Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst

The California State University; San Jose (CA); Presencial; USD 96.000 - 104.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

The California State University seeks a Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst to lead complex, institution-wide process improvement and operational analysis across divisions. This senior IC role applies advanced improvement methodologies to assess challenges, develop strategic solutions, and guide implementation that boosts service delivery and performance.

Independently leading cross-functional projects, the incumbent advises campus leaders, facilitates future-state design, and develops

Formación

• A bachelor's degree and/or equivalent training.
• Six years of administrative work experience involving study, analysis, and/or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of administrative policies, procedures, practices, or programs.
• Master's degree and professional certification are preferred.

Responsabilidades

• Plan and lead discovery sessions and value stream mapping workshops with stakeholders.
• Translate operations into standardized swim lane diagrams using Lucidchart.
• Conduct advanced analysis to identify root causes, policies, gaps, and inefficiencies.
• Develop future-state processes and implementation approaches for improvements.
• Serve as an internal consultant to campus leaders and cross-functional teams.
• Develop performance measures, KPIs, and evaluation frameworks.
• Collect and analyze complex operational data to identify trends and impacts.
• Translate analyses into clear findings and executive-ready recommendations.
• Create dashboards and reporting tools to monitor progress toward goals.
• Independently plan and lead highly complex, cross-functional improvement initiatives.
• Develop project charters, implementation plans, and risk assessments.

Conocimientos

Continuous improvement

Organizational analysis

Process redesign

Project management

Change management

Data visualization

Executive communication

Educación

Bachelor's degree or equivalent training

Master's degree in business administration / related field

Herramientas

Lucidchart

Descripción del empleo

Job Summary

The Senior Continuous Improvement Analyst serves as a high-level individual contributor and internal consultant responsible for leading complex, institution-wide process improvement, operational analysis, and business innovation initiatives across academic, student, and administrative divisions. Working with a high degree of independence, the incumbent applies advanced continuous improvement, project management, research, analytical, and facilitation methodologies to assess complex organizational challenges, develop strategic and operational solutions, and guide implementation efforts that improve service delivery, operational effectiveness, and institutional performance.

Job Summary

The incumbent independently leads highly complex, cross-functional projects; advises campus leaders on process, operational, and performance improvement opportunities; facilitates the development of future-state processes and implementation strategies; and develops analytical frameworks and performance measures to support data-informed decision making. The position provides functional leadership and influences outcomes across decentralized organizational units through expertise, consultation, facilitation, and consensus-building rather than direct administrative authority.

Key Responsibilities

• Workshop Leadership: Plan and lead interactive discovery sessions and value stream mapping workshops with campus stakeholders and subject matter experts to map current-state workflows
• Process Design: Translate complex, cross-departmental operations into standardized, clear swim lane process diagrams using Lucidchart or similar tools
• Optimization Analysis: Conduct advanced analysis of complex, cross-functional operations to identify root causes, organizational dependencies, policy and procedural barriers, service gaps, redundancies, and opportunities for improved effectiveness and efficiency
• Future-State Design: Apply advanced analytical and continuous improvement methodologies to develop and recommend strategic and operational solutions, future-state processes, and implementation approaches addressing complex organizational challenges
• Consultation and Facilitation: Serve as an internal consultant to campus leaders and cross-functional teams, facilitating complex discussions, reconciling competing priorities, and building consensus around improvement opportunities and recommended solutions
• Performance Measurement: Develop performance measures, KPIs, and evaluation frameworks to establish operational baselines, assess improvement opportunities, and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented changes
• Operational Analysis: Collect, integrate, analyze, and interpret complex quantitative and qualitative operational information to identify trends, root causes, organizational impacts, and opportunities for improvement
• Decision Support: Translate complex analysis into clear findings, recommendations, visualizations, and executive-level decision-support materials for campus leadership
• Performance Reporting: Develop and maintain appropriate reporting tools and dashboards to monitor operational performance and communicate progress toward established goals
• Complex Project Leadership: Independently plan, lead, and implement highly complex, cross-functional process improvement and operational initiatives of broad institutional impact, establishing project scope, approach, milestones, deliverables, risks, and measures of success
• Project Governance and Analysis: Develop project charters, implementation plans, risk assessments, decision documents, progress reports, and recommendations for project sponsors and institutional leaders
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Provide functional leadership to multidisciplinary project teams and coordinate work across decentralized organizational units, establishing accountability for project deliverables without direct supervisory authority
• Strategic Alignment: Evaluate project decisions and recommendations from a broad organizational perspective, identifying downstream impacts and ensuring proposed solutions support institutional priorities and longer-term objectives

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of continuous improvement, organizational analysis, process redesign, project management, change management, operational performance methodologies, with demonstrated ability to apply these disciplines to highly complex organizational challenges
• Expert analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to integrate complex quantitative and qualitative information, identify underlying principles and organizational implications, and develop strategic and operational recommendations
• Demonstrated ability to independently plan, organize, lead, and implement multiple complex, cross-functional initiatives with broad institutional impact
• Advanced consultative and facilitation skills, including the ability to engage diverse stakeholders, navigate competing priorities, influence without direct authority, and build consensus around complex or sensitive issues
• Ability to assess organizational problems from a broad, systems-oriented perspective; anticipate downstream impacts; and develop proactive solutions that align strategic goals with operational implementation
• Advanced written, verbal, presentation, and data-visualization skills, including the ability to translate complex analysis into clear findings, recommendations, and decision-support materials for executive and other leadership audiences
• Demonstrated skill in research, operational analysis, performance measurement, program/process evaluation, and the interpretation of data to develop sound conclusions and recommendations
• Knowledge of change-management principles and demonstrated ability to develop strategies supporting stakeholder readiness, adoption, implementation, and sustainability of organizational change
• Ability to establish effective working relationships and serve as a trusted internal consultant with executives, administrators, faculty, staff, and other internal and external stakeholders
• Proficiency with contemporary project-management, process-mapping, analytical, visualization, and collaboration tools appropriate to the work
• General awareness of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), and a willingness to develop skills in their appropriate, responsible, and ethical use in a higher education environment, consistent with institutional policies and practices
• Ability to communicate with constituents in a professional and respectful manner

Required Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and/or equivalent training
• Six years of administrative work experience involving study, analysis, and/or evaluation leading to the development or improvement of administrative policies, procedures, practices, or programs

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in business administration, public administration, higher education administration, organizational development, industrial/systems engineering, or related field
• Professional certification in one or more relevant disciplines—such as PMP, Lean Six Sigma, Prosci/CCMP, or comparable certification
• Experience leading complex, cross-functional process improvement, organizational effectiveness, operational analysis, or institutional improvement initiatives
• Experience consulting with senior leaders and facilitating diverse stakeholder groups to analyze complex problems, develop recommendations, and build consensus
• Experience applying Lean, Lean Six Sigma, process improvement, change management, project management, or related methodologies in complex organizational environments
• Experience developing operational performance measures, analyzing organizational data, and translating findings into recommendations and decision-support materials
• Experience in higher education, public sector, or similarly complex decentralized organizations

Compensation

Classification: Administrative Analyst/Specialist – Exempt III

Anticipated Hiring Range: $8,589/month - $9,297/month (Step 16 - Step 20)

CSU Salary Range: $6,382/month - $9,297/month (Step 1 - Step 20)

San José State University offers employees a comprehensive benefits package typically worth 30-35% of your base salary. For more information on programs available, please see the Employee Benefits Summary .

Contact Information

People and Culture

[e-mail]

CSU Vaccination Policy

The CSU strongly recommends that all individuals who access any in-person program or activity (on- or off-campus) operated or controlled by the University follow COVID-19 vaccine recommendations adopted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) applicable to their age, medical condition, and other relevant indications and comply with other safety measures established by each campus. The system wide policy can be found at https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/9779821/latest/ and questions may be sent to [e-mail] .

Additional Information

Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. SJSU will issue a contingent offer of employment to the selected candidate, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current CSU employee who was offered the position on a contingent basis.

The standard background check includes: criminal check, employment and education verification. Depending on the position, a motor vehicle and/or credit check may be required. All background checks are conducted through the university's third party vendor, Accurate Background. Some positions may also require fingerprinting. SJSU will pay all costs