Senior Manager Continuous Improvement- Houston, TX- (Hybrid role, not remote; expectation to be in office/field as needed)

*Applicants need to be based in  Houston, Austin, or Dallas metro area, TX

This position will lead a variety of continuous improvement and process improvement projects and teams to apply Continuous Improvement principles and tools to ensure Quest Diagnostics is efficient and effective in the delivery of its services, solutions, and processes while improving customer and employee satisfaction. This position will be responsible for driving an end-to-end analysis of business operations function and related performance measures.  This role will work with Business Leaders to identify opportunities for profitable growth, and driving business transformation and outcomes. This position will also be responsible for coaching others to learn and apply Continuous Improvement principles and tools to their daily work.

• Owns and leads projects and working teams to effectively initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and close projects that drives culture change and positive results. 
  • Leads projects 
    • Leads projects through issues, roadblocks, and problems 
    • Acts as a change agent to drive teams toward success. Demonstrates a track record of success leading and influencing at the mid to senior leadership level without direct authority in driving change.
    • Guides team members to perform through issues and constraints 
  • Owns projects 
    • Owns the timeline, budget, resource constraints, and deliverables / results 
    • Shifts between the big picture and the small-but-crucial details 
    • Is prepared to roll up their sleeves and work through detailed issues 
  • Manages projects 
    • Ensures all appropriate tools are completed and used effectively (e.g., charter, gantt chart, status updates) 
  • Communicates 
    • Actively communicates with project sponsors and stakeholders securing buy-in and agreement as needed 
    • Establishes regular points of communication 
    • Manages sponsor and stakeholders expectations 
  • Delivers the expected results 
• Applies continuous improvement principles, tools and techniques, towards a variety of medium-sized projects  
• Leads efforts to implement Process Control and Management (process definition, documentation, ownership, metrics, and monitoring systems) 
• Facilitates workshops and targeted improvement events to help teams quickly achieve strategic objectives 
• Works with local team members to identify and prioritize continuous improvement opportunities 
• Works with functional and site leaders as a thought leader to create future state improvement roadmaps with clear executable plans that are in line with the business strategies improvement needs 
• Works with local team members to instill effective daily work management behaviors, such as daily metric review 
• Contributes toward building a grass-roots culture of continuous improvement 
• Coaches other employees on the use of various tools, concepts and practices foundational to Continuous Improvement in order for Quest Diagnostics employees to build self-sufficiency, sustainability and scalability  
• Participates in Communities of Practice 
• Leads Continuous Improvement Training Classes 
• Documents business processes 
• Completes required continued learning 

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Work Experience:

• 5+ years of direct responsibility of operational ownership of different aspects of a business and Continuous Improvement experience. Experience working in the Toyota Production System or similar rigorous lean model

Preferred Work Experience: 

Preferred experience in areas of Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Organizational leadership, or Healthcare.

Physical and Mental Requirements:  

• The normal performance of duties may require lifting and carrying objects 
• Frequent walking and/or standing.  

Knowledge:  

• Demonstrated understanding and experience in continuous improvement, process management, or system thinking (5+ years) 
• Demonstrated experience in core continuous improvement tools 
• Demonstrated experience using structured problem-solving skills: uses a systematic, disciplined and data-driven approach that identifies the root causes of various issues and designs solutions to resolve them 
• Demonstrated data analysis skills 
• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex, change initiatives and projects, from initiation to completion (5+ years)
• Demonstrated experience facilitating discussions or workshops  
• Demonstrated ability to develop strong relationships with others.  Proven track record of fostering leadership alignment and target setting
• Demonstrated experience leading changes 
• Demonstrated ability to influence business leaders 
• Demonstrated experience with process management 
• Basic knowledge of VOC tools & some DFSS tools 
• General knowledge of Hoshin and breakthrough planning 

Skills:  

• Comfortable with statistical analysis 
• Problem solving skills 
• Effective written and verbal communication skills across multiple formats:  formal presentations, meetings, conference calls, e-mails, and memos   
• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously 
• Comfortable with Microsoft PowerPoint and Project 
• Skilled in Microsoft Word 
• Advanced in Microsoft Excel  
• Interpersonal skills 
• Decision making skills 
• Planning and organization skills 
• Negotiation skills 
• Results-oriented  
• Creative 
• Persistent 
• Composed 
• Able to learn new concepts rapidly 
• Able to work independently with little supervision 

EDUCATION
Bachelor’s Degree

LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS
Formal training in project management or continuous improvement methodologies (e.g., Six Sigma, Total Quality Management, Lean, Theory of Constraints)

Current Black belt certification a plus

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race/Color/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Vets or any other legally protected status.