Head of Operational Excellence and Design

The Opportunity
MassMutual is looking for a leader who is excited to streamline the procurement process, leverage emerging technology, and increase the value provided to our policyholders. We are continuously looking to mature our procurement operating model with a focus on standardization, enhancing the customer experience, implementing industry best practices, and reducing supplier spend. To achieve our mission to expertly source and manage products and services from a balanced supplier base to proactively advance our stakeholders' strategic priorities, the Head of Procurement Operational Excellence will develop our integrated processes, translate business needs to our tech roadmap, and create a comprehensive user experience through collaboration with upstream and downstream partners in the procurement process. This role will report into the Head of Operations and Enablement, and sits at the intersection of design and execution to develop a best-in-class end-to-end process
The Team
The Head of Procurement Operational Excellence is a member of the Procurement Operations & Enablement team and partners closely across all areas of Procurement and enterprise stakeholders to define and continuously develop our process excellence. The Operations and Enablement team is comprised of experts who will own and define our Policy and Standards, seamlessly integrate our end-to-end process across the source to pay lifecycle, help implement key technology enhancements in conjunction with our Innovation and Data team, and ensure we are continuously evolving our processes to reduce cost and increase productivity.
The Impact
The Head of Procurement Operational Excellence reports to the Head of Procurement Operations & Enablement and is a highly skilled leader responsible for architecting and driving end-to-end Procurement transformation. This role blends deep expertise in business and process architecture with advanced skills in workflow creation, KPI development and tracking, and user experience while serving as a strategic partner and change agent across the enterprise.
Responsibilities

• In conjunction with cross-departmental partners, design and maintain the procurement business architecture, aligning process frameworks, organizational structures, and technology platforms to enterprise strategy and goals

• Lead the development of a decision-making framework and target state designs, ensuring integration with enterprise functions (Finance, Legal, Risk, Compliance, IT)

• Serve as the business architect for process mapping, capability modeling, and strategic alignment, enabling procurement to deliver measurable value and support enterprise transformation initiatives

• Drive the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of procurement processes, policies, and controls to ensure consistency, compliance, and risk mitigation

• Lead the user experience and partner deeply with the CFPMO on implementing change management to drive process compliance

• Ensure successful implementation plans are created to reach adoption goals for process and technology enhancements

• Drive enterprise partnership to ensure stakeholder's needs are being identified and met through process and technology solutions

• Develop holistic workflows in conjunction with enterprise governance, compliance and regulatory requirements

• Engage in and support implementation of large-scale digital workflow platforms supporting enterprise governance and procurement processes

• Lead transformation initiatives, including process standardization, automation, and adoption of industry best practices to meet both team and stakeholder needs

• Champion a continuous improvement mindset, translating efficiencies into procurement and enterprise operating norms and best practices

• Lead the COE team comprised of business consultants assisting with process design, control ownership, training, implementation and standard operating procedures

• Mentor and coach team and subject matter experts, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability

• Develop and challenge KPIs and performance metrics that measure progress of strategic goals

• Optimize quality delivery across operations using data-driven decisions

• Assess performance of quality metrics and initiate process improvements, change management and training to drive corrective actions

• Establish ownership of procurement standards and associated outcomes (e.g. accurate data, process compliance, quality input, etc.) and work with owners to ensure quality delivery

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Business, Finance, Supply Chain or a related field

• 8+ years of operations, business analysis, strategy, or business architecture experience

• 5+ years of large-scale business process modeling, capability assessments, and architecture framework execution

• Prior demonstrated results leading teams or owning large-scale initiatives

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills to identify process inefficiencies and develop data-driven solutions using proven methodologies

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, including excellent presentation skills to effectively collaborate with cross-functional teams

• Ability to build and maintain strong working relationships across cross-functional groups

• Highly motivated to make impactful improvement for the team and business partners

• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time to support the needs of the organization

• Authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future

Preferred Experience:

• MBA, JDA or other advanced degree

• Previous experience in a mutual company or similar financial services / insurance industry

• Experience with technical transformations using workflow tools

• Implementation of AI based platform and/or experience creating processes utilizing AI tools

#LI-LS1
MassMutual is an equal employment opportunity employer. We welcome all persons to apply.
If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.
California residents: For detailed information about your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), please visit our California Consumer Privacy Act Disclosures page.
Salary Range: $156,000-$204,700