Regional Operational Excellence Manager, North America

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About the opportunity

Reporting to the Vice President, Regional Operations,the Regional Operational Excellence Manager will partner with site leaders, functional leaders, Finance, and Global Operational Excellence to identify, prioritize, and deliver measurable business improvements. This is a visible transformation role for a practical leader who can move comfortably between the shop floor and senior leadership. The successful candidate will establish effective management systems, coach leaders and teams, develop a strong portfolio of improvement initiatives, and help ensure that benefits are measured, validated, and sustained.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Deployment

• Develop and execute the North America Operational Excellence roadmap in alignment with regional business priorities and global Operational Excellence direction.
• Assess operational maturity across supported sites and establish practical deployment plans based on business needs, risks, and opportunities.
• Translate strategic objectives into a prioritized portfolio of improvement initiatives with clear owners, milestones, risks, and success measures.

Business Impact and Portfolio Delivery

• Partner with site and functional leaders to identify and deliver improvements in safety, quality, delivery, cost, inventory, capacity, working capital, and employee capability.
• Lead high-impact, cross-functional improvement programs from opportunity identification through implementation, benefit confirmation, and sustainment.
• Partner with Finance and process owners to define baselines, validate benefits, and establish controls that sustain results.

Operating System and Governance

• Establish and strengthen common practices for daily management, visual management, tiered accountability, leader standard work, and structured problem solving.
• Create an effective review cadence for the regional improvement portfolio and provide concise, data-based updates and recommendations to leadership.
• Identify, document, and scale effective practices across North American sites in partnership with Global Operational Excellence.

Capability Building and Change Leadership

• Coach leaders, project owners, and front-line teams in practical problem solving, change leadership, and continuous improvement methods.
• Facilitate kaizen events, value-stream improvement activities, and other focused interventions that address priority business problems.
• Develop site-level champions and build ownership within the operation so improvements are sustained after implementation.
• Build alignment across functions and sites, address barriers to adoption, and help leaders translate transformation priorities into daily behaviors.

Digital and Analytical Enablement

• Use operational data, visualization, and analytical tools to identify constraints, assess root causes, monitor performance, and support decision-making.
• Partner with Operations, Quality, Engineering, Supply Chain, Finance, and digital teams to improve the consistency and accessibility of performance information.

Your profile

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, life sciences, operations, supply chain, business, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Five or more years of experience in Operational Excellence, Continuous Improvement, manufacturing, engineering, quality, supply chain, or a related operational discipline.
• Demonstrated experience leading cross-functional improvement programs that produced measurable and sustained results.
• Practical experience applying Lean, Six Sigma, structured problem solving, or comparable improvement methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to influence, coach, and lead change across functions and levels without relying on direct authority.
• Strong facilitation, communication, stakeholder-management, and project-leadership skills.
• Ability to analyze operational and financial data and translate findings into clear priorities and actions.
• Ability and willingness to travel to supported North American sites, with occasional international travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in biotechnology, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, medical device, or another regulated manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of GMP, ISO 13485, or comparable quality systems.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Lean Leader, or equivalent demonstrated depth of Operational Excellence experience.
• Experience deploying an operating system or Operational Excellence program across multiple sites.
• Experience partnering with Finance to validate savings, productivity gains, and other business benefits.
• Proficiency with data analysis, visualization, and project-management tools, including Power BI, advanced Excel, ERP or manufacturing data systems, or comparable platforms.

If your experience does not align with every preferred qualification, we still encourage you to apply if you believe your background and capabilities would enable you to succeed in this role.

The estimated base salary range for this position is $110,000-$135,000. Compensation will be based on the candidate’s experience, skills, geographic location, and other job-related factors. In addition to base salary, we offer a total compensation package that includes a commission plan, annual bonus, and generous benefits.

What we offer

Bonus/Commission

Local benefits

Referral Program

Volunteer Day

Internal Academy (QIALearn)

Employee Assistance Program

Hybrid work (conditional to your role)

Our people are the heartbeat of everything we do. Passion drives us as we push boundaries to innovate and evolve. We inspire with our leadership and make an impact with our actions. We cultivate a collaborative, supportive environment where each individual and team can flourish. We champion accountability and encourage entrepreneurial thinking.

QIAGEN is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran, or disability.