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.
Preferred Qualifications
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.
Skills Required
- Experience in operational process design, continuous improvement, operations enablement, or a related function
- Experience designing, documenting, implementing, and improving operational processes at scale
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills using operational data to identify opportunities and guide decisions
- 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
- 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 requirements, readiness, adoption, documentation, and training
- Lean, Six Sigma, or another continuous improvement certification
- Experience supporting geographically distributed or offshore teams
- Experience with workflow management, automation, or reporting tools
Afni, Inc. Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Afni, Inc. and has not been reviewed or approved by Afni, Inc..
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Strong & Reliable Incentives — Incentive programs (performance-based and referral) are available in many roles and can add to earnings when targets are met. The pay-and-bonus structure is described as a positive aspect in certain positions.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Paid time off for holidays and vacations is part of the package. Training periods also include additional holiday time, indicating a defined time-off offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Tuition reimbursement up to $5,250, a casual “Dress for Your Day” policy, and on-site events provide added non-cash value. Full-time schedules and referral rewards are also positioned as perks.
Afni, Inc. Insights
What We Do
When people reach for their phones, use laptops, or grab their tablets, Afni's contact center teams are there to provide prompt and friendly help. That's Afni. We're a global team of people who love helping companies develop meaningful and profitable relationships with customers. In 1936, we got our start in Bloomington, Illinois as a consumer collections agency. Today, we're so much more. Our channel strategies and customer lifecycle solutions give our clients ways to connect with their customers for many reasons, using their customers' channels of choice.
