Senior Manager - Operational Excellence

Senior Manager Operational Excellence Bringing Lean Six Sigma discipline and Agentic AI capability together to drive measurable transformation across Alcon, including our AGS centers. At Alcon, we're passionate about enhancing sight and helping people see brilliantly. With more than 25,000 associates, we innovate fearlessly, champion progress, and act swiftly to impact global eye health. We foster an inclusive culture, recognizing your contributions and offering opportunities to grow your career like never before. Together, we make a difference in the lives of our patients and customers. Are you ready to join us? This role is part of Alcon's ITCI function and its Transformation Office (TO) mandate – orchestrating Digital and AI adoption at the speed and scale Alcon demands, with Simplifeye continuous improvement as the operating foundation. The Sr. Manager, Operational Excellence & AI-enabled Transformation is accountable for driving measurable, sustained business value through AI-enabled process transformation, grounded in Lean Six Sigma discipline. This leader owns the Simplifeye Continuous Improvement & AI-Enablement Portfolio across Alcon's AGS centers and will focus on balancing incremental Kaizen improvement with zero-based, agentic process redesign to unlock step-change outcomes. This role is part of the Opex leadership team and leads the team of CI Managers responsible for the AGS centers and partners closely with the Transformation Office, Global Process Owners, ITCI and business function leaders to shape and deliver the enterprise AI and continuous improvement agenda. Job Profile Summary Drive measurable business value across AGS functions through Lean, Six Sigma, and AI-enabled process transformation — accountable for P&L impact in addition to core metrics such as certifications delivered. Own the Simplifeye Continuous Improvement & AI-Enablement Portfolio — balancing incremental improvement (Kaizen, DMAIC) with transformational redesign (zero-based, agentic AI). Embed AI and Agentic AI as accelerants across the Lean Six Sigma lifecycle — problem framing, charter development, analysis, solution implementation, benefit realization, and knowledge reuse Enforce value discipline on every initiative through a value hypothesis, locked baseline, and validated post-implementation measure. Lead and develop the AGS CI Manager team as a strategic value engine — bilingual in Lean Six Sigma and modern digital / AI ways of working. Champion the Simplifeye culture as the enduring foundation while reinventing how work gets done in an AI-enabled operating model. Key Responsibilities Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement (Core foundation) Lead the AGS CI Manager team in the design and delivery of cross-functional Operational Excellence initiatives across service, digital and operational domains. Own and manage the Annual Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) roadmap for AGS — ensuring measurable business outcomes and disciplined portfolio prioritization. Identify and lead major Lean improvement (Gemba) events and Kaizen workshops to drive cost reductions, revenue growth, and process efficiency across service workflows and customer journeys. Mentor and develop internal talent toward Lean Six Sigma White Belt, Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt, and Master Black Belt certifications — sustaining a strong pipeline of certified practitioners. Drive stakeholder alignment through monthly and quarterly business reviews, and strengthen governance and process standards across AGS service operations. Partner with the Transformation Office's Centralized Governance & Value Tracking function to standardize benefits realization across the AGS portfolio. Establish and maintain robust KPIs, dashboards, and performance scorecards to enable data-driven decision-making across the OpEx portfolio. AI-Enabled Operational Excellence Accelerate the LSS lifecycle with Copilot and Agentic AI — from diagnosis and DMAIC analysis including charter development, analysis, solution implementation and benefit realization. Partner on Federated Agentic AI ideation, execution, adoption, and value tracking for assigned AGS functions, aligned to the enterprise Transformation Office operating model and governance framework. Ensure adherence to Alcon's Agentic AI framework and Responsible AI guardrails for all use cases. Leverage process intelligence and process mining tools (e.g., Celonis, Signavio, or equivalent) to move continuous improvement diagnosis from opinion-based to data-driven. Champion Copilot and everyday AI adoption across AGS functions in support of Alcon's Digital & AI Fluency mandate and enable top-quartile workforce fluency. Zero-Based Process Redesign & Enterprise Transformation Apply zero-based process redesign to reimagine end-to-end value streams around AI-native workflows. Partner with Global Process Owners and the Transformation Office to identify processes where agentic redesign (perceive → plan → act → monitor) can unlock meaningful value. Select the right lever for the right problem — balancing the incremental portfolio (Kaizen / DMAIC) with the transformational portfolio (zero-based / agentic redesign). Contribute to enterprise transformation programs as a process excellence and AI-enablement partner. People Leadership Lead, develop, and engage the global AGS CI manager team and the broader Opex team building a performance-driven, learning-oriented culture with strong capabilities, succession plans, and career paths aligned to Alcon values. Model a bilingual mindset – grounded in Lean Six Sigma while fluent in AI and modern digital ways of working, thereby fostering an inclusive environment that encourages accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement. Qualifications & Experience Must Have 10–15+ years of experience in operational excellence, continuous improvement, or transformation leadership, with proven people management capability. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (Master Black Belt preferred) with a track record of augmenting Lean discipline with modern digital tools. Digital and AI fluency – hands-on experience applying AI, automation (RPA, Copilot, LLM based tools) and process intelligence (e.g. Celonis, Signavio) to operational or shared-services problems. Partner effectively with IT, data, legal, and compliance teams to ensure AI-enabled solutions are built with appropriate governance guardrails and Responsible AI principles. Exposure to end-to-end value stream transformation and comfort with zero-based process thinking to challenge legacy process assumptions Track record of delivering measurable business value — cost reduction, revenue impact, working capital, productivity measured by business value delivered against established baseline. Experience influencing at senior levels across matrixed, global organizations, including working in a GCC set-up and knowledge of GCC functions (Finance, Quality, HR, IT, Legal, Supply Chain and other global functional areas) All associates must adhere to GxP regulations by strictly following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), maintaining accurate and complete documentation, ensuring rigorous quality control, and completing all required training. Associates are responsible for meeting their individual job requirements and contributing to the overall compliance of the organization. Compliance with regulatory requirements and a commitment to continuous improvement are essential to our operations. ATTENTION: Current Alcon Employee/Contingent Worker If you are currently an active employee/contingent worker at Alcon, please click the appropriate link below to apply on the Internal Career site. Find Jobs for Employees Find Jobs for Contingent Worker Alcon is an Equal Opportunity Employer and takes pride in maintaining a diverse environment. We do not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, or any other reason. Experience Level Senior Level