Director, Enterprise Transformation & Operational Excellence

Job Description

Zendesk is seeking a dynamic, results-oriented Director to lead high-priority, cross-functional enterprise transformation and process excellence initiatives that translate corporate strategy into execution-ready programs delivering measurable business impact.
 

This role is responsible for the end-to-end planning, alignment, execution, and ongoing governance of strategic initiatives across Marketing, GTM, IT, CX, and G&A functions. The Director will engage closely with senior leaders, external partners such as private equity owners and consultants, and operational teams to drive alignment with corporate objectives and ensure successful delivery of business outcomes.
 

Success requires strong strategic and analytical skills, exceptional communication and interpersonal effectiveness, and the ability to lead change management efforts that embed transformation as a core organizational capability.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Initiative Leadership & Cross-Functional Execution

• Own one or more enterprise-wide strategic transformation initiatives, partnering with senior leadership, private equity stakeholders, and third-party consultants to translate high-level corporate strategies into actionable, execution-ready programs.

• Lead the design, planning, and governance of initiatives focused on operational excellence, AI-driven process adoption, organizational design, and business process re-engineering.

• Bring structure and clarity to ambiguous visions, shaping initiative goals, workstreams, and timelines. Lead cross-functional teams to deliver against milestones with measurable business outcomes.

• Coordinate meetings, facilitate alignment sessions, drive data analysis, craft business cases, and develop recommendations that enable informed decision-making.

Enterprise Process Excellence & Automation Enablement

• Drive process optimization and automation efforts leveraging AI, RPA, and other emerging technologies to improve operational efficiency, quality, and customer experience.

• Collaborate deeply with GTM, CX, IT, and Supporting functions to embed scalable, AI-first operational capabilities that sustain long-term performance gains.

• Continuously identify and mitigate risks, roadblocks, and conflicts across stakeholders to keep initiatives on track and aligned with strategic priorities.

Reporting, Insights & Change Management

• Develop and oversee systems, metrics, and dashboards that track initiative success and identify improvement opportunities.

• Lead the creation of executive communications, board materials, and data-driven reporting that provide transparency into progress, impact, and risks.

• Define and execute comprehensive change management strategies that drive adoption of new processes and technologies with minimal disruption.

• Educate and empower business stakeholders to improve their data literacy and adoption of automated tools and AI capabilities.

People Leadership & Program Team Development

• Build, mentor, and influence a high-performing program team, including more junior Business Transformation members and cross-functional partners.

• Foster a collaborative, growth-oriented team culture aligned to transformation goals and continuous improvement of best practices and methodologies.

• Support team members by sharing expertise, advocating for professional development, and promoting agile ways of working.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• 8-10+ years of relevant experience in management consulting, business operations, corporate strategy, program management, operations improvement, or business process re-engineering relating to technology-enabled transformation.

• Proven success in leading complex, large-scale cross-functional programs that delivered impactful business results, including AI-driven transformation initiatives.

• Strong ability to navigate ambiguity, synthesize competing priorities, and apply structured project management methodologies to align and mobi