Manager, Operational Excellence Programs

Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Erskine (MN); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is seeking a senior leader to define and drive the Operational Excellence vision across the organization. You will lead a global team of program managers, govern strategic initiatives, and deliver executive-level reporting on portfolio health and outcomes.

The role requires 10+ years in program management or related fields, PMP certification, and strong executive stakeholder skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field (required).
• Master's degree desirable.
• PMP certification required.
• Typically 10+ years of experience in Program Management, Operations, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Business Transformation, or related disciplines.
• Minimum 3+ years of people management experience.
• Demonstrated success leading global teams in a matrixed environment.
• Experience managing large-scale cross-functional programs, portfolios, or transformation initiatives.
• Experience influencing executive stakeholders and driving organizational change.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the Operational Excellence vision, strategy, priorities, and roadmap across the organization.
• Lead and develop a global team of Operational Excellence Program Managers responsible for delivering strategic improvement initiatives.
• Lead executive steering committees, governance reviews, and strategic planning discussions.
• Develop executive-level reporting that communicates portfolio status, risks, performance trends, and realized outcomes.
• Provide performance management, coaching, mentoring, development planning, and career growth opportunities for team members.
• Build organizational capability in Program Management, Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, and Change Management disciplines.
• Lead a portfolio of Operational Excellence programs focused on improving efficiency, quality, scalability, customer experience, and business outcomes.
• Establish governance frameworks, operating rhythms, metrics, dashboards, KPIs, and executive review cadences.
• Partner with executive leadership to identify, prioritize, and sponsor strategic improvement opportunities.
• Sponsor and oversee Lessons Learned programs, postmortem reviews, corrective action initiatives, and prevention-focused activities.
• Ensure business improvement recommendations are implemented, measured, and sustained over time.
• Oversee program prioritization, resource allocation, risk management, dependency management, and portfolio health.
• Manage operational excellence investments, budgets, forecasting activities, and business value realization.
• Drive organizational change management efforts associated with process, policy, technology, and operating model transformations.

Skills

People management

Global teams

PMP Certification

Program management

Portfolio management

Operational excellence

Change management

Executive stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Financial management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Business/Operations

Master's degree desirable

PMP certification

Job description

This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with a requirement that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office.

Who We Are

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global edge-to-cloud company advancing the way people live and work. We help companies connect, protect, analyze, and act on their data and applications wherever they live, from edge to cloud, so they can turn insights into outcomes at the speed required to thrive in today’s complex world. Our culture thrives on finding new and better ways to accelerate what’s next. We know varied backgrounds are valued and succeed here. We have the flexibility to manage our work and personal needs. We make bold moves, together, and are a force for good. If you are looking to stretch and grow your career our culture will embrace you. Open up opportunities with HPE.

Job Description

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the Operational Excellence vision, strategy, priorities, and roadmap across the organization.
• Lead and develop a global team of Operational Excellence Program Managers responsible for delivering strategic improvement initiatives.
• Lead executive steering committees, governance reviews, and strategic planning discussions.
• Develop executive-level reporting that communicates portfolio status, risks, performance trends, and realized outcomes.
• Provide performance management, coaching, mentoring, development planning, and career growth opportunities for team members.
• Build organizational capability in Program Management, Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, and Change Management disciplines.
• Lead a portfolio of Operational Excellence programs focused on improving efficiency, quality, scalability, customer experience, and business outcomes.
• Establish governance frameworks, operating rhythms, metrics, dashboards, KPIs, and executive review cadences.
• Partner with executive leadership to identify, prioritize, and sponsor strategic improvement opportunities.
• Sponsor and oversee Lessons Learned programs, postmortem reviews, corrective action initiatives, and prevention-focused activities.
• Ensure business improvement recommendations are implemented, measured, and sustained over time.
• Oversee program prioritization, resource allocation, risk management, dependency management, and portfolio health.
• Manage operational excellence investments, budgets, forecasting activities, and business value realization.
• Drive organizational change management efforts associated with process, policy, technology, and operating model transformations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, operational discipline, continuous improvement, quality, and customer-focused decision-making.
• Support additional strategic business transformation initiatives and perform other duties as assigned.

Education And Experience Required

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management, Industrial Engineering, or related field (required).
• Master's degree desirable.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification required.
• Typically 10+ years of experience in Program Management, Operations, Quality, Continuous Improvement, Business Transformation, or related disciplines.
• Minimum 3+ years of people management experience.
• Demonstrated success leading global teams in a matrixed environment.
• Experience managing large-scale cross-functional programs, portfolios, or transformation initiatives.
• Experience influencing executive stakeholders and driving organizational change.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or equivalent certification preferred.

Knowledge And Skills

• Strong understanding of Operational Excellence principles, business process management, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams, programs, and portfolios within a global matrixed organization.
• Expertise in program and portfolio management disciplines, governance practices, and business transformation frameworks.
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, root cause analysis, and corrective action methodologies.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and talent development skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence executive-level stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and strategic problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience developing operating models, governance frameworks, KPIs, dashboards, and business performance metrics.
• Financial acumen, forecasting, budget management, and business case development experience.
• Change management and organizational adoption expertise.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution.

Must Have

• People management experience.
• Experience leading global teams.
• PMP certification.
• Demonstrated Program Management or Portfolio Management experience.
• Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, or Business Transformation experience.
• Experience driving cross-functional initiatives in a matrixed organization.
• Executive stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence organizational change and business outcomes.

Nice To Have

• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
• Experience with Lean, Kaizen, Value Stream Mapping, or related methodologies.
• Experience in Technology, Networking, Hardware, Software, Services, or Customer Support organizations.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide transformation initiatives.
• Experience with Quality Management Systems and Lessons Learned programs.
• MBA or advanced degree in Business, Engineering, Operations, or related field.

Additional Skills

Accountability, Business Transformation, Coaching and Mentoring, Continuous Improvement, Cross-Functional Leadership, Customer Experience, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Executive Communication, Financial Management, Global Team Leadership, Managing Ambiguity, Operational Excellence, Organizational Change Management, People Leadership, Portfolio Management, Process Governance, Program Governance, Quality Management, Risk Management, Root Cause Analysis, Stakeholder Management, Strategic Planning.

What We Can Offer You

Health & Wellbeing

We strive to provide our team members and their loved ones with a comprehensive suite of benefits that supports their physical, financial and emotional wellbeing.

Personal & Professional Development

We also invest in your career because the better you are, the better we all are. We have specific programs catered to helping you reach any career goals you have — whether you want to become a knowledge expert in your field or apply your skills to another division.

Unconditional Inclusion

We are unconditionally inclusive in the way we work and celebrate individual uniqueness. We know varied backgrounds are valued and succeed here. We have the flexibility to manage our work and personal needs. We make bold moves, together, and are a force for good.

Job

Quality

Job Level

Manager_2

HPE is an Equal Employment Opportunity/ Veterans/Disabled/LGBT employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or any other protected category, and all decisions we make are made on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. Our goal is to be one global team that is representative of our customers, in an inclusive environment where we can continue to innovate and grow together.