Manager Process Improvement

OU Medicine; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO

401(k) plan

Medical and dental plans

Job summary

OU Health seeks a Manager of Process Improvement to provide operational and strategic leadership for the Process Improvement team, aligning enterprise efforts with quality, safety, patient experience, and operational excellence.

The role ensures structured improvement methodologies are applied, Lean systems deployed, and institutional capability built across clinical and non-clinical domains, partnering with executive leaders to embed sustainable performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare admin, nursing, business, industrial engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years healthcare process improvement experience.
• 3+ years leadership experience overseeing initiatives/teams.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Responsibilities

• Translate strategy into a prioritized Process Improvement portfolio.
• Oversee intake, scoping, resourcing and governance of initiatives.
• Align projects to KPIs, regulatory priorities, and performance gaps.
• Ensure measurable ROI across initiatives.
• Develop consultant capability in advanced improvement methods.
• Lead Lean management systems deployment and daily huddles.
• Coach and develop Process Improvement Consultants.
• Present portfolio performance and strategic recommendations.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder management

Change management

Team coaching

Decision making

Education

Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, industrial engineering, or related field

Tools

Value stream mapping

ROI analysis

Job description

Position Title

Manager Process Improvement

Department

Quality & Process Improvement

Job Description

The manager of Process Improvement provides operational and strategic leadership for the Process Improvement team. This role ensures alignment of enterprise improvement efforts with institutional priorities for quality, safety, patient experience, and operational excellence. The Manager ensures consistent application of structured improvement methodologies, oversees deployment of Lean management systems, and builds institutional capability in operational excellence across clinical and non-clinical domains. This leader serves as a strategic partner to physician, nursing, operational, and executive leaders to embed sustainable performance improvement into daily operations.

Essential Responsibilities

• Partner with the Direction of Quality Improvement to translate organizational strategy into a prioritized Process Improvement portfolio.
• Oversee intake progress, scoping, resourcing and governance of initiatives.
• Align project selection to institutional KPIs, regulatory priorities, and operation performance gaps.
• Ensure measurable impact and return on investment across initiatives.
• Develop consultant capability in advanced improvement methodologies and management systems.
• Foster accountability, psychological safety, and high-performance team culture.
• Ensure consistent application of structured improvement methodologies across initiatives.
• Lead implementation and sustainment of Lean management systems including: tiered daily huddles, visual management, leader standard work, strategy deployment alignment.
• Establish standards for project documentation, measurement rigor, and sustainment planning, monitors project progress, outcomes, and sustainability using defined KPIs and dashboards.
• Collaborate with physician leaders, operational executives, nursing leadership and analytics teams.
• Lead change management efforts to embed improvements into daily management systems.
• Remove barriers to initiative success and escalates risk appropriately champion a culture of continuous improvement phycological safety, and data driven decision making.
• Ensure post-implementation integration into daily operations.
• Serve as a trusted advisor in workflow optimization, capacity modeling, and performance acceleration.
• Present portfolio performance, risks, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
• Promote system thinking and cross-functional collaboration across the organization.
• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and performance management for Process Improvement Consultants.
• Build succession planning and career development pathways within the Process Improvement team.

General Responsibilities

Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education; Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, nursing, business, industrial engineering, or related field required.

Experience

• 5+ years of progressive healthcare process improvement experience required.
• 3 years of progressive leadership experience overseeing improvement initiatives and/or teams required.

Certification/License Requirements

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of healthcare operations, quality improvement, and patient safety.
• Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary improvement teams.
• Strong coaching, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Expertise in Lean daily management systems and performance management structures.
• High emotional intelligence and ability to influence across professional hierarchies.
• Advanced systems-thinking and strategic prioritization capability.
• Financial and operational acumen, including ROI analysis.
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to lead change in complex, matrixed healthcare environments.

Current OU Health Employees

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Benefits

• We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including PTO, 401(k), medical and dental plans, and many more.
• We know that a total benefits and compensation package, designed to meet your specific needs both inside and outside of the work environment, create peace of mind for you and your family.

Company Profile

• OU Health is the state’s only comprehensive academic health system of hospitals, clinics and centers of excellence.
• With 11,000 employees and more than 1,300 physicians and advanced practice providers, OU Health is home to Oklahoma’s largest doctor network with a complete range of specialty care.
• OU Health serves Oklahoma and the region with the state’s only freestanding children’s hospital, the only National Cancer Institute-Designated OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma’s flagship hospital, which serves as the state’s only Level 1 trauma center and Edmond Medical Center in the heart of the Edmond Community.
• Becker’s Hospital Review named University of Oklahoma Medical Center one of the 100 Great Hospitals in America for 2020.
• OU Health’s oncology program at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center was named Oklahoma’s top facility for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020-21 rankings.
• OU Health also was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as high performing in these specialties: Colon Surgery, COPD and Congestive Heart Failure.
• OU Health’s mission is to lead healthcare in patient care, education and research.
• Experts in prevention, treatment and cures, our team works to improve lives through innovation in medical care, education and research, while investing in the people, technologies and facilities that will enable us to achieve our goals.
• We are seeking individuals who have a passion and talent for caring for others. By joining our team, you will provide quality health care to our community through the work you do every day.
• We provide clinical and non-clinical opportunities to further your career and we invite you to explore our available positions.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Equal employment opportunities are provided to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or protected veteran status in accordance with applicable federal laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. Reasonable accommodations are made to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities.