Director, Operational Excellence

At Early Warning, we’ve powered and protected the U.S. financial system for over thirty years with cutting-edge solutions like Zelle®, Paze℠, and so much more. As a trusted name in payments, we partner with thousands of institutions to increase access to financial services and protect transactions for hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses.

Positions located in Scottsdale, San Francisco, Chicago, or New York follow a hybrid work model to allow for a more collaborative working environment.

Candidates responding to this posting must independently possess the eligibility to work in the United States, for any employer, at the date of hire. This position is ineligible for employment Visa sponsorship.

The Director, Operational Excellence is responsible for working with the team lead to drive operational excellence and organizational efficiency initiatives across the Early Warning. This includes helping lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of business processes across the enterprise. This role is focused on ensuring cross-functional processes are optimized for scalability, agility, and performance, aligning with strategic goals to deliver measurable business outcomes.

• Helps lead the execution of the organization’s process efficiency and optimization initiatives within defined business domains, ensuring alignment with broader enterprise priorities
• Conducts and oversees process assessments across assigned functions to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, risks, and opportunities for improvement
• Helps lead a small team in guiding delivery of medium- to large-scale process improvement and transformation initiatives
• Partners with senior leaders and key stakeholders to translate strategic priorities into actionable process improvement efforts, supporting cross-functional collaboration and effective execution
• Partners closely with the Head of Corporate Strategy and the Senior Director of Operational Excellence to execute agreed-upon transformation priorities, ensuring strategic intent is translated into measurable operational outcomes.
• Defines, tracks, and analyzes key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure process effectiveness, efficiency gains, and initiative outcomes
• Supports the adoption of automation, AI, and digital solutions by identifying use cases, partnering with technology teams, and driving implementation within scope
• Prepares clear, data-driven analyses, reports, and recommendations for senior leadership, translating process findings into practical, decision-support insights
• Serves as a change champion for assigned initiatives, driving engagement and adoption through effective communication, stakeholder management, and follow-through
• Ensures compliance, risk, and scalability considerations are incorporated into process redesigns in collaboration with risk, legal, and control partners

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, operations management, industrial engineering, or related field
• 15 or more years of experience in business process improvement, operations excellence, or management consulting, preferably with at least 3 years in a director or principal-level role. Experience may also be attained through graduate level study
• Demonstrated success in leading enterprise-wide transformation initiatives with measurable impact
• Deep knowledge of process improvement frameworks (e.g., DMAIC, Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen)
• Strong background in change management and executive stakeholder management
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and negotiation skills
• Background and drug screen

• Master’s degree or MBA.
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification.
• Experience in Financial Services
• Strong data-driven decision-making skills, with proficiency in BI tools and advanced analytics.

Working conditions consist of a normal office environment. Work is primarily sedentary and requires extensive use of a computer and involves sitting for periods of approximately four hours. Work may require occasional standing, walking, kneeling and reaching. Must be able to lift 10…