Objective

The Operational Excellence Senior Program Manager is instrumental in fostering organizational excellence, innovation, and competitiveness by implementing Continuous Improvement and Project Management methodologies and practices. This role supports the organization to achieve its strategic goals and objectives while delivering value to customers and stakeholders.

This role oversees all initiatives related to Continuous Improvement, Project Management and Acquisitions & Integrations.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities for this role are divided into 3 main areas:

Process Improvement

• Apply Lean Six Sigma principles and tools to streamline processes, reduce waste, and improve quality and efficiency.
• Lead Lean Six Sigma projects, facilitate improvement workshops, and mentor team members in Lean Six Sigma methodologies.
• Able to manage full Six Sigma projects (DMAIC, Kaizen, Lean, Quick Wins, DFSS, etc.), responsible for opportunity assessment, project creation, management, reporting, implementation, and control.
• Utilize data analysis techniques to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for improvement.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret data to make data-driven decisions and measure the impact of continuous improvement initiatives.
• Establish performance metrics and benchmarks to track progress and measure the success of continuous improvement efforts. Develop dashboards, scorecards, and reports to communicate performance results to stakeholders.
• Champion a culture of Continuous Improvement by promoting transparency, accountability, and empowerment. Recognize and celebrate achievements and successes in continuous improvement to motivate and inspire employees.

Program Management

• Develop comprehensive program plans that outlines scope, objectives, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements. Define clear milestones, metrics, and success criteria to track progress and measure project outcomes.
• Align program objectives with the organization's strategic goals and priorities. Ensure that program initiatives contribute to the overall mission and vision of the organization.
• Manage execution of large scale, highly complex enterprise initiatives, serving as a strategic and executional partner to senior leadership and process owners.
• Allocate and manage resources, including personnel, budget, and scope, to support program activities and deliverables.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate risks and issues that may impact program objectives, timelines, or outcomes. Develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans.
• Implement change management processes to facilitate smooth transitions and minimize resistance to program initiatives.
• Communicate changes effectively, provide training and support, and address concerns to ensure successful adoption of new processes or systems.
• Monitor program progress against established milestones, timelines, and performance metrics. Track key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluate program outcomes to identify areas for improvement and course correction.
• Communicate program status, updates, and milestones to stakeholders through regular meetings, reports, dashboards, presentations, and other channels.
• Provide transparency and accountability to ensure stakeholders are informed and engaged throughout the program lifecycle.

Acquisitions & Integrations

• Monitor and support the overall Merger & Acquisitions process to ensure a successful closing and planning of the integration process.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leadership to assist in defining the integration approach, synergy targets, and key milestones and metrics for each acquisition.
• Uses cross-functional knowledge and seek to understand issues, trends, and perspectives that may influence the integrations of new businesses.
• Monitors and tracks integration status and closure of deliverables.
• Leads integration teams, assisting with operational support execution as necessary.
• Ensures integration planning and execution activities adhere to PMO best practices and standards.

Experience and Education

 Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering, Business, Finance, Information Technology, or a related field.

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Continuous Improvement.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading and managing programs, especially technology-driven projects.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from an accredited institution.
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, including PivotTables, PivotCharts, Advanced Formulas and Functions, Data Analysis Tools, Charting and Graphing.
• Experience with Project Management tools such as Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, Jira, Asana, etc.
• Experience with Process Improvement tools like for Process Mapping (Visio, LucidChart, IBM Blueworks Live, Miro, etc.), and tools for Data Analysis (MS Excel, Minitab, PowerBI, Tableau, R, etc.).
• ERP systems knowledge, with preference for SAP.
• Financial knowledge to build and drive program cost management.
• Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and make ongoing decisions with key stakeholder input.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong skills in Change Management, meeting facilitation, and conflict resolution.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to influence without authority when necessary.
• Availability to travel to locations within the USA.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without company sponsorship both now and in the future.