• Location: Ottawa
• Type: Contract
• Job #35419

Continuous Improvement Specialist (Lean / Business Process Improvement)

Location: Ottawa, ON (Onsite)
Duration: Up to 6 Months
Hours: Monday-Friday, Business Hours (8:30 AM – 4:45 PM EST)

About the Opportunity

Our client is seeking up to two experienced Continuous Improvement Specialists to support a Strategic Enrolment Management (SEM) initiative focused on improving business processes and enhancing the overall customer/student experience. The engagement will involve working closely with business leaders and subject matter experts to evaluate existing processes, identify improvement opportunities, and implement sustainable operational improvements using Lean methodologies.

Project Overview

The organization is undertaking a strategic initiative to improve operational efficiency by reviewing critical business processes across multiple departments. The successful consultant will partner with process owners to analyze current workflows, identify pain points and root causes, and develop future-state processes that improve efficiency, service delivery, and measurable business outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives across multiple business processes.
• Facilitate discovery sessions with business stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Define business problems, current-state processes, pain points, and operational barriers.
• Develop future-state process maps and practical improvement plans.
• Apply Lean methodologies and continuous improvement best practices.
• Conduct process mapping, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, and workflow assessments.
• Lead workshops, interviews, value stream mapping sessions, and improvement events.
• Evaluate existing business processes and recommend sustainable improvements.
• Produce clear process documentation, recommendations, and implementation plans.
• Gather and analyze stakeholder requirements across multiple business groups.
• Present findings and recommendations to operational teams and senior leadership.
• Support implementation planning and change adoption activities.
• Perform configuration testing, integration testing, and user acceptance testing (UAT) where required.
• Document test results and ensure proposed solutions align with business requirements.
• Prioritize improvement initiatives based on business value, operational constraints, and available resources.
• Develop measurable success metrics and help build internal continuous improvement capabilities.

Reporting Structure

The consultant will work closely with executive leadership, process owners, and cross-functional stakeholders while facilitating improvement initiatives across the organization. Success in this role requires the ability to build consensus, influence stakeholders, and guide teams through business process transformation.

Required Qualifications

• 5-7+ years of experience leading Continuous Improvement, Lean, Operational Excellence, or Business Process Improvement initiatives.
• Formal Lean, Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or Business Process Improvement certification/training.
• Strong experience with:
  • Process Mapping
  • Value Stream Mapping
  • Root Cause Analysis
  • Problem Definition
  • Waste Identification
  • Improvement Planning
• Proven experience facilitating workshops and working sessions with cross-functional stakeholders.
• Ability to translate complex operational processes into practical documentation and implementation plans.
• Strong analytical, communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience preparing executive-level summaries and recommendations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Visio, or similar process mapping tools.

Preferred Experience

Experience in one or more of the following environments is considered an asset:

• Postsecondary education
• Public sector
• Student services
• Enrolment management
• Admissions
• Financial aid
• Academic operations
• Complex service delivery organizations

Additional experience with:

• Enterprise-wide business process transformation
• CRM, ERP, Student Information Systems (SIS), workflow or case management platforms
• Technology modernization initiatives
• Change management and organizational adoption
• User-centered service design
• Ontario Broader Public Sector (BPS) environments

Location

• Primarily onsite in Ottawa, Ontario.
• Occasional travel may be required within Ontario during the engagement.

Contract Duration

• Up to 6 months.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal consultant is a hands-on Continuous Improvement professional who combines Lean expertise with exceptional facilitation skills and can successfully engage business stakeholders, lead process improvement initiatives, and deliver measurable operational outcomes across complex service environments.

Preferred Supporting Evidence

Candidates should be prepared to provide:

• Examples of previous Continuous Improvement or Lean transformation engagements.
• Sample process improvement deliverables or work plans.
• Professional references from comparable organizations or projects.