Senior Manager, Operational Excellence

Job Purpose

The Senior Manager, Operational Excellence drives measurable improvements in efficiency, quality and control across Group Operations. Combining Lean Six Sigma Black Belt expertise with strong project management discipline, the role takes improvement initiatives from diagnosis through to delivery and sustained results and manages a portfolio of process improvement and automation projects end to end.

As the Bank expands its use of automation and AI, the role also gets hands-on with AI-enabled process improvement, working closely with the RPA CoE and AI teams, and helps shape the division's improvement and automation roadmap.

Key Responsibilities

Process Improvement & Operational Excellence

• Lead end-to-end process improvement initiatives across Group Operations using Lean Six Sigma methodologies (DMAIC, DMADV and related tools) to improve efficiency, turnaround time, quality and control.
• Map and analyse current-state processes to identify waste, bottlenecks, failure points and control gaps, and design practical future-state processes.
• Apply data and statistical analysis to identify root causes and validate solutions before rollout.
• Quantify benefits such as cost savings, capacity released, turnaround time and error reduction, and track benefits realisation after implementation.

Project Management & Delivery

• Manage process improvement and automation projects end to end, covering scoping, business case, planning, resourcing, budget, risks, issues and delivery.
• Lead cross-functional project teams across business units, Group IT, Risk and vendors to deliver agreed outcomes on time.
• Drive projects through the Bank's governance and approval processes, including change management, UAT and go-live readiness.
• Manage dependencies and escalate risks early, with clear options and recommendations.

Project Governance & Reporting

• Maintain project tracking, status reporting and RAID logs across the Operational Excellence project portfolio.
• Prepare progress updates, management papers and committee submissions for senior management.
• Support PMO practices, including project standards, templates, stage gates and portfolio prioritisation.

Automation & AI Enablement

• Identify automation (RPA and workflow) and AI opportunities during process reviews and prepare them for delivery with the RPA CoE and AI teams.
• Get hands-on with AI-enabled process improvement projects as they start in the Bank, from use case assessment through to delivery.
• Contribute process insights to the division's automation and AI roadmap.

Sustainment & Capability Building

• Embed control plans, SOP updates and KPIs so that improvements are sustained by the business.
• Coach and mentor project team members and Green/Yellow Belts on Lean Six Sigma tools and project discipline.
• Promote a continuous improvement culture across Group Operations.

Qualifications & Skills (including mandated licenses where applicable)

Technical Skills

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification (mandatory), with a track record of completed Black Belt projects and quantified results.
• Strong project management experience across the full project lifecycle (mandatory). PMP, PRINCE2 or Agile certification is a plus.
• Proficient in process mapping and analysis tools (e.g. SIPOC, value stream mapping, BPMN) and statistical tools (e.g. Excel).
• PMO or project portfolio governance experience is very good to have.
• Exposure to automation (RPA or workflow) and AI/ML or GenAI projects is very good to have.
• Working knowledge of Power BI or similar data visualisation tools is a plus.

Soft Skills

• Strong stakeholder management, with the confidence to challenge senior stakeholders constructively.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, including preparing management papers.
• Structured problem solver who can drive change across multiple departments.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities under tight timelines.

Education & Experience

• Open to Malaysian citizens only.
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, IT, Finance or a related field.
• Minimum 8 years of working experience, including at least 4 years leading process improvement, operational excellence or transformation projects.
• Experience in banking or financial services operations is preferred.