Sr. Director - Network Operational Excellence Lead

Eli Lilly and Company•Indianapolis, IN

About The Position

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world. Organizational Overview At Lilly, we serve an extraordinary purpose. We make a difference for people around the globe by discovering, developing and delivering medicines that help them live longer, healthier, more active lives. Not only do we deliver breakthrough medications, but you also can count on us to develop creative solutions to support communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. Network Operational Excellence Lead The Network Operational Excellence (OpEx) Lead is the strategic owner of OpEx systems and standards across the manufacturing network. This role defines network-wide OpEx direction, establishes system expectations, and ensures OpEx remains integrated into operations, strategy deployment, and performance management. The Network OpEx Lead partners with global stakeholders, Site OpEx Leads, and Network OpEx Business Partners to drive alignment, orchestrate large-scale CI initiatives, strengthen capability, and shape the long-range OpEx roadmap. This role is responsible for embedding Lean, Root Cause Analysis, Human Performance Reliability, and other OpEx methodologies across the network, and plays a key role in governance design, strategy, digital transformation, and global improvement initiatives. The Network OpEx Lead participates in Network governance and leads network and global level continuous improvement initiatives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a STEM related discipline
10+ years of relevant professional experience in Manufacturing
Hands-on application of Lean, Six Sigma, RCA, HPR, and OpEx methodologies with proven results
Strong facilitation and coaching skills
Proficiency with MS Office, SharePoint, JMP; comfort with digital platforms and data analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau); willingness to upskill in AI-driven solutions
Demonstrated change management leadership and organizational agility
Ability to influence and collaborate across diverse teams, geographies, and cultures
Commitment to continuous professional development, including emerging technologies and advanced OpEx practices

Nice To Haves

frontline leadership experience in a manufacturing environment
Skilled in designing and facilitating problem-solving engagements across organizational levels
Proven coaching, teaching, and mentoring using OpEx methodologies
Strong leadership, team building, and ability to drive change without authority
Excellent verbal and written communication with strong influence skills
Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and analytical abilities
High self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Ability to manage multiple shifting priorities effectively
Experience leading global change and cultural transformation initiatives
Ability to balance long-term system development with near-term business needs
Strong enterprise mindset with ability to influence across global and network structures
Skilled at designing scalable governance, standards, and frameworks

Responsibilities

OpEx System Deployment & Sustainability
Set the strategic direction for Operational Excellence aligned to the Global OpEx Strategy
Lead deployment and long-term sustainability of the OpEx Management System across sites
Serve as Lean & Six Sigma SME in M&Q
Oversee creation, maintenance, education, and deployment of OpEx system standards
Design and maintain OpEx training, tools, and knowledge management systems
Provide strategic oversight of OpEx assessments to inform system improvement
Capability Building & Coaching
Act as technical leader and mentor to Network & Site OpEx Partners
Design, maintain, and deploy capability-building frameworks for OpEx methodologies
Coach the network in applying OpEx principles (Lean, MSOEs, etc.)
Influence leadership on effective OpEx behaviors, tools, and practices
Continuous Improvement & Standardization
Lead and support high-impact global and network CI initiatives
Apply Lean, RCA, OCM, and HPR methodologies to deliver measurable improvement
Design processes that promote sharing and replication of best practices
Identify common improvement themes and help standardize scalable solutions
Governance & OpEx Community Engagement
Shape Community of Practice direction, themes, priorities, and maturity expectations
Actively engage the OpEx community through updates, 1:1s, and discussions
Represent the network in global OpEx forums and contribute to strategy
Participate in Network Huddles and Performance reviews to identify improvement opportunities
Support network strategy deployment and prioritization
Digital Integration & Upskilling
Collaborate cross-functionally to integrate digital solutions into OpEx systems
Build digital capabilities enabling data-driven decisions and process automation
Lead deployment and change management for M&Q Digital Transformation initiatives
New Site Start Up
Embed OpEx culture and systems in new site start-up and expansions
Ensure OpEx principles are integrated into design, staffing, and early operations
Provide OpEx expertise to ensure system standards and governance expectations are clear
Design and deploy foundational OpEx education, processes, and performance routines

Benefits

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance).
In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).

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