Sr. Manager, R&D Delivery & Operating Model Excellence

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader, creating breakthrough science to improve people’s health. We’re always looking towards the future, anticipating changes in medical science and technology.

Working at Abbott 

At Abbott, you can do work that matters, grow, and learn, care for yourself and your family, be your true self, and live a full life. You’ll also have access to: 

• Career development with an international company where you can grow the career you dream of. 
• Employees can qualify for free medical coverage in our Health Investment Plan (HIP) PPO medical plan in the next calendar year. 
• An excellent retirement savings plan with a high employer contribution 
• Tuition reimbursement, the Freedom 2 Save student debt program, and FreeU education benefit - an affordable and convenient path to getting a bachelor’s degree. 
• A company recognized as a great place to work in dozens of countries worldwide and named one of the most admired companies in the world by Fortune.  
• A company that is recognized as one of the best big companies to work for as well as the best place to work for diversity, working mothers, female executives, and scientists.  

The Opportunity

This position will have overall Tech Ops responsibility for Operational Excellence work streams, including Functional Excellence and Organizational Excellence. The Operational Excellence Leader will be responsible for leading and driving the principle-based behaviors within Tech Ops which include: Creating value for our business and customers, accountability and ownership at all levels, integration and inclusiveness  within R&D, focusing on the process, embracing data & facts, do it right the first time, leading by example and respect for all. It is through these pillars; the Operational Excellence Leader will be responsible for the identification, management and execution of projects and improve processes within Tech Ops which will deliver year-over-year improvements. The Operational Excellence Leader will be the catalyst within Tech Ops to appropriately, and respectfully, challenge status quo which will continually drive improvements via best practice replication (learning from within the network and externally), creative and innovative solutions, alignment of goals and objectives and resource planning to deliver results. 

This person will be responsible for defining, evolving, and embedding effective operating models, process standards, and continuous improvement practices across Tech Ops. This role improves organizational effectiveness by standardizing interaction models, clarifying decision rights, optimizing value streams, and enabling disciplined execution across Device, Sensor, and Digital functions. This role integrates Lean, Agile, and hybrid methodologies within a regulated technical environment to improve delivery reliability, quality, and speed. 

What You'll Do

• Lead organization’s capability in knowledge and understanding of metrics and measurements which impact the total performance of Tech Ops. 
• Drive visual management and data understanding throughout Tech Ops facilities. 
• Manage and facilitate continuous improvement projects in support of company objectives. 
• Develops an implementation plan, conducts risk assessments and develops contingency plans to accommodate unforeseen events. 
• Recognizes and removes barriers to project completion. 
• Recognizes the broader implications of actions and proposals on the overall business. 
• Mentor/train key stakeholders in the use and practice of continuous improvement methodologies and tools. (Lean, value stream mapping, six-sigma, Kaizen). Assesses current processes and standard work flow and identifies process improvement opportunities utilizing organizational, analytical, Lean and six sigma problem solving methodologies. 
• Assist in selecting, scoping and prioritizing continuous improvement projects across the business ·Plans and facilitates the execution of various value stream mapping and Kaizen events. 
• Estimates and verifies financial benefits from continuous improvement projects. 
• Acts as a change agent by communicating the enterprise-wide changes to the employees and helping them to learn, understand, adjust and grow within the continuous improvement culture. 
• Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed. 
• Participates as a key business partner to the leadership team. 
• Contributes to business strategy development and operational execution of business plans. 
• Helps to create the future state as it relates to shortened value streams, Tech Ops strategies, cross-functional processes, and the establishment of uniform policies and procedures. 
• Develops programs and initiatives that support the business strategies and plans. 
• Thinks strategically to anticipate future issues and challenges and create appropriate plans now, using proactive approaches. 
• Demonstrates analytical capability to find systemic issues to root cause, and crest actions plant to mitigate, close and/or eliminate. 
• Develop toolkits, templates, and guidance materials to enable consistent ways of working across teams. 
• Monitor adoption of standardized processes and provide feedback to the Director on systemic improvement opportunities. 
• Partner with Change Management to support adoption of new processes and practices. 
• Identify operational friction points and recommend improvements to Business Excellence leadership 
• Lead high value projects within Tech Ops functions and sites and effectively coordinate projects with the deployment champion and other improvement project teams. 
• This includes identification of opportunities, definition of done and financial justification of projects, stakeholder management, change management, project team resource management, overall project/program management, lead teams to execute projects with sound problem solving methodology, track project and program status and results, remove and elevate project barriers, and develop team members. 
• It is also critical to identify integration points across the project value stream projects/processes and coordinate the improvements with key stakeholders and process owners to maximize project/program value delivery. 
• Manage the development and maintenance of methods and enabling systems (including governance, organizational structures, processes and tools) that accurately demonstrate the degree to which the project/program goals, objectives and metrics are being met. 
• Provide deployment champion with the results and recommend appropriate corrective action. 
• Address program requirements necessary to support constantly changing priorities, responsibilities and organizational ambiguities. 
• Recruit Experts, Advocates and Team Members into the Business Excellence infrastructure, and ensure continuing development of their skills. 
• Sound stakeholder management and change management: This includes keeping the Deployment Champion, Tech Ops staff and R&D management informed of program status and ensuring coordination of activities between Black Belts at other facilities inside and outside of Tech Ops. 
• Best Practice Sharing: As a global lean leader, this position will drive replication of applicable best practices and learnings across sites, organizations and the division functions. 
• Take an active role in educating stakeholders on BEx methodologies and participate in multi-divisional councils that shape the future of Business Excellence at Abbott. 
• Operates with general direction and minimal supervision from the Director, Business Excellence and has full responsibility to make decisions that directly impact margin project financial achievement.

Experience You'll Bring

Required

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Business, Engineering, Technical or Science or extensive equivalent experience
• Minimum of 10 years related work experience
• 8-10 years of demonstrated success in applying Continuous Improvement / BEx tools
• 2 - 5 years’ experience in business improvement, quality systems or other areas related to the project.

Preferred

• Certification or equivalent working knowledge of improvement tools and methodologies  Lean/Six Sigma; Black belt preferred. Knowledge of applicable regulatory standards and requirements for FDA regulated environment. Knowledge of cost accounting/financial reporting systems. 
• Has successfully led several high complexity projects from beginning to end.   Demonstrated technical skills and management judgment appropriate to the project.  Demonstrated expertise in PM tools and processes.
• Willingness to travel (to facilitate personal development and support of other sites).
• Demonstrated diplomacy and effective functioning and communication in a matrix environment.
• Ability to organize and lead cross functional teams and align team members to management's vision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to effectively lead in a team environment, adaptable to change, able to manage competing priorities, excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills and sense of business savvy.
• Ability to make critical decisions in a fast-paced production environment.
• Solicits the cooperation of a diverse group of disciplines and functions in a tactful and persuasive manner. 
• PMP certification and/or MBA is a plus

Apply Now

Learn more about our health and wellness benefits, which provide the security to help you and your family live full lives:  www.abbottbenefits.com

Follow your career aspirations to Abbott for diverse opportunities with a company that can help you build your future and live your best life. Abbott is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to employee diversity.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

Divisional Information

Medical Devices

General Medical Devices:

Our medical devices help more than 10,000 people have healthier hearts, improve quality of life for thousands of people living with chronic pain and movement disorders, and liberate more than 500,000 people with diabetes from routine fingersticks.

CRM

As a global leader in Cardiac Rhythm Technologies, we focus on innovative technologies that can improve the way doctors treat people with heart arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats.

Diabetes

We’re focused on helping people with diabetes manage their health with life-changing products that provide accurate data to drive better-informed decisions. We’re revolutionizing the way people monitor their glucose levels with our new sensing technology.

Vascular

Abbott Vascular provides innovative, minimally invasive, and cost-effective products for treatment of vascular disease.

Neuromodulation

Our Neuromodulation business includes implantable devices compatible with mobile technology to help people who suffer from chronic pain and movement disorders. These non-opioid therapies allow us to provide interventional pain therapy to patients throughout the pain continuum.

Structural Heart

Structural Heart Business Mission:  why we exist

Our business purpose is to restore health and improve quality of life through the design and provision of device and management solutions for the treatment of structural heart disease.

EP

In Abbott’s Electrophysiology (EP) business, we’re advancing the treatment of heart disease through breakthrough medical technologies in atrial fibrillation, allowing people to restore their health and get on with their lives.

HF

In Abbott’s Heart Failure (HF) business, we’re developing solutions to diagnose, monitor and manage heart failure, allowing people to restore their health and get on with their lives.

Diagnostics

We’re empowering smarter medical and economic decision making to help transform the way people manage their health at all stages of life. Every day, more than 10 million tests are run on Abbott’s diagnostics instruments, providing lab results for millions of people.

Abbott Molecular is a leader in molecular diagnostics and the analysis of DNA, RNA, and proteins at the molecular level.

Our Point of Care diagnostic portfolio spans key heath and therapeutic areas, including infections disease, cardiometabolic, informatics and toxicology.

Our diagnostic solutions are used in hospitals, laboratories and clinics around the globe. The crucial information derived from our tests, instruments and informatics systems are often the first step in patient care decision making for hundreds of health conditions from heart attacks to blood disorders to infectious diseases and cancers.

Our rapid diagnostics solutions are helping address some of the world’s greatest healthcare challenges.

Nutrition

Our nutrition business develops science-based nutrition products for people of all ages, from helping babies and children grow to keeping adult bodies strong and active. Millions of people around the world count on our leading brands – including Similac®, PediaSure®, Pedialyte®, Ensure®, and Glucerna® – to help them get the nutrients they need to live their healthiest lives.