Lead - HR Operational Excellence

Elanco; Warszawa; On-site; PLN 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office located in center of Warsaw

Flexible working hours

Private medical care

Life insurance

Sports card

Theatre tickets discounts

Language learning platform

Extra days off

Job summary

Elanco in Warsaw is seeking a Lead, HR Operational Excellence to modernize HR service delivery by merging Lean/Six Sigma with AI-powered workflows. You will partner with Global Process Owners and HR Business Partners to streamline processes and drive continuous improvement across the HR lifecycle.

The role focuses on prototyping AI agents, applying lean principles, and leading cross-functional projects using agile methods to deliver measurable efficiency gains in a global animal health company.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent level of experience.
• Significant LEAN or Six Sigma experience and multi-stakeholder project leadership.
• Strong understanding of the HR lifecycle and practical experience with LLMs (e.g., GPT-4, Gemini) including prompt engineering.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Global Process Owners (GPOs) and HRBPs to identify operational friction points and lead Value Stream Mapping sessions to optimize HR processes.
• Prototype and deploy AI agents within the ElancoGPT ecosystem to handle HR workflows, policy queries, and data processing.
• Championing an AI-first mindset, moving beyond simple automation to create intelligent, autonomous agentic solutions and intelligent workflows.
• Apply LEAN tools such as Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis, and Standard Work to ensure processes are optimized before applying technology.
• Lead high-visibility special projects and technology pilots using agile techniques to drive rapid results and iterative improvements.

Skills

LEAN

Six Sigma

AI

HR lifecycle

Prompt engineering

LLMs

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

AI agents

Low-code/no-code tools

Job description

At Elanco (NYSE: ELAN) – it all starts with animals!

As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. We’re driven by our vision of ‘Food and Companionship Enriching Life’ and our approach to sustainability – the Elanco Healthy Purpose™ – to advance the health of animals, people, the planet, and our enterprise.

At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.

Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

As a global leader in animal health, we are dedicated to innovation and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in farm animals and pets. We’re driven by our vision of ‘Food and Companionship Enriching Life’ and our approach to sustainability – the Elanco Healthy Purpose™ – to advance the health of animals, people, the planet, and our enterprise.

At Elanco, we pride ourselves on fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and overall business success. Here, you’ll be part of a company that values and champions new ways of thinking, work with dynamic individuals, and acquire new skills and experiences that will propel your career to new heights.

Making animals’ lives better makes life better – join our team today!

Your Role: Lead, HR Operational Excellence

As the Lead, HR Operational Excellence, you will modernize and optimize HR service delivery across the enterprise by bridging traditional Continuous Improvement (CI) with technology. In this role, you will partner with Global Process Owners and HR Business Partners to streamline processes and partner with HRIS on workflows build AI Agents or identify other technology opportunities to automate complex tasks, ensuring HR operations are LEAN-optimized, human centric and tech enabled.

Your Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Global Process Owners (GPOs) and HRBPs to identify operational friction points and lead Value Stream Mapping sessions to optimize HR processes.
• Prototype and deploy AI agents within the ElancoGPT ecosystem to handle HR workflows, policy queries, and data processing.
• Championing an AI-first mindset, moving beyond simple automation to create intelligent, autonomous agentic solutions and intelligent workflows.
• Apply LEAN tools such as Kaizen, Root Cause Analysis, and Standard Work to ensure processes are optimized before applying technology.
• Lead high-visibility special projects and technology pilots using agile techniques to drive rapid results and iterative improvements.

What You Need to Succeed (minimum qualifications):

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent level of experience.
• Experience: Significant experience in LEAN or Six Sigma methodologies and a proven track record of leading complex, multi-stakeholder project rollouts.
• Strong understanding of the HR lifecycle and practical experience with LLMs (e.g., GPT-4, Gemini) including prompt engineering and agent logic.

What will give you a competitive edge (preferred qualifications):

• LEAN or Six Sigma Green Belt certification or higher.
• Experience with low-code or no-code agent-building tools and structuring logic for AI agents.
• Proven ability to influence without authority and gain buy-in for process changes from senior stakeholders.
• Exceptional ability to translate technical AI jargon into accessible, value-based language for HR leaders.
• Demonstrated analytical mindset with expertise in using data to identify trends and validate the success of process interventions.

Additional Information:

Travel: Less than 25%

Location: Warsaw, Poland

We offer:

• Career at one of the leading global animal healthcare companies.
• Office located in the center of Warsaw (Rondo Daszynskiego).
• Extra days off.
• Flexible working hours.
• Sports cards (Multisport), private medical care, life insurance.
• Open and inclusive environment which is supportive and welcoming of all diversity strands.
• Animal-Friendly office.
• Theatre tickets discounts.
• Language learning platform.

Elanco is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status

Elanco may use automated tools, including AI, to support parts of our recruitment process, such as reviewing applications against job‑related criteria and/or transferrable skills. These tools help ensure a consistent, structured evaluation, but they do not make hiring decisions. All decisions involve a human reviewer. For more information on how we handle personal data, please see our Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.