Executive Director, Continuous Process Improvement and Performance

About the role

The Executive Director of Continuous Process Improvement and Performance is a senior executive responsible for providing strategic leadership and enterprise-wide direction for continuous process improvement, organizational performance, internal control enhancement, and audit remediation initiatives across the Division of Finance and Business Administration. The Executive Director leads complex, cross-functional initiatives that improve operational effectiveness, strengthen governance and internal controls, enhance organizational performance, and promote a culture of continuous improvement. The Executive Director independently leads initiatives through every phase of the improvement lifecycle, including current-state assessment, business process analysis, process redesign, stakeholder engagement, implementation, organizational change management, performance measurement, and sustainment. The position also provides executive leadership for audit remediation by developing corrective action strategies, strengthening internal controls, monitoring implementation, validating corrective actions, and ensuring the timely and sustainable resolution of audit findings. The Executive Director serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership by identifying enterprise improvement opportunities, recommending strategic priorities, and ensuring organizational initiatives align with the University's strategic goals, regulatory requirements, and operational objectives.

Responsibilities

• Leads complex, cross-functional initiatives that improve operational effectiveness, strengthen governance and internal controls, enhance organizational performance, and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• Independently leads initiatives through every phase of the improvement lifecycle, including current-state assessment, business process analysis, process redesign, stakeholder engagement, implementation, organizational change management, performance measurement, and sustainment.
• Provides executive leadership for audit remediation by developing corrective action strategies, strengthening internal controls, monitoring implementation, validating corrective actions, and ensuring the timely and sustainable resolution of audit findings.
• Serves as a trusted advisor to executive leadership by identifying enterprise improvement opportunities, recommending strategic priorities, and ensuring organizational initiatives align with the University's strategic goals, regulatory requirements, and operational objectives.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in business administration, information systems, supply chain management, industrial engineering, public administration, organizational leadership, or a closely related field.
• Ability to maintain the security or integrity of critical infrastructure, which may include communications systems, computer networks and systems, cybersecurity systems, electrical grid, hazardous waste treatment or water treatment system.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in process improvement, internal controls, audit remediation, and transformation.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience leading process-improvement initiatives from end to end.
• Experience personally conducting current-state assessments, process mapping, root-cause analysis, future-state design, implementation, training, transition, and measurement of results.
• Demonstrated experience improving financial or administrative processes.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience leading audit-remediation initiatives from finding through sustainable closure.
• Experience analyzing audit findings, developing corrective-action plans, redesigning controls, collecting evidence, and validating implementation.
• Practical experience developing SOPs, workflows, policies, control matrices, responsibility assignments, and implementation plans.
• Experience evaluating or strengthening financial and operational controls.
• Experience working with ERP-enabled finance or administrative processes.
• Experience conducting financial and operational data analysis.
• Experience developing KPIs, scorecards, performance reports, or functional dashboards.
• Familiarity with multiple Finance and Business Administration functions, such as financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, accounting, financial reporting, payroll, procurement, accounts payable, accounts receivable, asset management, warehousing, or internal controls.
• Candidates must have personally led process-improvement initiatives from assessment through implementation and sustainment. Experience limited to participating in, supporting, advising on, or overseeing improvement efforts will not satisfy this requirement.