KONE Business Services (KBS) is a scalable business process platform of KONE dedicated to drive productivity and making KONE's scale happen. With a hybrid service delivery model consisting of +1.400 dedicated professionals in seven locations globally, we drive efficiency and digitalization in business processes for KONE.
Job Title - Operational Excellence & Quality Manager
We are seeking a development-minded Operational Excellence & Quality Manager to take our Quality, Audit, Internal Controls and Continuous Improvement (LEAN) agendas to the next level. Our ambition is to lead continuous improvement, quality and compliance at KONE and to do that, transform our current, well-worked approach and ways of working. To do that, we are looking for experienced change leader with growth mindset and passion for development.
The ideal candidate possesses strong background in managing and developing continuous improvement and quality for global business services organization. He/she has solid background in managing day-to-day (e.g. audits, quality framework) and driving change, knowing what great looks like with proven track record of making it happen. Furthermore, the person is great communicator with curious-mind and experience in leveraging Automation and AI along.
Responsibilities:
• Own the “How” of what good continuous improvement and quality management looks like and enable our teams, through methods, tools and expertise, to identify opportunities for waste reduction, process optimization and improving quality
• Responsibility distribution is est. 60-40 between development stewardship
• Develop and deliver organization wide initiatives around continuous improvement, quality and compliance to enhance service quality & compliance, reduce waste, improve process performance and user experience
• Educate and govern employees on LEAN (Six Sigma, UX) and Quality management principles (framework, Internal controls) by guiding, tracking and reporting the progression towards business targets.
• Promote and lead the culture of continuous improvement and compliance excellence within KBS organization enabling our teams to identify opportunities for waste reduction, process optimization and quality improvements
• Coordinate and/or lead internal and external audits (LRQA, QMS, GMS) from kick-off to actions closure, while maintaining and demanding proper documentation and governance
Capabilities & Requirements:
• Experienced leader with minimum of 5-10 years of experience in driving organization wide transformations in the context of Quality, Compliance and Continuous Improvement, ideally within business services environment
• Proven ability to lead and manage teams. Strong interpersonal and intercultural, project & change management skills allowing effective collaboration across all functions with various levels of stakeholders
• Knowledge and experience of operational process(es) and their continuous improvement through application of Six Sigma, LEAN & Kaizen. LEAN Six Sigma certified (Green minimum, Black preferred)
• Experience with Audit Coordination and Internal Controls with demonstrated experience with ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems. ISO 9001 Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor certification preferred
• Proactive, self-motivated change driver with action orientation and growth mindset passion for change management, continuous improvement and compliance
• Structured, data-driven way of working supported with proficiency in relevant data analysis tools, technology and AI with and curiosity to learn new emerging tech.
• Willingness to travel.
At KONE, we are focused on creating an innovative and collaborative working culture where we value the contribution of each individual. Employee engagement is a key focus area for us and we encourage participation and the sharing of information and ideas. Sustainability is an integral part of our culture and the daily practice. We follow ethical business practices and we seek to develop a culture of working together where co-workers trust and respect each other and good performance is recognized. In being a great place to work, we are proud to offer a range of experiences and opportunities that will help you to achieve your career and personal goals and enable you to live a healthy and balanced life.
Read more on https://kone.com/global/en/careers.html
Skills Required
- 5–10 years of experience driving organization-wide transformations in quality, compliance, and continuous improvement
- Experience in a business services environment
- Proven ability to lead and manage teams
- Strong interpersonal, intercultural, project management, and change management skills
- Knowledge and experience applying Six Sigma, Lean, and Kaizen to continuous improvement
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification minimum; Black Belt preferred
- Experience coordinating audits and managing internal controls
- Demonstrated experience with ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems
- ISO 9001 Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor certification
- Proficiency with relevant data analysis tools, technology, and AI
- Willingness to travel
Kone Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Kone and has not been reviewed or approved by Kone.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive across many roles and markets, with field positions sometimes benefiting from overtime and strong union scales. Feedback suggests base compensation is often a relative positive even when other factors vary.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs, including 401(k) and in some regions pension or annuity structures, are consistently highlighted as strong. Feedback suggests these elements meaningfully enhance the overall package.
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Healthcare Strength — Core health coverage is viewed as comprehensive, commonly including medical, dental, and vision options. Feedback suggests a global well‑being framework and EAP resources further reinforce health-related support.
Kone Insights
What We Do
At KONE, our mission is to improve the flow of urban life. This means understanding urbanization and, together with our partners and customers, helping cities to become better and more sustainable places to live. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernization to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle. Through more effective People Flow®, we make people's journeys safe, convenient and reliable, in taller, smarter buildings. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, we operate in more than 60 countries around the world, employ over 60,000 people and serve 550,000 customers. In 2022, KONE had annual sales of EUR 10.9 billion. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
