The Impact You Will Have 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is hiring a Senior Director of Operational Excellence in Eagan, MN. The Senior Director of Operation Excellence is responsible for building and leading a scalable, repeatable operational execution model that improves efficiency, strengthens controls, enhances customer experience, and drives operational transformation. This role oversees three core shared-service functions, Enterprise Initiatives, Continuous Improvement, and the Project Management Office (PMO), each designed to enable operational rigor, accelerate realization, and strengthen controls. 

Enterprise Initiatives and Continuous Improvement operate enterprise-wide across all lines of business, supporting strategy translation, portfolio prioritization, and process optimization at scale. The PMO is initially focused on Operational programs, serving as the execution engine for Operations-led projects. As the operating model evolves, additional operational or enabling functions may centralize within Operations Excellence to enhance consistency, governance, and enterprise alignment. 

This role sets the vision and roadmap for operational excellence, overseeing transformation initiatives and ensuring the systems, processes, and governance needed for consistent, high‑quality outcomes. The leader will partner with senior executives, functional leaders, and operational teams to streamline processes, enhance customer and employee experience, optimize cost structures, and mature organizational capabilities. 

The ideal candidate is a transformation-minded people leader with 8+ years of proven success running PMO/Program Management/ Transformation and/or CI (Lean/Six Sigma) at scale, driving measurable improvements through value cases, KPIs, and dashboards. The ideal candidate brings executive presence, strong communication/storytelling, and the ability to influence a matrixed organization to deliver operational efficiency, quality, and standardization; all while developing and coaching a high-performing team. 

Your Responsibilities  

• Strategic Leadership & Operating Model: Provide strategic leadership by defining and executing a multi‑year Operations Excellence strategy, establishing an enterprise shared‑service operating model, and advising senior leaders to translate prioritized opportunities into measurable, value‑driven outcomes. 

• Portfolio Governance & Enterprise Initiatives: Provide enterprise portfolio governance and oversight, translating prioritized initiatives into disciplined execution through structured controls, risk management, and clear executive‑level communication. 

• Continuous Improvement (CI) Leadership: Drive enterprise Continuous Improvement through Lean/Six Sigma practices, scalable future‑state process design, and automation enablement, while mentoring and educating leaders on practical process solutions and embedding controls to sustain quality, compliance, and performance gains 

• Project & Program Management Office (PMO) Oversight: Develop and lead a PMO as the delivery engine for Operations‑led initiatives by establishing disciplined methodologies, standards, and controls that ensure consistent planning, risk management, change enablement, and sustained post‑implementation performance 

• Governance, Controls & Operational Risk Management: Build and institutionalize enterprise governance and control frameworks, partnering with audit and compliance to embed change controls, risk management, and disciplined program oversight that ensure readiness, benefit realization, and long‑term sustainability. 

• Performance Measurement & Analytics: Establish enterprise performance measurement and analytics through KPI dashboards and lead/lag indicators, enabling data‑driven decision‑making and translating insights into executive communication, prioritized actions, resource allocation, and measurable business impact. 

• Leadership & People Development: Build and lead a high‑performing Operations Excellence organization by developing delivery and CI capabilities, strengthening cross‑functional ‘One Team’ collaboration, and providing coaching, capability development, and change leadership to mature enterprise operational excellence 

Required Skills and Experience 

• Accepting this position at BCBSMN requires signing an Employee Confidentiality, Intellectual Property Assignment and Restrictive Covenants Agreement as a condition of employment. 

• 8+ years of related professional experience with 5+ years of management experience in operations, transformation, consulting, or enterprise program leadership. All relevant experiences including work, education, transferable skills, and military experience will be considered. 

• Demonstrated experience running Transformation, PMO/Program Management and/or CI (Lean, Six Sigma) at scale. 

• Proven success leading cross-functional teams in complex operational environments. 

• Strong analytical skills with experience developing value cases, KPIs, and dashboards. 

• Track record of driving operational efficiency, quality improvements, and standardization. 

• Executive communication and storytelling capabilities. 

• High school diploma (or equivalency) and legal authorization to work in the U.S. 

Preferred Skills and Experience 

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business, management or a related field 

• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt or Master Black Belt certification. 

• Experience in healthcare, insurance, or highly regulated industries. 

• Experience leading vendor management or operational readiness programs. 

• Background in organizational design, change management, or training strategy.