Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Operations Excellence Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Operations Excellence Manager is responsible for designing, driving and sustaining operational improvement programs that deliver measurable outcomes in safety, quality, cost, delivery and employee engagement. You will lead cross-functional improvement projects using Lean, Six Sigma (DMAIC), Kaizen and value-stream mapping; develop and monitor KPIs and dashboards; coach teams on process standardization and problem solving; and partner with leaders to embed continuous improvement into day-to-day operations. The role requires a pragmatic operator with strong analytical capability, project management skills and an ability to influence at all levels.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Process Improvement Specialist / Coordinator
Operations Analyst / Business Analyst (Operations)
Continuous Improvement Engineer / Lean Engineer

Advancement To:

Senior Operations Excellence Manager / Regional Excellence Manager
Director of Operational Excellence / Director of Continuous Improvement
Head of Operational Excellence / VP of Operations

Lateral Moves:

Supply Chain Manager / Logistics Manager
Program Manager / Transformation Program Lead
Quality Manager / Manufacturing Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead end-to-end operational excellence programs and portfolios, defining objectives, timelines, budgets and success metrics to achieve measurable cost reduction, productivity gains and service-level improvements across multiple sites or business units.
Drive Lean and Six Sigma initiatives (DMAIC, Kaizen events, 5S, SMED) to identify root causes, remove waste, standardize processes and embed sustainable process controls that improve cycle time, yield and first-pass quality.
Design, implement and maintain performance management systems and operational KPIs (OEE, throughput, lead time, cycle time, cost per unit) including automated dashboards (Power BI/Tableau) and regular operational review cadences with stakeholders.
Lead cross-functional project teams—manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, HR, finance—to deliver complex change programs, track milestones, mitigate risks and ensure stakeholder alignment from shop floor to executive leadership.
Facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action processes (RCA, 5 Whys, fishbone) for recurring quality or reliability incidents and lead containment, corrective and preventive actions to prevent recurrence.
Mentor, coach and upskill frontline supervisors, engineers and managers in Lean tools, problem-solving frameworks, process mapping and standard work creation to build internal capability and a continuous improvement culture.
Create, deploy and sustain standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions and visual management systems to ensure process consistency, safety compliance and easier training/onboarding.
Execute value stream mapping and process simulation to identify bottlenecks, redesign material and information flow, and propose capital and non-capital investments that increase throughput and reduce lead time.
Develop business cases and ROI models for improvement initiatives, quantify benefits (cost savings, working capital reduction, quality improvements) and present recommendations to senior leadership for prioritization and funding.
Partner with Finance and Procurement to quantify savings capture, ensure project benefits are realized and embedded into the organizational budget and P&L reporting.
Manage digital transformation projects that automate manual processes, integrate MES/ERP data, and apply analytics or predictive maintenance tools to improve equipment uptime and decision-making.
Lead capacity planning and demand smoothing initiatives, coordinating production scheduling, manpower optimization and cross-training programs to meet fluctuating demand while minimizing overtime and cost.
Establish and manage governance, metrics cadence and audit programs for operational excellence initiatives—ensuring projects meet defined deliverables, timelines and sustainability checks.
Coordinate supplier and vendor improvement programs, including audit support, shared Kaizen events and quality improvement plans to reduce defects and improve inbound material reliability.
Serve as subject matter expert for continuous improvement standards (Lean, Six Sigma, ISO, TPM) and ensure alignment of local processes with corporate operational excellence strategy and compliance requirements.
Facilitate cross-site or cross-functional best-practice sharing, creating playbooks, training curricula and internal communities of practice to accelerate adoption of proven improvements.
Lead cost-to-serve and cost-to-quality analyses to identify margin opportunities, optimize product mix or rationalize SKUs while maintaining or improving customer service levels.
Design and run pilot programs to test process changes or new technologies, define success criteria, measure outcomes and scale successful pilots across the organization with minimal business disruption.
Conduct capacity and labor productivity studies, implement standardized labor models and drive staffing optimization through takt time, line balancing and balancing work content improvements.
Integrate health, safety and environmental (HSE) considerations into improvement projects, ensuring changes reduce risk exposure and comply with regulatory requirements.
Manage change management activities—including stakeholder assessments, communication plans, training strategies and resistance mitigation—to ensure sustainable adoption of new processes and systems.
Lead performance improvement audits, benchmarking studies and competitive analysis to identify external best practices and internal gaps that inform the continuous improvement roadmap.
Track and report on project benefits realization post-implementation (30/60/90 day checks), adjusting sustainment plans and escalation pathways as needed to maintain long-term gains.
Support M&A or site integration activities by leading process harmonization, transfer of best practices and rapid operational stabilization plans.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to provide actionable insights for improvement projects; partner with data engineering and analytics teams to operationalize critical dashboards and reports.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by identifying key operational data sources, required integrations and reporting needs for continuous improvement initiatives.
Collaborate with business units to translate operational needs into technical requirements for MES/ERP improvements, automation opportunities, and predictive analytics pilots.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies for cross-functional transformation squads, ensuring continuous improvement projects are sequenced and resourced effectively.
Provide subject-matter inputs into vendor selection, RFPs and pilot evaluations for digital tools (IIoT, CMMS, MES) that support operational excellence objectives.
Assist HR and L&D in developing targeted training curricula and certification paths for Lean/Six Sigma capability building across the organization.
Act as the escalation point for sustained issues impacting KPIs, coordinating cross-functional response and follow-up until corrective actions are validated and embedded.
Support sustainability and efficiency initiatives such as energy optimization, waste reduction and circular economy pilot programs aligned with operational improvement goals.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Lean methodologies: Kaizen, 5S, SMED, JIT, standard work and value stream mapping for operational redesign and waste elimination.
Six Sigma: DMAIC problem-solving, statistical process control (SPC), hypothesis testing and experience as Green Belt or Black Belt (preferred).
Data & analytics: advanced Excel, SQL querying, Power BI/Tableau dashboarding, and experience interpreting operational datasets to drive decisions.
Process mapping & documentation: SIPOC, swimlane diagrams, SOP writing and visual management deployment.
Project & program management: PMP/Prince2 or equivalent experience managing multi-site cross-functional projects with budget and timeline ownership.
Root cause analysis tools: 5 Whys, fishbone (Ishikawa), A3 thinking and corrective/preventive action planning.
Operational systems knowledge: MES, ERP (SAP/Oracle), CMMS, production scheduling and capacity planning tools.
Costing & financial acumen: ROI modeling, cost-benefit analysis, P&L impacts, and working capital optimization techniques.
Automation & digital tools familiarity: basic understanding of IIoT, predictive maintenance, robotics/automation use cases and digital work instructions.
Audit & compliance: experience with ISO standards, quality management systems and regulatory compliance relevant to operations.
Statistical & process control tools: Minitab or similar statistical software for process capability and variation analysis.
Change management frameworks: Prosci, ADKAR or equivalent to plan adoption, training and sustainment of new processes.

Soft Skills

Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills with ability to build credibility across frontline teams and senior leadership.
Exceptional communication and presentation skills—able to translate technical analyses into clear, business-focused recommendations.
Coaching and mentoring ability to develop continuous improvement capability across managers, supervisors and operators.
Analytical problem-solver with a bias for action and hands-on approach to troubleshooting operational issues.
Strategic thinking and prioritization skills to balance quick wins with longer-term transformational initiatives.
Resilience and adaptability to lead change in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment with competing priorities.
Collaborative mindset and high EQ to facilitate cross-functional alignment and resolve conflicts constructively.
Attention to detail and discipline to enforce standard work, governance and sustainment mechanisms.
Customer-centric orientation to ensure improvements maintain or enhance external and internal customer experience.
Time management and multi-project coordination skills to deliver results across concurrent improvement streams.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Industrial, Mechanical, Manufacturing), Operations Management, Supply Chain, Business Administration or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s plus Green Belt certification or Master’s degree (MBA, MS in Industrial Engineering) and/or Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Industrial Engineering
Operations Management
Supply Chain Management
Mechanical Engineering
Business Administration (with operations focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years of progressive experience in operations, continuous improvement or process engineering roles.

Preferred:

7–12 years with demonstrated success leading cross-functional operational excellence programs, experience in manufacturing or complex service operations, and proven track record of delivering multi-million-dollar cost savings or productivity gains.