Operational Excellence Manager

Agero • Chicago, IL

1d

About The Position

Agero is expanding its Operational Excellence team and is looking for a Manager to help establish and scale our Continuous Improvement (CI) framework The Operational Excellence Manager will be responsible for identifying, executing, and sustaining high-impact initiatives across multiple lines of business. You will focus on delivering measurable service quality improvements and optimizing unit economics by addressing root causes rather than symptoms. As a practitioner of data-driven problem solving, you will separate signal from noise to identify high-value opportunities. Your success will depend on your ability to lead cross-functional teams and build support for CI tools in an environment where these practices are not fully mature. We are looking for a leader who can operate autonomously, influence without direct authority, and communicate effectively with stakeholders ranging from front-line agents to senior executives. If you are a certified Black Belt who thrives on building process foundations from the ground up, this role offers the opportunity to drive significant operational change within a high-volume, low margin service organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required, industrial engineering or process engineering strongly preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification required.
• 5-7 years of experience delivering results from Operational Excellence / Continuous Improvement initiatives, experience in high volume, low margin industries preferred.
• Demonstrated success in deploying an Operational Excellence/Continuous Improvement transformation within an organization early in the CI/Lean maturity curve
• Strong business acumen with ability to connect the impact of projects and actions to business outcomes
• History of delivering results in process improvement and process reengineering (be prepared to speak to specific examples)
• Expertise in teaching continuous improvement methodologies (DMAIC, SIPOC, VOC, process mapping, value stream mapping, 5 Whys, etc) through workshops and execution of initiatives
• Excellent data and business analysis skills, able to complete detailed evaluations of structured and unstructured data to glean insights and drive improvements
• Strong problem solving, project management, and communication skills with ability to make compelling recommendations to cross-functional leaders that balance business objectives, constraints and risks
• Capable of thriving under minimal supervision, bringing recommendations for future projects / investigations to Director of Operational Excellence and functional leaders without being specifically asked to do so
• Ability to build systems that are easily workable for teams and sustain improvement initiatives
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis.
• This position is not eligible for employer visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with Human Factors Engineering preferred

Responsibilities

• Improve quality of our service delivery, as measured by reduction in key defect metrics
• Improve financial performance and product unit economics and reduce cost to serve
• Deliver service quality improvements and operational cost reductions through leveraging Lean and Six Sigma principles and a hypothesis-driven approach to separate signal from noise to identify high impact opportunities and solve to root cause
• Develop data-driven recommendations and share cross-functional leaders in a way that is compelling, drives action and alignment, and delivers results maximizing value across products
• Consider and implement a range of technology, process, and people solutions to address improvement opportunities in partnership with our digital product, engineering, and operations teams
• Communicate effectively up and down within the organization, from our front-line agents to our senior executive team
• Influence collaboration and action without direct authority over cross-functional teams
• Drive a culture of Operational Excellence / Continuous Improvement through teaching and coaching the use of tools to our Development, Operations, and back office teams.
• Build a culture of Operational Excellence broadly across functions

Benefits

• Healthcare, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and mental health benefits for associates and their families.
• 401(k) plan with company match and tuition assistance to support your future goals.
• Flexible time off, paid sick leave, and ten paid holidays annually.
• Accrual of up to 3 weeks Paid Time Off per year, paid sick leave, and ten paid holidays annually.
• Parental planning benefits to assist associates through life’s milestones.
• Bonus/Incentive Programs

What This Job Offers

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