Process Improvement Consultant III

Kaiser Permanente; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaiser Permanente is seeking a Process Improvement Consultant III to design, implement, and optimize Medicaid processes and technology-enabled solutions across multiple KP footprints including WA, OR, CA, NV, CO, GA, NC, MD, DC, VA. The role collaborates with business, clinical, compliance, informatics, and IT teams to deliver scalable, compliant improvements.

The consultant leads PI engagements, supports strategic planning, and advances continuous improvement by applying Lean/Six Sigma methods

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field and minimum 3 years in process improvement, or 6+ years in related work.
• Experience with Medicaid and health care workflows is preferred.
• Strong data analysis, stakeholder management, and change leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and sustain PI engagements including kaizen events in Medicaid operations.
• Partner with stakeholders to translate regulatory and operational requirements into solutions.
• Develop future-state workflows, process maps, and success metrics.
• Provide training and coaching to build continuous improvement capabilities.
• Analyze data to identify opportunities and monitor performance against targets.
• Support change management activities and communicate progress effectively.

Skills

Process improvement

Lean Six Sigma

Data analysis

Communication

Stakeholder engagement

Problem solving

Change management

Teamwork

Ambiguity management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Epic

Job description

**Candidate can sit in any KP footprint including: WA, OR, CA, NV, CO, GA, NC, MD, DC, VA. Please note salary listed is for NCAL only, all other locations salary vary.**

The Process Improvement Consultant III provides technical and operational expertise for the design, implementation, and optimization of Medicaid processes and technology-enabled solutions. The role partners across business, clinical, compliance, informatics, and IT teams to translate regulatory and operational requirements into business requirements, future-state workflows, system configurations, testing strategies, and implementation plans. The consultant supports initiatives through discovery, solution design, intake, user acceptance testing, deployment, post-production stabilization, and continuous improvement to ensure solutions are scalable, compliant, and operationally effective across Medicaid markets. The consultant also supports the evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and automation capabilities, identifying opportunities to enhance decision-making, streamline workflows, improve member and provider experiences, and support innovation across Medicaid operations.

Job Summary:

Delivers, executes, and sustains process improvement (PI) engagements including kaizen. Serves as a consultant to stakeholders and process owners to drive process improvements. Supports strategic planning and prioritization of process improvement initiatives. Serves as an advocate for continuous improvement by keeping abreast of industry practices, standards, and benchmarks. Participates in change management activities associated with process improvement and performs data analyses to support process improvement initiatives.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Pursues effective relationships with others by proactively providing resources, information, advice, and expertise with coworkers and members. Listens to, seeks, and addresses performance feedback; provides mentoring to team members. Pursues self-development; creates plans and takes action to capitalize on strengths and develop weaknesses; influences others through technical explanations and examples. Adapts to and learns from change, challenges, and feedback; demonstrates flexibility in approaches to work; helps others adapt to new tasks and processes. Supports and responds to the needs of others to support a business outcome.
• Completes work assignments autonomously by applying up-to-date expertise in subject area to generate creative solutions; ensures all procedures and policies are followed; leverages an understanding of data and resources to support projects or initiatives. Collaborates cross-functionally to solve business problems; escalates issues or risks as appropriate; communicates progress and information. Supports, identifies, and monitors priorities, deadlines, and expectations. Identifies, speaks up, and implements ways to address improvement opportunities for team.
• Delivers, executes, and sustains process improvement (PI) engagements including kaizen by leveraging the appropriate methods and tools to ensure the development of stakeholder capabilities for process change and improvement; applying data-driven PI principles, tools, and problem-solving methods including Lean/Six Sigma concepts and techniques; building high performance team capabilities to achieve real time business results; developing process architecture and recommendation documents, including presentations, process maps, supporting metrics, business requirements and related impact analyses; and presenting results and recommendations as appropriate.
• Serves as a consultant to stakeholders and process owners by providing consultation to stakeholders and teams to drive process improvements; contributing to the development of management systems to sustain process changes; supporting the development of stakeholder process improvement leadership competencies; providing training and guidance to stakeholders; and providing ongoing coaching to build a continuous improvement mindset, and build capabilities that drive results.
• Supports strategic planning and prioritization of process improvement initiatives by defining, developing, and evaluating performance metrics, standards, and methods to establish process success; collaborating with multiple stakeholders, often with competing/conflicting objectives, to ensure cohesive and reachable metrics; and managing assigned initiatives to ensure delivery of measurable results and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Serves as an advocate for continuous improvement by keeping abreast of industry practices, standards, and benchmarks; attending and participating in roadshows, conferences, and speaking events; contributing to the ongoing enhancement of process improvement practices, standards, and methods across KP; and serving as an advocate to ensure continuous learning and improvement is championed as a people strategy.
• Participates in change management activities associated with process improvement by engaging stakeholders to obtain support and buy in for changes; collaborating with management, project champions, and process owners to align process improvement initiatives with business objectives; using appropriate change management methods and approaches; and ensuring stakeholders embrace a change management mindset, and understand initiative intent and purpose.
• Performs data analyses to support process improvement initiatives by using appropriate data analysis tools and approach to assess system or process performance; deploying suitable data gathering and analysis methods (e.g., process observation, hard data, etc.); defining data requirements and obtaining customer agreements, including customer requirements as appropriate; conducting analyses and performing experimental tests; and identifying risks through data-driven analysis.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Core)

• Ambiguity/Uncertainty Management
• Attention to Detail
• Business Knowledge
• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Cross-Group Collaboration
• Decision Making
• Dependability
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Support
• Drives Results
• Facilitation Skills
• Health Care Industry
• Influencing Others
• Integrity
• Learning Agility
• Organizational Savvy
• Problem Solving
• Short- and Long-term Learning & Recall
• Teamwork
• Topic-Specific Communication

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: (Functional)

• Applied Data Analysis
• Business Acumen
• Business Process Improvement
• Emotional Intelligence
• Managing Diverse Relationships
• Service Focus
• Written Communication

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Finance, Engineering, Health Care/Public Health Administration, Behavioral/Social/Computer Science, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, or related field and Minimum three (3) years experience in process improvement, consulting, project management, or a directly related field OR Minimum six (6) years experience in process improvement, consulting, project management, or a directly related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two (2) years of experience working with Medicaid.
• Two (2) years of experience working with Epic.
• Two (2) years experience in health care delivery process improvement.