Lead - HR Operational Excellence

Elanco; Warsaw (IN); Hybrid; USD 46,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Office in center of Warsaw

Extra days off

Flexible working hours

Private medical care

Life insurance

Sports card

Diversity-friendly environment

Animal-friendly office

Theatre tickets discounts

Language learning platform

Job summary

Elanco is seeking a Lead, HR Operational Excellence to modernize and optimize HR service delivery by merging Continuous Improvement with AI-enabled solutions. You will partner with Global Process Owners and HR Business Partners to streamline processes, design AI agents, and automate complex tasks with a LEAN, human-centric approach.

You will drive agile pilots, apply Kaizen and standard work, and lead multi-stakeholder initiatives across the enterprise, ensuring scalable, tech-enabled HR

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent level of experience.
• Significant experience in LEAN or Six Sigma methodologies and 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.

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.
• Champion 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

Prompt engineering

LLMs (GPT-4, Gemini)

Agent design & AI workflows

HR lifecycle

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent

Tools

HRIS

Low-code platforms

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. At Elanco, we are driven by our vision of Food and Companionship Enriching Life and our purpose – all to Go Beyond for Animals, Customers, Society and Our People.

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 the Elanco Workforce Privacy Notice.