Director, Operational Excellence

Job Description

In our rapidly evolving business environment, Vanguard’s Personal Investor Division needs to be at the top of our game to serve our clients in meeting their investment goals. Continuous improvement, operational efficiency and a client-centric focus are at the core of what we do. Vanguard Personal Investor Group is seeking an experienced Total Quality Management leader to oversee a new function that will be comprised of a centralized quality organization that drives for quality at the source across the division. The leader of this function will leverage six sigma, statistical process control, value stream mapping , and process excellence techniques to identify, remediate and eliminate defects.

This leader will have a unique ability to build an organization from the ground up that supports all of Personal Investor. Through Lean Management in tandem with systematic data-driven advanced operational capabilities, this leader will be expected to identify and remediate control failures that have plagued our Personal Investor division for far too long. The role will include both service defects and failures, as well as poor client experiences where we are not meeting the expectation of the client, and will be fundamental to supporting the Personal Investor top priorities.

This individual will have a seat at the senior leadership team for Operational Excellence and partner, where they will have access to information that drives our strategy for all of Personal Investor. They will partner with our most critical risk, compliance, legal, oversight and client experience functions across the enterprise to reduce Vanguard’s risk against regulatory and financial scrutiny, serving to reduce risk and improve client experience at a time most needed in our industry.

Core Responsibilities:

• Sets strategy and implementation plan for Personal Investor’s Quality approach for operations and regulatory processes, providing oversight, decision making and governing frameworks for quality across the division
• Leverages sophisticated advanced analytics to establish systematic monitoring over key business processes to identify defects, mis-processed items, and regulatory / compliance issues in a central and decentralized manner
• Influences across the division as they deploy teams to identify the root cause of issues that consist of black belt, value stream mapping, and project management experts to work with the leaders and crew of those areas to execute on process improvement to remediate defects at the source.
• Partners with subdivisions and business unit leadership to ensure quality capabilities are aligned to top business opportunities. Communicates the maturation of capabilities alongside of budget implications to divisional leadership.
• Develop robust analytical capabilities, in partnership with our data & analytics division to develop detailed control charts, identifying thresholds for quality and reporting on deviations that create risk and poor client experience.
• Creates multi-year strategy that will influence Personal Investor Team One to allocate budget to quality initiatives, inclusive of technology, people and process changes.
• Hires, evaluates, and supervises crew. Provides guidance and training as necessary to develop crew. Sets performance standards, reviews performance, and makes informed compensation decisions in accordance with all applicable Human Resources policies and procedures.
• Leads development of Vanguard's client service model and delivery of services. Reviews sub-division performance, analyzes against targets, and develops solutions to enhance performance.
• Develops working relationships with internal partners across the department to ensure a successful strategic approach to meet client and business needs.
• Develops and maintains expert knowledge of Vanguard funds, products, and services. Anticipates and plans for changes in the Financial Services industry and the legal, tax, and regulatory landscape.
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of ten years related work experience in the Financial Services industry. Five years experience in client services and quality management preferred. Supervisory experience required.
• Undergraduate degree or equivalent combination of training and experience. Graduate degree preferred.
• Experience in six sigma, lean management, and advanced analytics methodologies strongly preferred.
• This job requires a regulatory license and/or registration (e.g. FINRA, state, SFC). These will be determined by Compliance based on role-specific duties.

Special Factors

Sponsorship

About Vanguard

We are Vanguard. Together, we’re changing the way the world invests.

For us, investing doesn’t just end in value. It starts with values. Because when you invest with courage, when you invest with clarity, and when you invest with care, you can get so much more in return. We invest with purpose – and that’s how we’ve become a global market leader. Here, we grow by doing the right thing for the people we serve. And so can you.

We want to make success accessible to everyone. This is our opportunity. Let’s make it count.

Inclusion Statement

Vanguard’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion is firmly rooted in our culture. Every decision we make to best serve our clients, crew (internally employees are referred to as crew), and communities is guided by one simple statement: “Do the right thing.”

We believe that a critical aspect of doing the right thing requires building diverse, inclusive, and highly effective teams of individuals who are as unique as the clients they serve. We empower our crew to contribute their distinct strengths to achieving Vanguard’s core purpose through our values.

When all crew members feel valued and included, our ability to collaborate and innovate is amplified, and we are united in delivering on Vanguard's core purpose.

Our core purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success.

How We Work

Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.