Job Description Summary

The Operational Excellence Manager plays a hands-on and strategic role in proactively identifying, executing, and sustaining continuous improvement initiatives across Service and FCOE operations. This individual contributor partners with leadership to assess current-state workflows, identify inefficiencies, and define future-state solutions. The role drives measurable improvements through data-driven analysis, technology enablement, and modern methodologies including Lean, Six Sigma, and Agentic AI.

The ideal candidate is curious and strategic, thrives in complex problem-solving, collaborates effectively across functions, and drives innovation to enhance efficiency, productivity, and the overall customer experience. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement:

• Conduct detailed process assessments to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, risks, and improvement opportunities using Lean, Six Sigma, and other process improvement methodologies. 
• Perform time-motion studies, workflow observations, and quantitative assessments to establish baseline performance and identify improvement levers. 
• Create clear and accurate current-state and future-state process maps using Visio, Lucid, Miro, Smartsheet, or other visualization tools. 
• Drive financial and operational performance by recommending and implementing improvements that lower operating expenses, increase throughput, reduce defects, and improve cost-to-serve metrics. 
• Lead the development of business cases including cost-benefit analyses, effort estimates, options/alternatives, and risk assessments; translate findings into executive-ready recommendations.
• Lead cross-functional improvement initiatives, working closely with (Operations, Technology, Product, PMO, BPC, and Reporting) to ensure timely delivery and measurable outcomes, and manage projects directly as needed.
• Track and document initiative progress, risks, escalations, dependencies, and results to support ongoing portfolio visibility and reporting. 
• Develop reusable standards, playbooks, and toolkits that enable consistent ways of working across teams and support scale.
  

Data, Technology & Insights:

• Use data analytics, reporting tools, and root-cause analysis techniques to diagnose performance issues, quantify opportunities, and validate impact.
• Partner with technology teams to explore and validate opportunities to apply automation, AI, agentic AI, and other emerging tools to operational workflows. 
• Define, collect, and monitor KPIs and operational metrics that evaluate initiative impact and guide ongoing improvements. 
• Maintain documentation and partner with the reporting team to create dashboards, and artifacts that support operational performance monitoring and decision-making. 

Change Execution & Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Collaborate across departments: Technology, Product, Service Operations, FCOE, and others to gather requirements, validate process changes, and execute improvement plans. 
• Lead change management activities including communications, training documentation, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) updates, and adoption support. 
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior stakeholders and leaders by providing clear, structured updates on progress, challenges, risks, and outcomes.

Education & Certifications:

• Education: Minimum Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent required. 
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in: Business Administration, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, Analytics, or related field preferred. 

Experience:

• 5+ years of experience in operational improvement, service delivery, fulfillment, business analysis, or process optimization roles. 
• Hands-on experience with process mapping, workflow analysis, value stream mapping, and root-cause analysis. 
• Proficiency with process, mapping, and visualization tools (Visio, Lucid, Miro, Smartsheet, etc.). 
• Experience with continuous improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen). Certification is a plus. 
• Experience supporting digital transformation or automation initiatives; familiarity with AI-driven process improvements preferred. 
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into insights and recommendations. 
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions and influence stakeholders through strong communication and relationship-building skills. 
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with strong attention to detail. 

Tools:

• Microsoft Office Suite (MS Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Project Mgmt. Software (Smartsheet, JIRA)
• Process Workflow Mapping (Visio, Miro, Lucid)
• Reporting/Analytics (Power BI or equivalent)
  

Other Knowledge, Skills or Abilities:

• Technical Skills: Familiarity with enterprise systems, data analytic tools (i.e. Power BI)
• Analytical and Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and critical thinking skills with the ability to interpret data, identify root causes, and develop actionable solutions with proficiency in Excel, Power BI, analytics and workflow tools. 
• Business and Financial Acumen: Solid understanding of business operations, strategic planning and financial modeling for business case development. 
• Technology and Innovation Orientation: Familiarity with emerging technologies, including AI, automation tools, and experience working with technology partners to implement digital solutions. 
• Strategic and Tactical: Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution, endless curiosity, and passion for improving processes. 
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to influence and lead cross-functional teams and senior leadership.
• Change Management: Proven ability to lead teams and stakeholders through change, conflict resolution, and dynamic environments.
• Process Optimization: Skilled in designing and improving workflows, leveraging Lean or Six Sigma methodologies.

 Travel requirements

• Up to 10% domestic travel annually.

Our Interview Practices

To maintain a fair and genuine hiring process, we kindly ask that all candidates participate in interviews without the assistance of AI tools or external prompts. Our interview process is designed to assess your individual skills, experiences, and communication style. We value authenticity and want to ensure we’re getting to know you—not a digital assistant. To help maintain this integrity, we ask to remove virtual backgrounds and include in-person interviews in our hiring process. Please note that use of AI-generated responses or third-party support during interviews will be grounds for disqualification from the recruitment process.

Applicants may be required to appear onsite at a Wolters Kluwer office as part of the recruitment process.

Compensation:

Compensation range listed is based on primary location of the position.  Actual base salary offer is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skills, experience and actual hiring location. Your recruiter can share more information about the specific offer for the job location during the hiring process. 

Additional Information:

Wolters Kluwer offers a wide variety of competitive benefits and programs to help meet your needs and balance your work and personal life, including but not limited to: Medical, Dental, & Vision Plans, 401(k), FSA/HSA, Commuter Benefits, Tuition Assistance Plan, Vacation and Sick Time, and Paid Parental Leave. Full details of our benefits are available upon request.