Sr. Manager, Continuous Improvement, Global Dewatering

Xylem•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

Xylem is seeking a Sr. Manager, Global Continuous Improvement & 80/20 for its Dewatering business. This transformation leader will support the Dewatering SVP/GM and leadership team in translating strategy into a global roadmap that improves customer value, accelerates profitable growth, simplifies the business, and delivers measurable financial impact. The role leads the global Dewatering CI team, drives governance and operating rhythms, builds team capability, and embeds continuous improvement (CI) and 80/20 into business priorities and performance management. It also directly leads the North America CI agenda while building sustainable regional ownership. The position partners across functions to deliver improvements in growth, productivity, working capital, quality, service, and customer experience. Travel is 25–30%, including international travel. Xylem does not provide visa sponsorship for this position.

Requirements

5+ years of progressive experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, business transformation, or operations, including exposure to multiple sites or regions.
Demonstrated experience leading or contributing to multi-site or multi-region transformation initiatives and influencing functional leaders and operating teams through change.
Experience leading and developing teams, including performance management, talent development, and matrix leadership.
Strong expertise in Lean business systems, strategy deployment, daily management, structured problem solving, kaizen, value-stream transformation, standard work, and change adoption.
Strong communication and influencing skills, including the ability to frame choices, challenge constructively, facilitate decisions, and communicate with leaders and frontline teams.
Ability to balance program leadership with hands-on engagement in critical transformations, operating reviews, coaching, and problem solving.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, business, operations, supply chain, or a related field.
Strategic thinking and enterprise perspective.
Influence and constructive challenge with leaders.
80/20 mindset and disciplined prioritization.
Global team leadership and talent development.
Structured problem solving and systems thinking.
Bias for action with accountability for sustainable results.

Nice To Haves

Experience in service, rental, field operations, branch networks, aftermarket, transactional processes, or other distributed non-manufacturing environments.
Advanced degree in business administration, engineering management, or a related discipline.
Lean / Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, or equivalent enterprise operating-system certification.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted CI and 80/20 advisor to the Dewatering leadership team, providing an enterprise perspective on operating priorities, resource allocation, and transformation sequencing.
Contribute to developing and executing a multi-year Dewatering transformation roadmap, aligning CI and 80/20 with simplification and profitable growth; engage a cross-functional team to establish and maintain a strong opportunity pipeline.
Advance a global team of CI professionals to increase lean capability, problem-solving discipline, and ownership of sustainable improvement, while directly owning and executing the North America CI agenda.
Lead and facilitate teams through kaizens, value stream mapping, and improvement activities, especially transactional CI in a service- and rental-heavy business.
Establish, measure, and report appropriate KPIs; partner with finance leadership to identify opportunities, develop practical action plans, and drive execution.
Deploy and continuously improve a common Dewatering CI operating system, including strategy deployment, daily management, structured problem solving, kaizen, leader standard work, and benefit tracking.
Drive execution of the Dewatering 80/20 operating system, including governance, execution cadence, roadmap delivery, benefit tracking, and cross-functional accountability, in partnership with the WSS 80/20 segment leader.
Partner with commercial, product management, operations, service, rental, supply chain, finance, and HR leaders to apply customer and product segmentation to growth and simplification decisions.
Incorporate CI and 80/20 priorities into AOP, LRP, operating reviews, functional plans, resource allocation, and leadership standard work.
Manage the global improvement portfolio across growth, productivity, working capital, quality, service, and customer experience, with clear owners, milestones, dependencies, risks, benefits, and decision points.
Lead and develop the global Dewatering CI team, including setting priorities and accountabilities and managing performance, talent development, and capability building.
Provide direct leadership for the North America CI and 80/20 agenda and support high-impact cross-site transformations, performance turnarounds, and capability-building work.
Build regional and site capability so business leaders and local teams independently own and sustain CI and 80/20 outcomes.