Director of Operational Excellence

Description

The Director of Operational Excellence leads Lean and process improvement initiatives across the organization, independently manages complex and strategically important operational projects from initiation through completion, and serves as a coach and resource for program leaders building efficiency and quality within their teams. This role proactively identifies operational risks and barriers, intervenes independently to keep work on track, and drives initiatives to measurable outcomes. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this role also maintains active oversight of the COO’s full portfolio of strategic initiatives, monitors progress across departments, ensures accountability and follow-through, and anticipates where projects may stall or go off course before problems escalate. This role carries out and advances the priorities established by the Senior Executive Team, translating high-level direction into organized, measurable, and sustained operational progress.

Essential Duties and Functions: 

Continuous Improvement & Lean Leadership

• Lead and facilitate Lean and process improvement initiatives across departments, from opportunity identification through implementation and sustainability.
• Independently manage large-scale improvement projects with high strategic, financial, or operational significance, ensuring timely delivery and measurable outcomes.
• Serve as an accessible and proactive coach for program leaders, building knowledge, confidence, and capability in continuous improvement principles and practices.
• Assess operational workflows across departments to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and improvement opportunities, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement organization-wide by modeling best practices, sharing results, and creating repeatable frameworks and tools that teams can use independently.

Project Management & Execution

• Plan, coordinate, and independently manage complex, cross-departmental operational projects, maintaining clear timelines, milestones, and accountability structures throughout.
• Proactively identify project risks, dependencies, and potential points of failure before they escalate, and intervene independently to keep initiatives on track.
• Develop and maintain project management tools, templates, and frameworks that improve execution consistency and visibility across the COO’s portfolio.
• Monitor active projects across departments, provide regular status updates to the COO, and escalate issues with recommended courses of action.
• Partner with program leaders to define project scope, resource needs, and success metrics, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities from the outset.

COO Portfolio Oversight & Accountability

• Maintain active visibility into the COO’s full portfolio of strategic initiatives, tracking progress, dependencies, and outcomes across multiple departments and programs simultaneously.
• Anticipate where initiatives may stall, lose momentum, or go off course, and proactively engage with program leaders to address barriers before they require COO escalation.
• Assist in preparing materials for leadership meetings, board updates, and internal planning sessions, ensuring the COO is well-prepared and that relevant information is accurate and current.
• Support goal-setting and progress monitoring against strategic plans, annual priorities, and department-level objectives and key results, maintaining tracking systems that provide reliable and actionable visibility.
• Translate COO and Senior Executive Team priorities into organized, time-bound, and measurable work plans that operational teams can execute against.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build and maintain effective working relationships across departments, serving as a consistent and trusted resource for program leaders navigating operational challenges.
• Act as a bridge between departments to surface misalignments, promote shared accountability, and ensure that cross-functional work is coordinated and progressing.
• Represent the COO’s priorities and expectations in working groups, project teams, and cross-departmental meetings, ensuring continuity and follow-through.
• Communicate progress, risks, and recommendations clearly and concisely to audiences ranging from frontline managers to senior leadership.
• Model collaborative, improvement-oriented behaviors that reinforce a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous learning across the organization.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in business, operations management, or a related field required; MBA or equivalent advanced degree preferred. Candidates with an equivalent combination of education and demonstrated business acumen will be considered.
• 5+ years of experience in operations management, project management, or a related field, with demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
• Formal training or certification in Lean, Six Sigma, or a comparable continuous improvement methodology strongly preferred; demonstrated hands-on experience applying these principles in an operational setting will be considered in lieu of formal certification.
• Commitment to the mission, values, goals, and success of the SF SPCA.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Lean principles and continuous improvement methodologies, with a track record of applying them in operational settings.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to independently lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from initiation through completion.
• Exceptional ability to identify operational risks and barriers proactively, and to intervene effectively without waiting for direction.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to assess workflows, interpret operational data, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to coach, influence, and collaborate across all levels of the organization without direct supervisory authority.
• High degree of organization and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfortable operating with autonomy while maintaining appropriate transparency and communication with senior leadership.
• This is an onsite position that requires 5 days per week in person at our San Francisco Mission Campus.

Salary & Benefits 

The starting salary for this position depends on the depth and breadth of experience. The expected range is $137,000 - $152,000. 

Regular, full-time positions are eligible for a benefits package including:

• Paid Time Off and Holiday pay 
• Medical, Dental & Vision insurance 
• Life Insurance 
• Long-term Disability Insurance 
• 401k Retirement Plan and contribution matching 
• Student debt relief program 
• Pre-tax Commuter Benefits 
• Generous Lifestyle Spending Account 
• Mental health and wellbeing support with Talkspace 
• Discounts on retail and pet supplies 
• Discounts on veterinary care at our SF SPCA Veterinary Hospital and Clinic 

The SF SPCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. This job description reflects the assignment of essential functions and does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned. The San Francisco SPCA is an at-will employer and may conduct pre-employment background checks and drug screening depending on the role.