Director, Operational Excellence

Early Warning® • Scottsdale, AZ

1d • $154,000 - $232,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses. Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment. Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship. Overall Purpose The Director, Operational Excellence is responsible for working with the team lead to drive operational excellence and organizational efficiency initiatives across the Early Warning. This includes helping lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of business processes across the enterprise. This role is focused on ensuring cross-functional processes are optimized for scalability, agility, and performance, aligning with strategic goals to deliver measurable business outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, operations management, industrial engineering, or related field
• 15 or more years of experience in business process improvement, operations excellence, or management consulting, preferably with at least 3 years in a director or principal-level role. Experience may also be attained through graduate level study
• Demonstrated success in leading enterprise-wide transformation initiatives with measurable impact
• Deep knowledge of process improvement frameworks (e.g., DMAIC, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen)
• Strong background in change management and executive stakeholder management
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and negotiation skills
• Background and drug screen

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree or MBA.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
• Experience in Financial Services
• Strong data-driven decision-making skills, with proficiency in BI tools and advanced analytics.

Responsibilities

• Helps lead the execution of the organization’s process efficiency and optimization initiatives within defined business domains, ensuring alignment with broader enterprise priorities
• Conducts and oversees process assessments across assigned functions to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, risks, and opportunities for improvement
• Helps lead a small team in guiding delivery of medium- to large-scale process improvement and transformation initiatives
• Partners with senior leaders and key stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into actionable process improvement efforts, supporting cross-functional collaboration and effective execution
• Partners closely with the Head of Corporate Strategy and the Senior Director of Operational Excellence to execute agreed-upon transformation priorities, ensuring strategic intent is translated into measurable operational outcomes.
• Defines, tracks, and analyzes key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure process effectiveness, efficiency gains, and initiative outcomes
• Supports the adoption of automation, AI, and digital solutions by identifying use cases, partnering with technology teams, and driving implementation within scope
• Prepares clear, data-driven analyses, reports, and recommendations for senior leadership, translating process findings into practical, decision-support insights
• Serves as a change champion for assigned initiatives, driving engagement and adoption through effective communication, stakeholder management, and follow-through
• Ensures compliance, risk, and scalability considerations are incorporated into process redesigns in collaboration with risk, legal, and control partners

Benefits

• Healthcare Coverage – Competitive medical (PPO/HDHP), dental, and vision plans as well as company contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) or pre-tax savings through flexible spending accounts (FSA) for commuting, health & dependent care expenses.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Featuring a 100% Company Safe Harbor Match on your first 6% deferral immediately upon eligibility.
• Paid Time Off – Unlimited Time Off for Exempt (salaried) employees, as well as generous PTO for Non-Exempt (hourly) employees, plus 11 paid company holidays and a paid volunteer day.
• 12 weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Maven Family Planning – provides support through your Parenting journey including egg freezing, fertility, adoption, surrogacy, pregnancy, postpartum, early pediatrics, and returning to work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 251-500 employees