If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Professional 311Pay Range: $97,100.00 - $145,600.00
Job Description
Job Duties- Oversees and guides department-level process improvement projects, ensuring timely execution, stakeholder alignment, and achievement of objectives.
- Leads the analysis and optimization of complex business processes within or across multiple business units.
- Develops and tracks Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) to measure the effectiveness of process improvements and ensures continuous improvement.
- Acts as a liaison between several cross-functional stakeholder groups to ensure alignment and support for process changes.
- Leads small teams or project groups and often takes on significant responsibility for project success.
- Contributes to the designing of the end-to-end business process architecture, framework and relationships.
- Integrates fundamental Lean knowledge with leadership experience.
- Maintains responsibility for being the Lean and Six Sigma tools and methodologies expert on project teams and process redesign teams.
- Performs detailed process analysis using Lean and Six Sigma tools to drive the design and implementation of optimized business processes for academic operations practices, functions, and colleges.
- Coaches, trains, and assists other team members and other university employees in the skillful use of process optimization methodologies and Lean/Six Sigma tools.
- Uses Project Management methodologies to plan workflows and work assignments to ensure the on-time completion f process design and redesign projects.
- Creates and maintains a detailed business process architecture mapping of the Practice’s process.
- Develops measurement plans with high level and low level KPI’s to identify efficiencies and prevent waste in the organization.
- Directs day-to-day process improvement work teams and project teams in the use of process optimization tools and data to ensure the best use of the team members’ time. This includes leading, mentoring, demonstrating, and executing the actual tools and methodologies as needed to ensure on-time success of the team.
- Designs and implements operational and data-driven decision support systems to establish and maintain a culture of execution and continuous process improvement (CPI).
- Supports process and cultural transformation by guiding stakeholders through change management efforts.
- Constructs and communicates project status reports at all levels in the organization.
- Collaborates with other professionals both inside and outside of the university to promote a positive, student-obsessed atmosphere.
- Responds with urgency to organization needs and exhibits excellent judgment to deliver results.
- Works to model capacity, service levels, outcomes, and cost over time in conjunction with Finance to predict and prevent supply and demand imbalances leading to sub-optimized process performance.
- Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
KSAs- Familiarity with process automation tools (e.g., BPM) and their application in optimizing business processes.
- Knowledge of advanced analytical techniques, including data modeling (e.g., Tableau, Power BI) and statistical data analysis (e.g., Minitab) for deeper insights into process performance.
- Skilled in analyzing large datasets, identifying patterns, and drawing actionable insights to guide process optimization.
- Ability to identify and mitigate risks in process redesign or implementation phases.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for presenting recommendations to senior leadership and explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to tackle complex problems, provide innovative solutions, and drive consensus among stakeholders.
- Moderate knowledge of project management methodologies, particularly Agile or Waterfall, with experience in managing cross-functional projects.
- Knowledge of Lean and Six Sigma tools and concepts.
- Solid understanding of quality improvement methodologies.
- Working knowledge/proficiency in Project Management Processes and Principles.
- Fundamental understanding of Business Process Architecture Mapping.
- Excellent problem-solving skills. Investigates appropriate resources and involves partners. Future oriented. Assesses what will help or hinder achieving goals. Focuses on what is important.
- Ability to draw on facts collected from a broad knowledge of the university’s goals and processes.
- Ability to be adaptable. Corrects behaviors and communication style to meet the needs of a wide range of situations. Tackles obstacles appropriately. Comfortable with ambiguity.
- Accountable to others; does what it takes to get the job done. Actions are consistent with words. Follows through on commitments and exhibits exceptional integrity.
- Displays commitment to the organization and to personal growth. Is self-motivated and able to motivate and inspire others. Asserts self appropriately to champion ideas. Tells the truth in a direct and constructive manner.
- Self-directs with a strong tendency for action. Leads the way to improve performance or processes. Displays keen interest in students and organization.
- Excellent interpersonal skills. Serves students or employees in a considerate, respectful and unbiased manner, approaches conflict proactively, solicits and shares feedback openly, listens with empathy and maintains composure.
Minimum Qualifications- Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering, Service Systems Engineering, Operations Research, Supply Chain Management, Actuarial Science or other relevant engineering/business/technical discipline.
- 3 years of related experience
Preferred Qualifications- Master's Degree
- 4 years of professional experience in a technical/engineering background.
- 4 years of experience working with Lean & Six Sigma methodologies/tools in business process optimization.
- Prior Business Process Engineering experience.
- Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification or the ability to achieve in 1 to 2 years.
- Lean Silver certification or the ability to achieve in 1 to 2 years.
Job Description Disclaimer: This position description provides the major duties/responsibilities, requirements and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position, however management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.
Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
