General Manager, Business Improvement

Position Description

The General Manager, Business Improvement is a senior leadership role accountable for designing and driving enterprise-wide transformation and to be a centre of our productivity and efficiency drive across the HAECO group, mainly through three priority programs:

1. Group Lean Capability Development Program to strengthen MRO operation and ensure a lean and efficient administration.
2. Transition to a Process Organization to establish resilience in the operation, to enable continuous improvement as well as benchmarking.  
3. One AFS Program to leverage network synergies and scale in a growing network, standardization, shared services, and make/buy enablement.

The role leads a central team and works in a highly collaborative, matrixed manner with Group functions and all MRO entities. The position holder acts as a strategic leader and enabler, while coaching and building capability and governance to ensure measurable, verified business benefits. The position holder is very persuasive, resilient and able to drive change in a legacy operation.

What You'll Do

A) Group Lean Capability Development Program – Design & Deployment

Identify, drive and communicate success cases and pilot projects. Build a holistic Lean system across the Group with aligned curriculum, governance, roles, project certification, and benefit verification.

• Develop and implement a Group Lean Capability Development Program including roadmap, milestones, funding needs, and adoption approach.
• Define a holistic Lean framework (principles, methods, standards, management system) to move from fragmented approaches to a more coherent system while leveraging experience in the entities.
• Build Lean capability across all entities through structured learning paths including training and coaching.
• Drive Group strategic projects while supporting entity projects as a consultant and enabler.
• Ensure strategic alignment between Lean initiatives and Group/entity strategy, business priorities, and customer outcomes.

B) Process Organization – Build End-to-End Process Management

Establish a process-based operating model to improve end-to-end performance, quality, customer outcomes, and efficiency across entities.

• Design a HAECO wide process organization blueprint (process architecture, ownership, governance, and performance management).
• Lead and drive process mapping and standardization across the company.
• Implement process performance KPIs and dashboards - focusing on flow, quality, timeliness, cost, and customer metrics.
• Enable workflow integration across entities and functions, clarifying handovers and interface controls.
• Ensure process design aligns with quality, safety, compliance, and audit requirements where applicable.

C) oneAFS Program – Synergy, Standardization & Shared Services Enablement

 Deliver oneAFS outcomes by standardizing processes, removing duplication, enabling shared services, reducing indirect efforts/costs, supporting make/buy decisions to unlock scale economies and network synergies.

• Drive the oneAFS transformation roadmap with clear workstreams, benefits, dependencies, and decision gates.
• Streamline collaboration to eliminate duplication, standardize processes, and ensure AFS-wide alignment.
• Support and drive the establishment of centralization, shared services (where applicable): scoping, operating model, service catalog, SLAs, governance.
• Develop an objective framework to support make-or-buy decisions (business cases, risk/quality impact, total cost of ownership, scalability).
• Partner with Finance to ensure benefits are quantified, validated, and sustained.

What You'll Need

1. Job Requirements & Competencies

• Strategic + Practical: Can design frameworks and also roll sleeves up to deliver
• Systems thinking: Sees end-to-end value flow and interdependencies
• Stakeholder influence: Strong facilitation, negotiation, and executive communication
• Driving Business: Ability to work effectively and to deliver strong results in a complex organization
• Coaching mindset: Develops practitioners and leaders; builds a CI culture
• Data-driven: Strong analytical ability; sets baselines and measures outcomes rigorously
• Governance discipline: Structured PMO, risk management, and decision gating
• Change leadership: Drives adoption, behaviors, and sustainability—not just project completion
• Operates as a partner to entities: collaborative, respectful of local realities, but firm on standards and benefit integrity
• Balances standardization with pragmatic flexibility
• Build trust through transparency, facts, and consistent follow-through

2. Qualification & Experience

• Lean Six Sigma certification (Black Belt / Master Black Belt) with strong a track record in Lean (prerequisite)
• Change Management certification (e.g., Prosci) preferred
• Process management / BPM certification (e.g., CBPP or equivalent) beneficial
• Project/Program management (PMP/PRINCE2) beneficial
• Bachelor’s degree required in Engineering, Business, Operations, Quality, Supply Chain, or related field
• Master’s degree (MBA / MSc) preferred
• 8+ years progressive experience in business improvement, operational excellence, transformation, or process management
• 5+ years leading cross-functional, multi-site programs with measurable results
• Proven track record building capability programs (curriculum, governance, certification, coaching) across diverse teams
• Demonstrated delivery of end-to-end process organization or enterprise process management (process ownership, KPI systems, governance)
• Experience driving standardization / shared services / synergy capture in a group or network structure
• Strong financial acumen: ability to build business cases, quantify benefits, and partner with Finance on verification
• Exposure to regulated, safety- and quality-critical environments (e.g., aviation/MRO, manufacturing, engineering services) is highly desirable
• Comfortable working in a matrix with multiple entities and stakeholders; able to influence senior leaders