Strategic Operational Excellence Lead – Lean & AI-Driven

Wolters Kluwer; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 99,000 - 173,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision Plans

401(k)

FSA/HSA

Commuter Benefits

Tuition Assistance Plan

Vacation

Sick Time

Paid Parental Leave

Job summary

Wolters Kluwer in Chicago seeks an Operational Excellence Manager to drive continuous improvement across Service and FCOE operations. You will partner with leadership to map current-state workflows, identify inefficiencies, and define future-state solutions using Lean, Six Sigma, and agentic AI.

This role emphasizes data-driven decision making, cross‑functional collaboration, and measurable impact on efficiency and customer experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent required.
• 5+ years of experience in operational improvement, service delivery, fulfillment, business analysis, or process optimization.
• Hands-on experience with process mapping, workflow analysis, value stream mapping, and root‑cause analysis.
• Proficiency with process mapping and visualization tools (Visio, Lucid, Miro, Smartsheet).
• Experience with Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen; AI‑driven process improvements preferred.
• Experience supporting digital transformation or automation initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Conduct detailed process assessments to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, risks, and improvement opportunities.
• Perform time-motion studies and quantitative assessments to establish baselines and levers.
• Create current-state and future-state maps using Visio, Lucid, Miro, Smartsheet, or similar tools.
• Drive improvements to lower costs, increase throughput, reduce defects, and improve cost‑to‑serve metrics.
• Lead business cases, cost‑benefit analyses, effort estimates, and risk assessments for executive‑level buy‑in.
• Lead cross‑functional improvement initiatives with Operations, Technology, Product, PMO, and Reporting.
• Track initiative progress, risks, dependencies, and outcomes for portfolio visibility.
• Develop reusable standards, playbooks, and toolkits to scale improvements.

Skills

Lean

Six Sigma

Data analytics

Change management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Problem-solving

Strategic thinking

Data-driven

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Visio

Lucid

Miro

Smartsheet

Power BI

MS Office

JIRA

Job description

Wolters Kluwer in Chicago seeks an Operational Excellence Manager to drive continuous improvement across Service and FCOE operations. You will partner with leadership to map current-state workflows, identify inefficiencies, and define future-state solutions using Lean, Six Sigma, and agentic AI.

This role emphasizes data-driven decision making, cross‑functional collaboration, and measurable impact on efficiency and customer experience.