Soft Services Continuous Improvement Manager

Cushman & Wakefield

1d•$127,500 - $150,000•Remote

About The Position

The Continuous Improvement Manager, Maintenance Operations identifies and drives operational efficiency and service delivery improvements across accounts and at the enterprise level with direct impact on P&L performance. This role targets key operational levers including labor optimization, technology deployment, and performance enablement across accounts delivering soft services (janitorial, day porter, office and mailroom, and grounds services). Combining deep soft services operations expertise with enterprise-level execution, this role partners closely with Finance, Business Development, and Human Resources to drive optimal account-level performance. This role is accountable for delivering finance-validated P&L impact.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in facilities management, business, or related field, or equivalent professional experience
7+ years in soft services operations, facilities management, including exposure to multi-site or portfolio-level account management
Demonstrated experience identifying and delivering measurable P&L impact through operational improvement initiatives
Strong analytical skills with experience using financial and operational data such as labor utilization, KPI performance, and budget adherence to diagnose root causes and prioritize solutions
Understanding of business fundamentals including P&L management, budgeting, and financial statements, with the ability to translate operational decisions into financial outcomes
Experience leading cross-functional projects including scoping, chartering, and driving initiatives to completion with measurable outcomes
Working knowledge of quality inspection systems, work order platforms, or other soft services management platforms
Ability to travel to client sites as needed

Nice To Haves

Lean Six Sigma certification
Experience deploying or scaling AI-enabled tools within janitorial, office and mailroom, or groundskeeping services
Prior experience in a continuous improvement, operational excellence, or process improvement role specifically within soft services or a related services industry
Experience optimizing workforce structure and labor spend, including staffing models, scheduling and crew right-sizing against contracted scope

Responsibilities

Analyze service execution, key performance indicator trends, labor utilization, financial performance, and client relationships to identify root causes for under-performing accounts
Identify and eliminate inflated operating expenses at soft services client sites to improve account health and financial performance
Build business cases and financial models to prioritize improvement initiatives based on P&L impact and implementation feasibility
Develop solutions in partnership with Client Services and business support teams to elevate account performance
Charter and lead margin recovery projects at under-performing accounts, defining scope, timeline, deliverables, and success metrics in partnership with account leadership
Track and report progress and financial impact to enterprise leadership, escalating risks or resource needs as required
Establish governance and accountability mechanisms to sustain performance gains after project close
Standardize best practices through playbook development across accounts to prevent recurrence of common performance and margin detractors
Produce results-oriented case studies and boilerplate content for use in solution scaling and business development proposals
Evaluate staffing models, scheduling practices, and resource deployment against workload demand to identify labor efficiency opportunities
Reduce reliance on overtime and premium labor through improved scheduling and workforce planning practices
Partner with account and site leadership to right-size crews and align labor spend with the contracted scope of work
Identify and address skill gaps or training needs that limit productivity and service quality
Reduce external vendor dependence through scope insourcing, process development, and training and skills development
Drive adoption and expansion of C&W Services’ AI-enabled tools and platforms to improve service delivery and reduce operating costs
Identify opportunities to deploy automation for labor-intensive or manual processes across maintenance and engineering operations
Partner with TechOps and Business Optimization to pilot, deploy, and scale AI-driven solutions across accounts
Partner with Finance, Business Development, Commercial Operations, and Human Resources to align improvement initiatives with broader business objectives
Support new business development, account growth, and client transitions through data, insights, and best practices generated from CI initiatives