Director Business Transformation Process Excellence - Business Transformation - Akron FirstEnergy Headquarters

FirstEnergy • Akron, OH

8d • Onsite

About The Position

FirstEnergy Service Company is hiring a Director to lead its Business Transformation Process Excellence and Change Management disciplines. This full-time position is based at an office within FirstEnergy’s service territory and requires on-site work four days per week. The role may be located in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC, and requires travel to work locations across the territory as needed.

The Director leads and develops individual contributors who assess current work, collaborate with business partners to design improved future-state processes, and support employees through organizational change with communication, training, and reinforcement. Business Transformation identifies, assesses, and designs solutions, while implementation and long-term ownership remain with the business unit. The Director is accountable for the quality of handovers and for whether improvements and new ways of working remain in place after the transformation team steps away.

The role establishes consistent methods, standards, tools, templates, and quality expectations across the enterprise; allocates specialist capacity across business units; validates operational baselines and post-implementation measurements; and leads adoption planning and sustainment for significant changes. The Director also represents the disciplines to executive leaders and steering committees, builds continuous-improvement capability in business units, partners with Human Resources on organizational and workforce impacts, manages third-party partners, and contributes to Business Transformation strategy and governance.

The position reports to the Vice President, Business Transformation. Participation in storm restoration or emergency response duties may be required as assigned. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, organizational development, or a related discipline.
• At least 10 years of relevant work experience leading process improvement, operational excellence, or organizational change work.
• Demonstrated experience establishing methods, standards, or quality controls that others apply consistently.
• Experience leading and developing a team of experienced practitioners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to influence senior leaders’ decision-making.
• Ability to manage concurrent initiatives across multiple business units and deliver accurate work within established deadlines.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• Ability to work on-site four days per week at an office within the FirstEnergy service territory and travel to territory work locations as needed.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or MBA.
• Working knowledge of structured process improvement methodologies such as Lean or Six Sigma and formal change management practices such as Prosci/ADKAR.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
• Prosci, CCMP, or equivalent change management certification.
• Experience establishing or scaling an organizational process improvement or change capability, including a training or certification program.
• Experience in the electric utility industry or another regulated operating environment, including frontline and field-based workforces.
• Experience leading change in a unionized or collectively bargained environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of individual contributors across process excellence and change management.
• Set methods, standards, and quality expectations for both disciplines, and review work before it reaches the business unit.
• Allocate specialist capacity across business units according to portfolio priorities and resolve competing demand with business unit Portfolio Managers.
• Own the enterprise improvement methodology so process work follows a consistent standard across business units.
• Select and/or develop, implement, and continuously improve process excellence and change management tools and templates.
• Confirm that operational baselines and post-implementation measurements are sound and that improvement claims are defensible.
• Own adoption planning and sustainment for initiatives involving significant behavior or process change, anticipating and managing resistance.
• Represent process excellence and change management to executive leadership and steering committees, including defending recommendations that require different ways of working.
• Identify recurring operational problems spanning multiple business units and make the case for enterprise-level action.
• Own the continuous-improvement training and certification curriculum to build process and change capability within business units.
• Partner with Human Resources on organizational design, role clarity, and workforce impacts arising from redesigned processes.
• Manage third-party process and change partners, including scope, deliverable quality, and value relative to spend.
• Contribute to Business Transformation strategy, portfolio governance, and capability planning as a leadership team member.
• Support FirstEnergy’s safety culture and ensure transformation work does not compromise safe operations.
• Travel to work locations across the service territory as needed and participate in storm restoration or emergency response duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Competitive pay plus incentive compensation.
• Company-sponsored pension plan.
• 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution.
• Choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs.
• Skills development training with tuition reimbursement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director