Continuous Improvement Specialist

Socket.dev; Malvern (Chester County); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanguard Charitable seeks a Continuous Improvement Specialist to drive operational excellence across the organization. You will apply Lean, data analysis, and structured problem solving to improve quality, efficiency, and stakeholder experience.

You will partner with business teams to map current processes, identify root causes, develop future-state designs, and support sustainable improvements with measurable outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; concentrations in business, operations, industrial engineering, or related fields preferred.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred, issued by a recognized organization.
• Knowledge of continuous improvement, Lean, process improvement, and problem-solving methodologies.
• Proficiency with reporting, dashboarding, and data-analysis tools.

Responsibilities

• Execute continuous improvement initiatives across Vanguard Charitable using Lean and structured problem-solving to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
• Analyze operational data, develop dashboards and scorecards, and translate data into actionable insights for decision making.
• Partner with stakeholders to define problems, map processes, and support implementation from assessment to realization.
• Develop and maintain process documentation, standards, and governance to promote consistency.
• Assist in evaluating improvement opportunities, quantify benefits, and support business cases.

Skills

Lean Six Sigma

Process Mapping

Data Analysis

Stakeholder Management

Facilitation

Dashboards

Reporting

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/ops/industrial engineering

Tools

Excel

Power BI

SQL

Job description

JOB SUMMARY

The Continuous Improvement Specialist supports operational excellence and continuous improvement efforts across Vanguard Charitable by applying process improvement methodologies, data analysis, and structured problem-solving techniques to improve quality, efficiency, scalability, and stakeholder experience.

This role partners with business stakeholders to identify operational challenges, assess root causes, analyze performance data, document current- and future-state processes, and support implementation of sustainable improvements. The Continuous Improvement Specialist contributes to improvement initiatives and business case development while helping establish performance measures and process standards that support long-term operational effectiveness.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Continuous Improvement Execution (35%)
  • Support and execute continuous improvement initiatives that address operational challenges and opportunities across the organization. Apply Lean, operational excellence, and structured problem-solving methodologies to identify root causes, eliminate waste, improve process efficiency, and increase operational effectiveness.
  • Facilitate process reviews, document current-state and future-state workflows, identify improvement opportunities, develop recommendations, and support implementation of approved solutions. Contribute to benefit realization activities by tracking outcomes and measuring improvements against defined success criteria.
• Process Analysis & Operational Insights (25%)
  • Analyze operational, workload, quality, service-level, and performance data to identify trends, bottlenecks, process constraints, and emerging operational risks.
  • Develop reporting, dashboards, scorecards, and analyses that provide visibility into process performance and support data-driven decision making. Translate data into actionable insights and recommendations that inform prioritization, improvement efforts, and leadership discussions.
• Business Partnership & Improvement Facilitation (20%)
  • Partner with business stakeholders to understand operational needs, gather relevant data, define problem statements, and support improvement initiatives from assessment through implementation.
  • Facilitate workshops, process-mapping sessions, root-cause analysis activities, and problem-solving discussions. Build collaborative relationships across teams to ensure improvement initiatives reflect business needs and drive sustainable outcomes.
• Process Governance & Documentation (10%)
  • Develop and maintain process documentation, workflows, standards, business rules, and supporting materials that promote process consistency and operational effectiveness.
  • Support efforts to standardize processes, reduce variation, and improve organizational knowledge through clear and accurate documentation.
• Opportunity Assessment & Business Case Support (10%)
  • Support identification, qualification, and assessment of continuous improvement opportunities.
  • Collect and analyze data, quantify impacts, estimate benefits, and contribute to business cases that support prioritization and investment decisions. Assist in measuring realized outcomes and communicating improvement results to stakeholders.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Training

• Bachelor’s degree required. Concentration in business, operations management, industrial engineering, process improvement, finance, mathematics, statistics, data analytics, or a related field preferred.

Licensure & Certification

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification preferred, issued by a widely recognized organization.

Knowledge, Skill, and Ability

• Knowledge of continuous improvement, operational excellence, Lean, process improvement, and problem-solving methodologies.
• Skilled in process mapping, root-cause analysis, workflow analysis, and future-state process design.
• Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret operational data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Skilled in translating data into actionable business insights and recommendations.
• Strong facilitation and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and contribute to simultaneous improvement initiatives.
• Proficiency with reporting, dashboarding, and data-analysis tools.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and follow-through.

Experience

• Minimum of three years of progressive business, operations, process improvement, business analysis, operational analytics, quality, continuous improvement, or related experience.
• Experience supporting process improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, operational excellence, project delivery, or business transformation efforts preferred.
• Experience developing operational reporting, dashboards, performance metrics, or business analysis deliverables preferred.