Sr. Director - Global Operational Excellence Lead

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Company Overview:

At Lilly, we unite caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We are a global healthcare leader headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our 35,000 employees around the world work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to our communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. We give our best effort to our work, and we put people first. We’re looking for people who are determined to make life better for people around the world.

Position Overview:

The Global OpEx Lead serves as the global subject matter expert (SME) for Operational Excellence capabilities across Manufacturing & Quality (M&Q). This role is responsible for developing, deploying, and evolving OpEx culture and capabilities globally, with a strong focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence tools (Lean, Six Sigma, etc.). The Global OpEx Lead will be responsible for ensuring successful initial implementation of OpEx Culture and capabilities at New Sites, and serves as the primary point of contact for global standardization initiatives, including close collaboration with Tech@Lilly.

Key Responsibilities:

Operational Excellence Culture

• Support the governance and assessment of MSOE maturity and performance across sites.
• Steward the revision and creation of Manufacturing Standards of Operational Excellence by integrating cross-functional input and perspectives
• Partner with MQ HR and Learning and Development to develop, maintain, and deliver Operational Excellence Education materials

Global Capability Development

• Serve as the global SME for OpEx, responsible for defining and evolving global standards, tools, and methodologies.
• Lead the development and deployment of OpEx education and training programs across the enterprise.
• Partner with Network Leads to build capability in Site OpEx Leads and Business Partners.

New Site Deployment

• Responsible for ensuring successful initial implementation of OpEx Culture and capabilities during new site startup and ramp-up.
• Partner with Network Leads to provide strategic and hands-on support to embed OpEx culture and systems at new facilities

Global Standardization & Integration

• Act as the primary liaison for global standardization initiatives, ensuring alignment across networks and functions.
• Serve as global process owner for LillyViz and develop strategy for implementation in partnership with sites and Tech@Lilly
• Interface with Tech@Lilly to integrate digital solutions into OpEx systems and practices.

Leadership & Influence

• Represent the OpEx function in global forums and cross-functional initiatives.
• Facilitate best practice sharing and benchmarking internally and externally.
• Influence senior leadership to drive alignment and prioritization of OpEx initiatives.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Engineering or related field
• 10+ years of relevant experience in a regulated industry (preference for pharmaceutical experience)
• Past people leadership experience
• Demonstrated experience leading global initiatives or projects

Preferred Skills:

• Past front line manufacturing leadership experience
• Proven ability to work in a matrixed organization leading diverse teams and influencing areas not under direct control
• Expertise in Operational Excellence, Lean, Root Cause Analysis, Human Performance Reliability, and Change Management.
• Strong facilitation, coaching, and mentoring capabilities.
• Proven ability to influence across organizational levels and functions.
• High emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and adaptability.
• Experience working in a GMP-regulated or pharmaceutical manufacturing environment is a plus.
• Ability to drive process improvements and strategic decisions by analyzing and interpreting complex data.  
• Excellent teamwork, interpersonal, and communication skills, with the ability to communicate and collaborate at all levels through various formats.  
• Demonstrated influential leadership expertise and experience engaging with senior-level leaders (Site Head and above)  

Travel and Location Requirements:

• Travel up to 50% (travel is both OUS and domestic, range can vary from 20%-50% depending on business need)
• Role is based in Indianapolis at Lilly Corporate Center

Lilly is dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities to actively engage in the workforce, ensuring equal opportunities when vying for positions. If you require accommodation to submit a resume for a position at Lilly, please complete the accommodation request form (https://careers.lilly.com/us/en/workplace-accommodation) for further assistance. Please note this is for individuals to request an accommodation as part of the application process and any other correspondence will not receive a response.

Lilly is proud to be an EEO Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Our employee resource groups (ERGs) offer strong support networks for their members and are open to all employees. Our current groups include: Africa, Middle East, Central Asia Network, Black Employees at Lilly, Chinese Culture Network, Japanese International Leadership Network (JILN), Lilly India Network, Organization of Latinx at Lilly (OLA), PRIDE (LGBTQ+ Allies), Veterans Leadership Network (VLN), Women’s Initiative for Leading at Lilly (WILL), enAble (for people with disabilities). Learn more about all of our groups.

Actual compensation will depend on a candidate’s education, experience, skills, and geographic location.  The anticipated wage for this position is

$150,000 - $220,000

Full-time equivalent employees also will be eligible for a company bonus (depending, in part, on company and individual performance). In addition, Lilly offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees, including eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k); pension; vacation benefits; eligibility for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits; flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts); life insurance and death benefits; certain time off and leave of absence benefits; and well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program, fitness benefits, and employee clubs and activities).Lilly reserves the right to amend, modify, or terminate its compensation and benefit programs in its sole discretion and Lilly’s compensation practices and guidelines will apply regarding the details of any promotion or transfer of Lilly employees.

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