Operational Excellence Lead (9 months contract)

Job Summary

At Zurich Middle East, we’re committed to shaping a brighter future together. As part of Zurich Insurance Group, one of the world’s largest and most experienced insurers, our mission is to help communities understand and protect themselves from risk—locally and globally. 

Are you ready to drive transformation and help Zurich create brighter outcomes for everyone? Join our team and bring your passion for excellence to Zurich Middle East, delivering impactful results for clients, colleagues, and communities.

As an interim Operational Excellence Lead, you will drive operational and process improvement, supporting the Head of Operations and the wider Operations management team. By leading transformation initiatives and embedding robust governance, you will accelerate automation and deliver consistent, data-driven operational excellence that benefits both customers and colleagues. You will play a key role in enabling Operations to move beyond day-to-day business-as-usual, fostering innovation, scalability, and a brighter future for all.

Key Responsibilities

Customer and Service Journey Transformation 
•    Lead mapping and analysis of key customer, distributor, and service journeys to identify areas of improvement and standardization, pain points, inefficiencies, and opportunities for simplification and consistency.
•    Translate journey insights into actionable improvements that enhance customer experience and operational effectiveness.

Process Improvement and Standardization
•    Lead process improvement and standardization across core operational activities.
•    Establish and maintain clear process documentation, governance, and controls to ensure consistency, compliance, and repeatability.
•    Promote the adoption of new and improved ways of working across teams, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.

Automation and Digital Enablement
•    Identify and implement automation opportunities, in partnership with IT and Business Technology teams, across customer and service journeys.
•    Support the definition and execution of digital roadmaps for operational systems and customer-facing assets.
•    Contribute to end-to-end ownership improvements across distributor and customer journeys.

Operational Efficiency and Productivity
•    Lead targeted interventions to improve cycle times, reduce operational costs, strengthen quality, and enhance productivity.
•    Introduce structured problem-solving frameworks and continuous improvement practices to drive sustainable uplift.
•    Partner with teams across Operations to embed performance discipline and process optimization.

Data and Performance Insights 
•    Develop and evolve operational dashboards and performance insights to monitor service levels and identify opportunities for improvement.
•    Use data and analytics to support prioritization, diagnose issues, and validate the impact of improvement initiatives.

Operating Model & Change Enablement 
•    Support operating model alignment and embed new ways of working, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, and workflows.
•    Foster collaboration and a customer-centric mindset through change adoption initiatives.
•    Ensure transformation activities are delivered with strong governance, tracking, and cross-functional coordination.

Strategic Delivery Support
•    Provide structured delivery support to the Head of Operations on priority and key strategic initiatives including planning, stakeholder management, risk tracking, and reporting.
•    Enable disciplined execution of strategic initiatives that contribute to growth, cost rationalization, and operational scalability.

Job Qualifications

Essential Requirements: 

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, or related field.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years’ progressive experience in insurance, financial services, or other regulated industries, ideally within a multinational environment.
• Professional Certifications (one or more of the following is essential):
  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (or Master Black Belt)
  • Certified Insurance Professional (e.g., CII, ANZIIF, LOMA, or similar)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP®) or PRINCE2® Practitioner
  • Certified Change Management Professional (e.g., Prosci® Change Management Certification)

• Operational Leadership: Proven experience managing, mentoring, and inspiring large operations teams in a fast-paced, matrixed environment.
• Transformation Impact: Track record of leading structured operational transformation initiatives, delivering quantifiable improvements in efficiency, service, and productivity.
• Global Perspective: Deep understanding of global insurance markets, regulatory requirements, and multi-jurisdictional standards.
• Multilingual Advantage: Fluency in English; proficiency in additional market-relevant languages is highly valued.

Skills and Competencies:

• Continuous Improvement: Advanced knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or equivalent methodologies. Skilled in designing and deploying target operating models and process standardization at scale.
• Process & Digital Innovation: Strong experience leading digital transformation and automation projects across insurance operations, integrating InsurTech solutions.
• Advanced Analytics: Expertise in developing and leveraging operational dashboards, predictive analytics, and business intelligence tools for data-driven decision-making.
• Change Adoption: Exceptional capability in driving changes across diverse global teams, building resilience and a customer-centric culture.
• Stakeholder Management: Executive presence with outstanding communication skills; adept at influencing C-level leaders, board members, and cross-functional partners.
• Governance & Collaboration: Strong experience establishing governance frameworks, risk tracking, and compliance controls; able to foster integrated outcomes across departments.

Additional Preferred Requirements: 

• Education: Master’s degree in Business, Operations, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Professional Certifications: (one or more of the following)
  • IT Service Management: ITIL Foundation or higher certification.
  • Quality Management: ISO 9001 Lead Auditor certification.
  • Risk Management: Risk Management Certification (e.g., CRM, IRM).