Operational Excellence Manager

Salary Range: $76,000-$105,000

Position Purpose

The Operational Excellence Manager (Center of Excellence) is responsible for driving performance improvement across frontline operational teams through process design, operational enablement, continuous improvement, and subject matter expertise rather than direct people management.

This role partners with Operations Leaders to design scalable processes, implement enabling technology, and establish effective training and quality frameworks. The Operational Excellence Manager strengthens productivity, quality, and cycle-time performance without owning day-to-day operational execution.

*This position is hybrid in our Bloomington, IL headquarters.*

Why Join Afni?

At Afni, we believe our people are our greatest competitive advantage. We're committed to creating opportunities for growth, encouraging innovation, and empowering employees to make a meaningful impact on the business.

What We Offer
• Competitive compensation and a comprehensive benefits package
• Medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage
• 401(k) plan with company match
• Paid time off and paid holidays
• Tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities
• A collaborative culture focused on continuous improvement, accountability, and innovation

Essential Functions and Responsibilities
Process Design & Standardization
• Design, document, and continuously improve end to end operational processes.
• Establish standard work, playbooks, and frameworks that support consistent execution across teams.
• Identify root causes of performance gaps and translate insights into durable process solutions.
• Balance standardization with business line specific needs.

Performance Enablement & Continuous Improvement
• Analyze operational trends (throughput, quality, cycle time, rework) and identify leverage points for improvement.
• Lead structured improvement initiatives (e.g., RCA, Lean, Six Sigma based efforts).
• Own improvement initiatives end to end, from problem definition through benefit realization.
• Ensure improvements are measurable, scalable, and adopted by Operations.

Training & Knowledge Enablement
• Partner with Training/L&D to design role specific, process aligned training programs.
• Define certification standards and readiness criteria for operational roles.
• Serve as a subject matter expert for complex workflows, exceptions, and escalation handling.
• Ensure training content aligns with current process, tooling, and quality expectations.

Quality Frameworks & Controls
• Own the design of quality standards, audit criteria, and control frameworks for operational work.
• Partner with Quality teams to ensure defect insights drive upstream process and training improvements.
• Reduce rework and error rates by addressing systemic causes, not individual behavior.

Technology & Tool Enablement
• Partner with Technology, Analytics, and Product teams to implement tools that improve accuracy, speed, and scalability.
• Define operational requirements for workflow systems, automation, and reporting.
• Ensure technology solutions are operationally usable, clearly documented, and supported by training.

Partnership & Influence
• Act as a lateral partner to Operations Leaders, supporting them in improving outcomes.
• Provide clear recommendations, data backed insights, and structured problem solving support.
• Influence without authority through credibility, expertise, and results.
• Support enterprise and cross line initiatives that require coordinated adoption.

Minimum Job Requirements
• Demonstrated experience in operational process design, continuous improvement, operations enablement, or a related function.
• Proven experience designing, documenting, implementing, and improving operational processes at scale.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to use operational data to identify opportunities and guide decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Experience partnering across Operations, Training, Quality, Technology, Analytics, or Product teams.
• Experience supporting change adoption and translating process or technology changes into practical operational solutions.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in claims, subrogation, insurance, BPO, or shared-services environments.
• Experience working within or helping build a Center of Excellence or shared-services model.
• Experience supporting technology implementations or rollouts from an operational perspective, including operational requirements, readiness, adoption, documentation, and training.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or another continuous improvement certification.
• Experience supporting geographically distributed or offshore teams.
• Experience with geographically distributed teams, workflow management, automation, or reporting tools.