Director, Operational Excellence

Job Summary

The Director, Operational Excellence leads the Operational Excellence team and reports directly to the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

The Director, Operational Excellence is responsible for coordination with all operational departments in the organization. Focus is on continuous improvement within the scope of operational reliability. They work diligently to achieve a safe and accident-free operation first and foremost, ensuring that safety corrective actions are implemented in a timely manner, with a focus on solving for the root causes of safety hazards and incidents.

The Director actions all recommendations from the Operational Excellence Analysts as it pertains to avoidable delays and cancellations. Duties will focus on the review and enhancement of corrective action plans and coordination with other operational departments on the implementation of these proposed process and policy improvements.

Coordination will be required with all operational departments such as SOCC, Flight Operations, Inflight, Airport and Technical Operations. The ability to collaborate and work closely with all levels of leaders in these departments will be a critical part of the role. Operational Excellence as a department will drive process and procedure development, training, standards, quality assurance, and continuous improvement as it relates to the future mitigation of delays and cancellations.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Leads the operational excellence department to develop and continuously improve operational departments with respect to on-time performance, reliability and commercial objectives.
• Collaborates with the other operational departments (Flight Ops / In-Flight / SOCC / Tech Ops / Airport Ops) to ensure processes and training are aligned and support safety, reliability, and service objectives. Organizes and leads cross-functional working groups to continuously improve operational performance.
• Works closely with the Business Intelligence and Data teams to build, maintain and regularly report on detailed operational metrics to monitor performance across teams, identify opportunities for improvement and measure successes.
• Conducts monthly metrics reviews with Operations departments and Network Planning; uses the meeting to hold teams accountable for deliverables related to initiatives designed to improve operational performance
• Leads after action reviews for major IROP events to identify opportunities for improvement and define future reliability initiatives.
• Collaborates with the other commercial departments (Revenue Management / Information Systems and Technology / Customer Experience and Solutions / Loyalty / Marketing / Communications) in order to operationalize commercial objectives and product offering.
• Develops, continuously improves, and monitors the Operational Excellence measures of effectiveness to determine if processes are achieving their intended results.
• Develops, continuously improves, and monitors the Operational Excellence measures of performance to determine if team members are complying with procedures and standards.
• Organizes and leads cross-functional working groups as required, to continuously improve operational performance.
• Conducts thorough business analysis and develops business cases to support special projects and operational growth in a scalable and sustainable manner.
• Supports the building of a sustainable high-performance culture of teamwork and commitment to service and operational reliability throughout the organization, with significant focus on actively developing the continuous improvement culture.
• Regularly engages with leaders and team members to foster their commitment to Porter’s success. Meets defined financial performance targets. Constantly seeks ways to drive operational efficiency while supporting team members and passengers.
• Identifies point and systemic barriers that interfere with the execution of a safe and reliable operation.
• Enables change management through process development, training, and reinforcement of procedural compliance and adherence to standards. Works with department leadership to successfully execute change.
• Investigates safety hazards / incidents and implements corrective actions to address the root causes. Monitors the effectiveness of corrective actions.
• Ensures safety corrective actions assigned to Operational Excellence are fully implemented in a timely manner to reduce the risk of hazards or incidents repeating.
• Participates as a member of the Safety Management System Management Group.
• Maintains the Operational Excellence contribution to the Porter Safety Hazard Registry.
• Conducts thorough analysis and establishes business cases for the necessary investments to scale and sustain Porter operations.
• Handles special assignments related to business development, long range planning and other strategic opportunities.
• Works closely with department leaders and People & Culture to proactively manage all aspects of team member resources to maintain capabilities and manage the department’s talent pipeline.
• Actively works to maintain healthy Team Member Engagement levels.
• Develops and maintains a climate that attracts, retains, and motivates top talent; ensures proper succession planning and talent development for the airline's mission critical roles.
• Actively participates in Porter’s Safety Management System (SMS) including reporting hazards and incidents encountered in daily operations; understands and promotes the Company’s Safety Policy.
  
  

Behavioural Competencies

• Concern for Safety: Identifying hazardous or potentially hazardous situations and taking appropriate action to maintain a safe environment for self and others.
• Teamwork: Working collaboratively with others to achieve organizational goals.
• Passenger/Customer Service: Providing service excellence to internal and/or external customers (passengers).
• Initiative: Dealing with situations and issues proactively and persistently, seizing opportunities that arise.
• Results Focus: Focusing efforts on achieving high quality results consistent with the organization’s standards.
• Fostering Communication: Listening and communicating openly, honestly, and respectfully with different audiences, promoting dialogue and building consensus.
• Exemplifying Integrity: Treating others fairly, honestly, and respectfully, furthering the integrity of the organization and its relationships of trust with team members and the broader community.
• Inspiring Others: Energizing and inspiring others to strive for excellence and commit to common goals and purposes, creating a sense of self-efficacy, resilience, and persistence in followers.
• People Leadership: Assuming a leadership role in helping others achieve excellent results.
• Leading Change: Recognizing the need for change, being open to new ideas and methods, and championing transformational change within the organization and beyond.
  
  

Qualifications

• University degree
• 10 years operations management or process development or training experience
• Six Sigma Black Belt / Lean Six Sigma / Kaizen facilitator designations preferred
• Technologically savvy
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
• Able to effectively plan and manage resources
• Able to manage the workflows of separate but interrelated departments
• High standard of personal integrity
• Superior oral and written communication skills
• Proficient in Google office suite
  
  

Location

Toronto (Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport - YTZ)

Company Description

Since 2006, Porter Airlines has been elevating the experience of economy air travel for every passenger, providing genuine hospitality with style, care and charm. Porter’s fleet of Embraer E195-E2 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft serves a North American network from Eastern Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Porter is an Official 4 Star Airline® in the World Airline Star Rating®. Visit www.flyporter.com or follow @porterairlines on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.