Director Operational Excellence (ME1118)

Mediclinic International; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 600,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Mediclinic International is seeking a Head of Operational Excellence to establish and lead the permanent process excellence function across the Middle East. The role will govern process design, measurement and improvement, chair the Process Council, and certify baselines and realised benefits.

The team will build an Operations Command Centre for real-time capacity and patient flow management, with AI-enabled processes developed in partnership with IT and business units.

Qualifications

• Essential: Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Health Administration, Industrial Engineering, or related field.
• Preferred: MBA/MHA or related certifications (Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, BPMN 2.0, Prosci/ADKAR, PMP/PRINCE2).

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the Operational Excellence function, governance, standards, and process maturity.
• Lead partnership and benefits realisation, governance, and measurement of operational and financial outcomes.
• Develop KPI and SLA frameworks; evolve to a predictive Operations Command Centre for live visibility.
• Drive continuous improvement, AI, automation, and digital solutions in operational processes.
• Lead change management and capability building across facilities with regulatory alignment.

Skills

Healthcare operations leadership

Process excellence

Digitalisation & AI awareness

KPI/SLA design

Change management

Capacity and productivity analytics

Governance & decision rights

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Health Administration/Industrial Engineering

MBA/MHA

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

BPMN 2.0/Change Management/PMO certificates

Tools

Tableau

Job description

Job description

Closing date: 14/10/2026
Number of positions: 1
Reference number: 74309

Mediclinic Corporate Office Dubai| Dubai | United Arab Emirates

MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB

The Head of Operational Excellence establishes and leads Mediclinic Middle East's permanent process excellence function. The role owns how the organisation's processes are designed, governed, measured and improved: one standard, one named owner and one KPI per process, modelled in BPMN 2.0. It leads the transition from the partner-delivered transformation programme to sustained internal ownership, chairs the Process Council, and independently certifies the baselines and realised benefits on which the programme's risk-sharing contract is settled. The role progressively builds the Operations Command Centre capability: real-time visibility, structured intervention and predictive management of capacity and patient flow across the network. It also leads the adoption of AI and automation within operational processes in partnership with IT, Digital and the relevant business departments.

To build and run the Operational Excellence department as the COO's function for standardisation, performance visibility and continuous improvement across all facilities. The department converts the process re‑engineering programme into measured, sustained operational and financial value. It delivers the COO's cost and performance optimisation mandate through evidenced capacity release, an Operations Command Centre that turns process data into live operational control, and AI-enabled processes adopted safely across the network.

KEY RESPONSIBILITY AREAS

• Operational Excellence Strategy & Governance: Establish and lead the Operational Excellence function, including its operating model, governance, standards and process maturity framework. Chair the Process Council and drive the organisation’s journey towards sustainable continuous improvement.

• Strategic Partner Programme & Benefits Realisation: Lead the organisation’s contribution to the Operational Excellence delivery partnership, overseeing programme governance, validating performance baselines and deliverables, and ensuring that agreed operational and financial benefits are accurately measured and realised.

• Process Performance & Operations Command Centre: Establish and oversee enterprise-wide KPI and SLA frameworks, strengthening operational visibility and intervention capabilities. Lead the evolution towards a predictive Operations Command Centre that enables real-time network visibility and dynamic management of capacity and patient flow.

• Continuous Improvement, AI & Value Creation: Lead the continuous improvement portfolio and translate operational improvements into measurable capacity, cost, productivity and revenue outcomes. Identify and prioritise opportunities to embed AI, automation and digital solutions into operational processes.

• Change Leadership & Capability Building: Drive organisation-wide adoption of Operational Excellence practices and build sustainable internal capability across facilities. Lead stakeholder engagement and change initiatives while ensuring process documentation and practices support regulatory, accreditation and information-governance requirements.

REQUIRED EDUCATION

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Health Administration, Industrial Engineering, or a related field.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA), Health Administration (MHA), or a related discipline.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
• Additional certification in Business Process Management/BPMN 2.0, Change Management (Prosci/ADKAR), or Programme/Project Management (PMP/PRINCE2) would be advantageous.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Minimum 12 years' experience in healthcare operations, operational excellence, or business transformation.
• At least 5 years' leadership experience within process excellence, continuous improvement, or operational transformation across a multi-site organisation.

Preferred

• Experience establishing and leading a process governance or Operational Excellence function.
• Strong understanding of digitalisation, automation and AI applications within operational processes, including process-to-platform mapping and transformation roadmap development.
• Experience with BPMN 2.0-based process architecture and enterprise-wide process improvement.
• Exposure to outcome- or gainshare-based strategic partnerships and benefit realisation programmes.
• Experience delivering workforce productivity, capacity and operational performance improvement initiatives.
• Healthcare experience within the UAE/GCC region is highly advantageous.

REQUIRED JOB SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Healthcare operations and multi-site operational leadership
• Digitalisation, automation and AI fundamentals: technology mapping (process-to-platform) and transformation roadmapping
• Business process management, BPMN 2.0 and process architecture (APQC)
• Lean / Six Sigma and continuous improvement methodology
• KPI/SLA framework design and performance management
• Benefit realisation, financial modelling and business case discipline
• Governance design, decision rights and change control
• Outcome-based / gainshare contract management
• Change management, adoption measurement and capability building
• Workforce capacity and productivity analytics
• Operations command centre design and real-time operational management
• AI and automation adoption in healthcare operations (use-case identification, piloting, responsible-AI governance)
• BI / dashboard principles (Tableau) as business owner