Manager, Operational Excellence

Hong Leong Bank Berhad; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Hong Leong Bank Berhad seeks a strategic Manager to drive multi-year organizational transformation across regional markets. You will blend process improvement, digital automation, and AI to optimize banking operations, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience.

Reporting to the Head of Operational Excellence, you will lead cross-functional teams, establish metrics, and deliver evidence-based business cases to senior management.

Qualifications

• 5–10 years of experience in process improvement, digital transformation, or strategic analysis in financial institutions.

Responsibilities

• Formulate and deliver bank-wide operational transformation across all banking touchpoints.
• Break down complex issues, perform quantitative analysis, build evidence-based business cases.
• Partner with IT and vendors to deploy workflow automation and AI solutions.
• Establish productivity baselines and track benefits (hours saved, cost savings).
• Support project sponsors in driving bank-wide initiatives and monitor milestones.
• Prepare monthly/quarterly reports and present data-driven analysis to senior management.
• Lead matrixed teams and facilitate discovery sessions for improvements.
• Guide business case analysis, prepare user requirements, and manage testing for digital/AI deployments.
• Manage workplace conflict, coach stakeholders, and build productive work environments.

Skills

Process mapping

Root-cause analysis

Executive presentations

Microsoft Office Suite

Google Workspace

Workflow automation

AI automation

GenAI

Tableau

Power BI

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business/IT

Tools

Tableau

Google Looker

Power BI

Google Apps Script

Job description

We are looking for a strategic yet execution-focused Manager to drive Hong Leong Bank's (HLB) multi-year organizational transformation across regional markets. Acting as a key change agent, you will blend traditional process improvement, digital automation, and Artificial Intelligence to optimize banking operations, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience.

The successful candidate will report to the Head of Operational Excellence.

Key Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Formulate and deliver bank-wide operational transformation and process re-engineering initiatives across all banking touchpoints.
• Break down complex operational issues, perform quantitative analysis, and collaborate with stakeholders to build evidence-based business cases.
• Partner with internal IT teams and vendors to deploy workflow automation and AI solutions that eliminate operational friction.
• Establish productivity baselines, provide guidance on industry-standard metrics, and track project benefits realization (e.g., hours saved, cost savings).
• Support project sponsors in driving bank-wide initiatives, monitoring milestones, and ensuring proper procedure throughout the project lifecycle.
• Prepare monthly and quarterly operational reports, and present data-driven analysis directly to Department Heads and senior management.
• Lead matrixed teams and facilitate interactive discovery sessions to validate process improvements.
• Guide business case analysis, prepare user requirements, and manage user testing for digital or AI deployments.
• Manage workplace conflict, coach stakeholders, and build productive work environments to achieve project goals.

Jobholder Requirements

• Malaysian citizen.

Education / Qualification

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, Information Technology, or Computer Science.

Experience / Requirements

• 5 to 10 years of experience in process improvement, digital transformation, or strategic analysis within financial institutions.
• Background in management consulting, process re-engineering (Lean Six Sigma), or AI automation is highly desirable.
• Strong skills in process mapping, root-cause analysis, and delivering concise, impactful executive presentations.
• Ability to work independently in a culturally diverse, matrixed environment.
• Well versed with the Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Excel) and Google Workspace (Google Sites, Docs, Sheets).
• Practical understanding of modern AI tools, prompt engineering, and workflow automation solutions.
• Familiarity with enterprise AI capabilities (e.g., Google Gemini Enterprise, AI Studio), applying GenAI to banking process improvement, or utilizing Google Apps Script is a distinct advantage.
• Experience creating operational dashboards via tools such as Tableau, Google Looker, or PowerBI is preferred.