Job Title: Head of Operational Excellence

Department: Operations
Reports to: COO
Location: Philadelphia
Level: Senior Individual Contributor / Manager

Role Summary

The Operational Excellence Manager owns operational process design, documentation, training, quality investigations, and continuous improvement across warehouse and customer support operations. This role is responsible for ensuring that all operational workflows are clearly defined, consistently executed, audited for compliance, and continuously improved as the business scales and new customers are onboarded.

This role is the single owner of operational SOPs, training frameworks, complaint investigations, and process change management. It combines quality management, operational enablement, and continuous improvement into one accountable function.

Core Responsibilities

SOP Ownership & Process Governance

• Own all operational SOPs, including:

  • Internal operational SOPs

  • Warehouse SOPs

  • Customer support SOPs

  • External and customer-facing operational documentation

• Create new SOPs and update existing SOPs as processes evolve

• Challenge existing workflows to improve efficiency, accuracy, and quality

• Maintain SOP version control, approvals, and change documentation

• Ensure SOPs remain aligned with operational reality and business needs

Complaint Investigations & Quality Management

• Own and lead operational complaint investigations, including:

  • Physical investigations within warehouse operations

  • Workflow investigations across support and cross-functional handoffs

  • Perform root cause analysis and document findings

• Define and implement corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)

• Translate investigation findings into:

  • SOP updates

  • Training updates

  • Process controls and improvements

• Track trends in complaints to proactively drive operational improvements
  

Training, Certification & Enablement

• Design and maintain role-based training programs for:

  • Warehouse associates

  • Customer support associates

  • Other operational roles as required

• Create and manage a training schedule aligned to SOP updates and operational needs

• Build and own a badging / certification system to validate SOP competency

• Partner with operations leaders to ensure training completion and effectiveness

• Identify retraining needs based on audits, investigations, or performance gaps
  

Audit & Compliance

• Audit operational adherence to SOPs across teams and facilities

• Identify gaps between documented process and actual execution

• Escalate non-compliance and recommend corrective actions

• Support compliance, quality, and customer requirements through strong process discipline

• Ensure operational readiness for audits, reviews, and customer inquiries
  

Continuous Improvement

• Identify inefficiencies, risks, and failure points in operational workflows

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that improve:

  • Accuracy

  • Speed

  • Scalability

  • Quality

• Submit, manage, and implement process change requests

• Measure and report the impact of implemented improvements
  

New Business & Customer Onboarding Support

• Partner with Sales, Operations, and other stakeholders to support new business onboarding

• Translate new customer requirements into:

  • Amendments to existing SOPs, or

  • Creation of customer-specific SOPs

• Ensure operational documentation and training are completed prior to go-live

• Act as the operational process owner ensuring readiness for new customers and services
  

Authority & Accountability

This role has the authority to:

• Own and enforce operational SOPs

• Require retraining when gaps are identified

• Recommend process changes and block go-live readiness if SOPs or training are incomplete

• Drive corrective actions based on investigations and audits
  

Qualifications & Experience

Required:

• 5+ years experience in operational excellence, quality management, or process improvement

• Direct experience owning SOPs in warehouse, logistics, fulfillment, or support operations

• Experience leading complaint investigations and root cause analysis

• Strong understanding of training systems and process documentation

• Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority
  

Preferred:

• Experience in regulated or quality-sensitive environments (logistics, healthcare ops, 3PL, etc.

• Familiarity with Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies

• Experience supporting new customer onboarding or operational scaling

How Success is Defined in this Role:

• SOPs are current, clear, and consistently followed

• Training and certification programs are adopted and measurable

• Complaint investigations lead to real, documented process improvements

• Operational errors and repeat issues decrease over time

• New business launches with clear, complete operational documentation
  
  

Why This Role Matters

This role ensures that operations scale intentionally, not reactively. It protects quality, enables growth, and creates clarity for frontline teams by turning operational complexity into clear, executable processes.