain while ensuring alignment with Sales, Marketing, and other commercial leaders.
This role requires a leader who can bridge strategy and execution—bringing structure, discipline, and accountability to diverse initiatives, aligning technical, operational, and commercial stakeholders, and ensuring delivery on specification, on time, and on budget The ideal candidate will be equally comfortable driving product programs and leading commercial transformation initiatives in a fast-paced, private equity–backed environment.
This is a highly visible role with significant exposure to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team and represents a unique opportunity to directly shape Watchfire’s growth trajectory
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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
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TECHNICAL PREREQUISITES:
The Director of Strategic Projects will have a proven track record leading complex, cross-functional initiatives across both commercial and operational domains The successful candidate will possess:
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INTERPERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
The Director of Strategic Projects will also possess the following characteristics:
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EDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, operations, marketing, or a related field required; MBA or advanced degree is a plus. Formal training or certification in project or program management is beneficial but not required.
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BENEFITS:
*Watchfire is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs.
*Legal authorization to work in the US required. We will not consider candidates who need sponsorship, now or in the future, to be legally employed in the US. No H1B, OPT, CPT or other “temporary work authorization” candidates will be considered.
Headquartered in Danville, Ill., Watchfire has manufactured electric signs since 1932 and LED signs, using meticulously sourced components from around the world, since 1998. Our products include indoor and outdoor LED displays, fixed digit and video scoreboards, gas price signs and digital billboards. Every aspect of our products and service is focused on giving our customers the greatest advertising tools available for developing their business and increasing sales. Our partnerships with respected, knowledgeable sign company professionals are the foundation of our collective success.
Watchfire LED signs are known for their legendary quality and reliability. We test our outdoor displays to withstand whatever nature throws at them, all to guarantee our customers years of worry-free performance. The excellence in every Watchfire sign begins with our outstanding engineering team designing a quality product. In production, we choose quality over expedience or expense. We use the best performing components available from a global market and invest the time and expense needed to evaluate and verify every aspect of our products’ design, function and serviceability. Our reputation depends on our displays looking and performing great not just on day one, but for years to come.
We developed our proprietary Ignite software to create and manage messages from design to scheduling. Whether the sign is large or small, color or monochrome, the suite of Ignite software helps create head-turning messages through easy-to-use interfaces.
Watchfire has over 70,000 LED signs in operation at convenience stores, gas stations, retail outlets, banks, schools, places of worship and other locations worldwide. We also have more digital billboard customers in the U.S. than any other brand.
