Head of Operational Excellence

Job Title: Head of Operational Excellence

Grade: L4-2
Hiring Manager: Rakesh Kakkar

Location: Swiftwater, PA

About the Job

We deliver 4.3 billion healthcare solutions to people every year, thanks to the flawless planning and meticulous eye for detail of our Manufacturing & Supply teams. With your talent and ambition, we can do even more to protect people from infectious diseases and bring hope to patients and their families.

The Head of Operational Excellence is responsible for developing and executing the site's performance roadmap to achieve operational excellence. This role leads transformation initiatives, standardization efforts, and smart factory implementations to drive continuous improvement and breakthrough performance across all operational dimensions while fostering a culture of excellence.

We are an innovative global healthcare company with one purpose: to chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We’re also a company where you can flourish and grow your career, with countless opportunities to explore, make connections with people, and stretch the limits of what you thought was possible. Ready to get started?

Main Responsibilities

Developing, owning, and maintaining the Site Performance Roadmap by:

• Leading the Strategy Cascading process by working closely with internal (i.e., SLT) and external (i.e., Global Functions) stakeholders

• Defining site Compelling Business Needs (CBNs)

• Driving internal/external benchmarking & analyses to identify performance gaps/opportunities vs. best in class

• Socializing findings internally and externally with key stakeholders

• Leading the performance component during Strategic Planning and Budget processes

• Defining performance ambition aligned with CBNs and GBU objectives, cascaded into financial/operational targets across all performance dimensions

• Developing a prioritized portfolio of initiatives (performance + modernization) to deliver site ambition, including impact, resourcing and timelines

Delivering performance ambition by leading the execution of the Site Performance Roadmap through:

• Focused transformation initiatives (e.g., performance boosters) when fast-paced performance breakthroughs are required

• Standardization through SMS 2.0 ecosystem deployments enabling continuous improvement

• Partnership with Smart Factory to promote adoption of Smart Factory solutions and value capture in form of performance gains

• Supplier Excellence: Owning Material & Supplier improvement initiatives and serving as business interface for procurement on site

Leading site performance governance by:

• Managing operational KPI framework (i.e., +QDCI) including cascaded reviews from shopfloor to SLT to track performance evolution vs. ambition

• Driving financial impact of performance actions (e.g., 3P, Sievo) ensuring value is maximized and captured in alignment with Finance, Procurement, Operations

• Monitoring overall performance trajectory vs. ambition, spotting early deviations and deciding appropriate corrective actions

• Representing the site in above-site performance reviews and forums

Leading Site SMS team and developing OpEx & Digital capabilities & performance culture by:

• Implementing Site OpEx & Smart Factory team in alignment with standard organization

• Driving OpEx training in alignment with the learning administrator

• Developing strong relationships with the global OpEx community and Global Functions for best practices sharing

• Driving appropriate communication at all levels to promote performance mindset & behavior…

About You

Experience:

• Minimum 15+ years of experience with demonstrated success in leading operational excellence teams and initiatives with strong business acumen. 5+years of pharmaceutical industry experience

Soft Skills:

• Strong leadership abilities, project management expertise, analytical thinking, and change management capabilities

Technical skill:

• Proficiency in operational excellence methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, CI)

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Business, or related field

Language:

• Fluent in English

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in business administration, Engineering, or re