Continuous Improvement Consultant I

Unum•Portland, ME

About The Position

This is the first step in a two-level career path in the Continuous Improvement Office. This role is the first step in a two-level career path in the Continuous Improvement discipline with UNUM. This role works closely with teammates, business partners, and initiative stakeholders to improve processes, ensure readiness and change adoption, and seek more efficient ways of getting work done. This position is responsible for proactive assessment of business processes that have opportunity for improvement related to efficiency, quality, cost, and/or customer service. The position will use continuous improvement methodologies to lead, execute, and implement change, and will work closely with business leadership and stakeholders to prioritize and align process improvement opportunities with strategic goals of the Company. This position requires both strong technical and analytical skills as well as a solid understanding of business areas and functions. The position must be able to balance CI expertise with a maturing ability to communicate clearly with management across all levels of the organization. The position should also be able to identify opportunities and lead small scope projects utilizing continuous improvement methodologies.

Requirements

2-2-5 years of CI experience with knowledge of multiple methodologies (PROSCI, ADKAR, Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, Kaizen, process re-engineering)
Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent business experience
Position requires extensive independent interaction with business area management and subject matter experts
Experience managing continuous improvement-related projects
Demonstrated statistical analysis skills and abilities
Strong PC skills required (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Lucid or a similar process mapping solutions etc.)
Strong ability to work effectively in a dynamic, rapidly changing business and technical environment
Proficient at handling multiple priorities, conflict resolution, and team building
Strong collaboration skills and the ability to influence various business partners and P&C stakeholders
Strong interpersonal skills with focus on building positive relationships within SPO and across P&C
Excellent advisory skills, and the ability to deal with/think through ambiguity, complex issues, competing priorities and make thoughtful recommendations
Highly effective oral/written communication, facilitation, and presentation skills
Some travel may be required

Responsibilities

Lead and/or collaborate on projects utilizing continuous improvement methodologies. These initiatives have an impact on a range of initiatives, including large-scale company-wide initiatives and smaller efforts that require CI documentation, analysis, and diagnosis.
Partner with other Continuous Improvement resources to conduct process assessments and identify areas of opportunity.
Create process documentation, including process maps, SOPs, simple analytical analyses, and other process-related content in support of improving existing processes or defining new processes.
Lead by example as an active change agent by leverage influencing skills that come from prior Continuous Improvement experience.
Establish strong, effective, and collaborative partnerships with key business, function, and/or project managers and subject matter experts.
Quantify and develop appropriate cost benefit measures for new or redesigned value-added processes as well as collect and analyze reported results from business areas on a regular basis.
Consolidate and develop effective presentations to communicate information to all levels of the organization.
Partnership with CI resources across UNUM to share CI best practices.
Lead by example as an active change agent by leverage influencing skills that come from prior Continuous Improvement experience.
Perform other duties as assigned.