Vice President Continuous Improvement and Strategy

How many people can answer the question, "What do you do for a living?" with the answer, "I help find cures for cancer." At Blood Cancer United, employees take our mission seriously. Whether you work in one of our regions, are an accountant at the national office or a specialist in our Information Resource Center, you work each day on making our bold goal a reality: to enable patients with blood cancer to gain more than one million years of life by 2040. Join us and give new meaning to the word, "job." Summary: The Vice President of Continuous Improvement and Strategy serves as the enterprise leader responsible for embedding a culture of operational excellence, innovation, and accountability across Blood Cancer United. This role oversees Continuous Improvement (CI), Program/Project Management, Business Analysis (BA), and Strategy teams to ensure cohesive execution of organizational priorities and alignment to the enterprise strategic plan. The VP designs, implements, and sustains a Continuous Improvement framework that drives efficiency, performance, and measurable impact across all divisions.

Acting as both strategist and practitioner, this role leads enterprise CI initiatives and provides direct leadership to the Program Management and Business Analysis teams. The VP mentors internal teams and builds long-term capabilities that enable data-driven decision-making and continuous learning. The VP mentors internal teams, teaches the organization how to adopt and apply a CI mindset, and builds long-term capabilities that enable data-driven decision-making and continuous learning. Partnering closely with executive leaders, cross-functional stakeholders, and external vendors, this role guides implementation, measures impact, and scales best practices across the organization. By translating strategic intent into operational results, the VP ensures Blood Cancer United becomes agile, effective, and mission-aligned in its pursuit of excellence.

Supervises: Director, Program Management | Director, Strategy and Innovation | Director, Innovation Technology | Director, Strategy | Business Analysis Manager

Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic Execution & Planning

• Lead and oversee execution of Blood Cancer United’s enterprise strategic plan (currently in Year 2), ensuring focus, alignment, accountability, and measurable progress across all divisions.
• Provide direct leadership to the PM and BA teams, ensuring delivery of strategic initiatives and operational excellence.
• Facilitate the organization’s annual strategic planning process, driving alignment of priorities, resource allocation, and performance targets.
• Translate strategic priorities into actionable initiatives with clear ownership, timelines, and success indicators to drive organizational performance.
• Leverage continuous improvement processes, insights, and data to inform annual performance reviews, planning cycles, investment decisions, and long-term organizational strategy.

Continuous Improvement (CI) Framework Leadership

• Design, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive CI framework tailored to Blood Cancer United’s mission, values, and operational realities.
• Teach and embed a CI mindset across the organization to ensure adoption and cultural alignment.
• Partner with external CI consultants to guide rollout, establish governance, and ensure effective knowledge transfer and sustainability within internal teams.
• Define and monitor enterprise-wide CI metrics and KPIs to evaluate performance, capture Impact, ROI, and build accountability across departments.

Team Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop leaders across the Program/Project Management, BA, CI, and Strategy functions to ensure operational excellence and strategic alignment.
• Foster a high-performance, high-engagement culture rooted in collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Oversee performance management, professional development, and succession planning to strengthen team capability and readiness.

Facilitation & Relationship Building

• Serve as a trusted facilitator and advisor to cross-functional teams, guiding discussions that align strategy, priorities, and execution.
• Support the facilitation of prioritization for the PM and BA teams, helping ensure projects and work are aligned to the enterprise strategy and organizational goals.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships across departments to ensure cohesion, transparency, and shared ownership of outcomes.
• Act as a bridge builder between teams and organizational leadership, cultivating trust, open communication, and a mindset of continuous learning and improvement.

Organizational Development

• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and operational excellence at every level of the organization.
• Develop and deliver scalable learning solutions and training programs to strengthen CI capabilities across teams and leaders.
• Provide mentorship and hands-on coaching to leaders in applying Lean principles, change management practices, and problem-solving techniques.

Performance Management

• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of CI initiatives, ensuring outcomes are measurable, sustainable, and aligned to strategic goals.
• Identify enterprise-wide opportunities to streamline processes, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance overall organizational performance.
• Lead structured problem-solving and root cause analyses to address key operational challenges and enable data-driven decision-making.

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business Management, Operations Management, or related field preferred.

◦ Equivalent skills and experience are also acceptable.

• 10+ years of progressive experience in continuous improvement, operational excellence, or performance transformation, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role overseeing enterprise-wide initiatives and teams.
• Demonstrated experience leading Program/Project Management and Business Analysis teams, including guiding prioritization, resource alignment, and delivery of strategic initiatives.
• Professional certification(s) such as Lean, Six Sigma Black Belt, or similar CI credentials required; Master Black Belt or advanced CI certifications are strongly preferred.
• Proven success in designing and executing organization-wide CI strategies, frameworks, and governance models aligned to strategic priorities.
• Deep expertise in process improvement, systems thinking, change management, and performance measurement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Agile).
• Strong background in strategic planning, facilitation, and leading cross-functional teams through large-scale transformation.
• Experience collaborating with external vendors, consultants, and cross-sector partners to implement CI programs and scale enterprise outcomes.
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to influence executives, coach leaders, and build a culture of continuous improvement.
• Demonstrated excellence in organizational change leadership, project management, and operational governance in complex, matrixed environments.
• High proficiency in MS Office Suite and operational performance tools (e.g., Power BI, Minitab, or other analytics platforms) with the ability to translate data into actionable insights.

Physical Demands & Work Environment:

• Physical demands are minimal and typical of similar jobs in comparable organizations
• Work environment is representative and typical of similar jobs in comparable organizations
• Local travel as appropriate
• Occasional work some evenings or weekends

Employee Value Proposition:

As a valued member of Blood Cancer United, you are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package. Our offerings include medical, dental, and vision insurance; life insurance; flexible spending accounts; a 403b retirement plan along with generous paid time off. In addition, we observe federal paid holidays throughout the year, and offer a wellness program and an employee assistance program.

We are excited to share the base pay range for this position is $159,000 to $213,000. The offered compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, business need, market conditions, proficiencies, skills, education, and experience. Additionally, at Blood Cancer United we place a high value on internal pay equity and will consider the current compensation of similarly situated roles and direct team members. Base compensation is only one component of our Total Rewards program, which also includes an annual incentive plan and a competitive benefits package. The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the Company. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Disclaimer Blood Cancer United is an equal employment opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion in its workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender, gender identity and expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, race, color, creed, national origin/ancestry, citizenship, religion, genetic predisposition or information, physical or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Blood Cancer United seeks such skilled and qualified individuals to share our mission and where they will join a cohort of others who have chosen to call Blood Cancer United home. Blood Cancer United complies with all applicable laws which prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace, and is committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment supportive of all of our employees and the communities we serve.