Director of Process Improvement

The Director of Process Improvement will create a small team and lead the development and implementation of customer service, business processes and systems improvements. They will drive adoption of project and process improvement methodologies to deliver improvements in customer experience and operational costs across the organization, and support the development of a continuous improvement culture. Acting as interface with IT as required, they will ensure Operations requirements are represented and funded. They will network externally to explore developments in customer service systems and operational methodologies to support Operations goals.

Create and lead team to identify and implement improvements to support attainment of customer, service and commercial targets, using structured methodologies and project governance, liaising with key stakeholders across the business including service delivery and sales channels.

Provide process improvement methodology expertise and coach and develop direct team to form a process improvement center of excellence, as well as facilitating skills development as part of creating a continuous improvement culture across the department.

Facilitate the identification of process improvement opportunities across the department and manage the associated change implementation to deliver to quality and cost targets.

Manage to strong governance principles and implement an appropriate framework to lead project planning, scheduling, controlling and reporting activities for locally delivered Operations projects and acquisition of appropriate resources. Ensure comprehensive project, quality, and risk plans are prepared and maintained and issues are actively managed through to their successful resolution.

Deliver effective communication to all interested parties including stakeholders, sponsors and Senior Managers to support effective decision-making and manage the smooth and integrated delivery of projects. Ensure that key stakeholders are engaged in business improvement activities, including implementation and adoption.

Manage project related third party and IT relationships ensuring that dependencies are identified and managed and deliverables are achieved, as defined in the project plan and without incurring unnecessary cost or delay to the project.

Identify and manage risks and issues to ensure that critical problems are escalated at the earliest opportunity and mitigating actions are implemented, in line with change control processes.

Identify, secure and manage project resources to achieve project and organisational objectives in line with the project plan, approved funding and within expected quality and timescales.

Take the lead in all matters with regard to the management of the team, ensuring that management discretion is used in a consistent manner and that the area follows the company policies and procedures.

Define training and/or projects to enhance the team's skills, and perform other duties and projects as needed.

Education

BS/BA Degree in Business or IT (may consider equivalent combination of education and experience.)

Six Sigma Black Belt/Lean accreditation or equivalent

Experience/Knowledge

10+ years experience in process improvement role

5+ years of people leadership experience

Experience of working to targets to improve customer, people or cost metrics and track record of delivery

Experience of identifying and making improvements in operational customer facing environments

Experience of culture change and organizational development programs

Experience in Lean, Six Sigma or other structured process improvement methodologies

Experienced user of business analyst techniques and related tools including process mapping, functional business modelling, statistical process control, activity sampling, value stream mapping etc.

Project management experience.

Experience in life insurance industry, preferred but not essential.

Skills

Strong analytical/critical thinking skills

Strong leadership and coaching skills

Strong stakeholder management skills

Ability to collaborate and engage people in change

Strong delivery orientation and willing to be hands on to get the job done Outstanding verbal and written communication skills

Self-starting to lead team to deliver change across the business

Team-oriented

Project management skills

Process improvement skills

Strong organizational skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and process documentation/modelling tools

Ability to function in a fast paced environment

Flexible with regard to work hours and overtime