Senior Program Manager, Sustainable Continuous Improvement

Tennessee Valley Authority; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is seeking a Senior Continuous Improvement professional for the Chattanooga area to lead scalable CI initiatives across the fleet. The role focuses on developing and supporting innovative, cost-aware CI strategies that drive cultural change and reliable service delivery.

Responsibilities include governance of CI projects, cross-functional team leadership, and communication of progress to executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; equivalent education and extensive experience may be substituted.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements a sustainable continuous improvement program for the assigned unit or organization.
• Aligns program to TVA Enterprise CI initiatives and leads implementation.
• Identifies training gaps and coordinates with teams to close gaps.
• Initiates and implements solutions to budget challenges associated with CI tools.
• Leads cross-functional teams and external organizations to identify and drive CI results (via Rapid Improvement Events).
• Researches innovative ways to implement CI strategy and address budget challenges with CI tools and best practices.
• Develops standard formats and cadence for communicating CI projects to optimize and replicate results fleet-wide.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related discipline

Job description

Job ID: 519111
Location: CHATTANOOGA, TN
Regular/Temporary: Regular

External - Posting Description

Organization: Transmission

Department: Transmission Support Services

Work Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Relocation: Relocation is not offered for this position.

Posting Open: 11/5/2026

Posting Close:11/8/2026 at 11:59 PM EST

POSITION PURPOSE:

The primary responsibility for this position is to effectively develop, implement and support a sustainable continuous improvement initiatives and strategy that is scalable for a wide range of assets and drives positive cultural changes throughout the fleet. This position is responsible for evaluating and supporting implementation of initiatives and projects focused on ensuring that the power system fleet provide reliable services to support system needs in the most cost effective manner. Focuses on innovative solutions to budgetary challenges and supports the execution of new continuous improvement initiatives to drive cultural changes throughout the fleet organization.

JOB DIMENSIONS:

Supervisory Responsibility

— Indirect supervision and guidance to sites; Business Unit lead for governance and oversight of all activities related to the Continuous Improvement Program and initiatives within the assigned organization.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Develops and implements a sustainable continuous improvement program for assigned business unit or organization.
• Aligns program to TVA Enterprise continuous improvement initiatives and leads implementation.
• Identifies training gaps and coordinates with teams to close gaps.
• Initiates and implements solutions to budget challenges associated with continuous improvement tools
• Responsible for leading small and large group cross-functional teams and external organizations to identify and explore continuous improvement details, understand impacts, and drive results (via Rapid Improvement Events)
• Responsibility for researching innovative ways to implement and execute the continuous improvement strategy; discover solutions to budget challenges with CI tools and best practices.
• Develops a standard format and cadence for communicating continuous improvement projects in order to optimize and replicate the effectiveness of projects across the fleet and share best practices
• Collaboratively works with all applicable groups to verify effectiveness against program requirements
• Interfaces with executive leadership team on continuous improvement progress within the fleet and corporate organizations
• Develops relationships with peers to create an atmosphere of open, transparent, and honest communication among the teams to foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration to drive cultural change
• Develops key performance indicator metrics that adequately monitor the fleet performance against the continuous improvement program and adjusts the program as needed based on site and organizational resources
• Establishes a clear and consistent communication method to leadership to detail program performance, gaps, and measures being put in place to improve program performance
• Leverage SharePoint as a communication tool for sharing CI projects, replicating results (via DMAICs, etc.), and connecting teams across the fleet to align on cost saving initiatives.
• Coordinates with peers to support execution and maintain an open feedback loop for programmatic excellence

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education

– Bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, or related discipline. Equivalent education and extensive experience in job duties may be substituted. Advanced degree desired.

Experience

– 10 years or more industry experience. Experience in Continuous Improvement and developing long range strategic programs or performance improvements is desired. Plant or field operations/maintenance experience highly desired.

Certification/License, etc

— Instructor Certification/SME at TVA or related industrial instruction/teaching experience desired. Lean Six Sigma certification preferred

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

— Must have good written and verbal communication skills and be familiar with industry guidance documents, industry standards, and regulatory documents. Must be able and willing to travel, obtain and maintain unescorted plant access and medical qualification when applicable, and may be required to obtain and maintain a security clearance based on position/access requirements and essential job functions

TVA is an Equal Opportunity employer and complies with all applicable laws and regulations regarding equal employment opportunities. Any applicant or employee who believes s/he has a discrimination claim (including harassment or retaliation) must contact TVA’s Equal Opportunity Compliance office within 45 calendar days of the event or action s/he believes to constitute discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.

Drug-Free Workplace

All TVA Non-Nuclear employees are covered by TVA's Federal Drug-Free Workplace Program Plan, in accordance with Executive Order 12564, Public Law 100-71 and the Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing. Information regarding the Drug Free Workplace Program can be found at www.samhsa.gov/workplace . TVA Non-Nuclear employees in Testing Designated Positions, including those performing safety-sensitive duties are also subject to random drug testing. TVA Nuclear employees are subject to random alcohol and drug tests in accordance with 10 CFR Part 26 as mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).