Portfolio Optimization Leader
About The Position
The Portfolio Optimization Leader is a strategic member of the Baxter GPS office and is responsible for driving enterprise-level focus and value creation through Portfolio Optimization, which includes projects that improve processes and accelerate transformation, as well as product portfolio rationalization using 80/20 capabilities. A core responsibility of this role is governing a large, cross-functional portfolio of 800+ projects to simplify complexity, improve business performance, and ensure resources are concentrated on the highest-value opportunities. This leader establishes governance, prioritization, and review mechanisms that enable disciplined decision making, strong accountability, and elimination of low-value work and offerings. They also provide enterprise visibility into benefit tracing across Operating Income, Revenue Growth, ROIC, Free Cash Flow, cost avoidance, productivity and customer satisfaction, while highlighting risks to achieving targets and providing regular updates to Senior Leaders. They challenge the status quo, articulate the “why,” and help teams focus on the initiatives that matter most.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred
- 10–15+ years in operations, strategy, or continuous improvement
- Experience with 80/20 methodology, Lean, or segmentation
- Analytical & Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the big picture and pinpoint leverage points.
- Influence & Coaching: Inspire and coach leaders and teams to adopt focused, high‑impact behaviors.
- Decisive & Focused: Concentrate on important—not just urgent—work and say "no" to lower‑value activities.
- Governance & Accountability Orientation: Drive results through clear governance, disciplined prioritization, and strong accountability across the portfolio.
- Exceptional Communication: Clearly articulate the “why” behind decisions and challenge existing norms.
- Change Leadership: Influence teams through organizational transformation and simplification
- Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.
Responsibilities
- Apply the Pareto Principle to identify the “vital few” tasks, customers, and SKU/product lines that generate the highest returns.
- Govern a portfolio of initiatives focused on process improvement, business transformation, and product portfolio rationalization using 80/20 capabilities; establish governance forums, decision rights, and prioritization criteria to focus investment on the highest-value opportunities and eliminate low-value complexity.
- Report the status of an 800+ project portfolio, including value realization and risks to achieving targets; provide transparency on progress, expected outcomes, and gaps requiring leadership attention or intervention. Ensure benefit tracing is in place across Operating Income, Revenue Growth, ROIC, Free Cash Flow, cost avoidance, and customer satisfaction, and provide regular updates to Senior Leaders.
- Mine the portfolio to identify repeatable initiatives, scalable solutions, and proven practices; standardize and enforce deployment of these across the enterprise to accelerate value capture, reduce duplication, and improve consistency of outcomes.
- Redirect human, financial, and technological resources toward high‑impact initiatives.
- Champion a culture of simplification, continuous improvement, and focus.
- Identify top talent and delegate intentionally.
- Use segmented P&Ls and analytics to guide decisions.
- Oversee and govern kaizen events, transformation initiatives, and cross-functional improvement efforts to ensure they align to enterprise priorities, simplify processes, increase productivity, and deliver measurable business impact.
- Conducting 80/20 analysis (e.g., customer, product, profit).
- Convening kaizen and strategy review forums to assess progress, remove barriers, and reinforce priorities.
- Developing Raving Fans and target selling strategies.
- Leading portfolio optimization reviews across process improvement, transformation, and product rationalization; using 80/20 analysis to guide decisions, simplify offerings, and focus investment on the highest-value opportunities.
- Partnering with senior leaders across business lines.
Benefits
- medical and dental coverage that start on day one
- insurance coverage for basic life, accident, short-term and long-term disability, and business travel accident insurance
- Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), with the ability to purchase company stock at a discount
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan (RSP), with options for employee contributions and company matching
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- educational assistance programs
- paid holidays
- paid time off ranging from 20 to 35 days based on length of service
- family and medical leaves of absence
- paid parental leave
- commuting benefits
- Employee Discount Program
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- childcare benefits
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
