Senior Consultant, Process Optimization & Agentic Operations

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.

Section 1: Position Summary

The Senior Consultant will combine consulting-based approaches, process optimization expertise, and operational experience to identify, implement, and sustain business improvements that drive measurable value.  The role partners closely with business leaders to improve operational performance while helping prepare processes for future automation, AI enablement, and agentic operating models.  The Senior Consultant will blend structured problem solving with hands-on execution to deliver measurable operational improvements through the following essential activities: diagnosing operational challenges, redesigning workflows, implementing pragmatic solutions, and ensuring that improvements translate into sustained business outcomes.

Section 2: Job Functions, Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

• Lead operational diagnostics to identify opportunities for efficiency, quality, capacity, customer experience, and risk reduction.
• Analyze current-state processes and develop practical future-state solutions that improve business outcomes.
• Partner directly with operational leaders to implement process improvements and drive organizational adoption.
• Identify and eliminate non-value-added activities, bottlenecks, duplication, rework, and process complexity.
• Own improvement initiatives from opportunity identification through implementation, stabilization, and value realization.
• Develop data-informed recommendations that balance customer impact, operational feasibility, risk considerations, and business objectives.
• Apply Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, consulting, and change management techniques as appropriate to the business problem, selecting the right approach rather than prescribing a single methodology.
• Conduct process assessments, workflow analysis, and current-state evaluations across operational functions.
• Facilitate process redesign efforts that simplify work, reduce variability, improve controls, and enhance customer and associate experiences.
• Establish performance measures, management routines, and control mechanisms that sustain improvements after implementation.
• Partner with business stakeholders to embed continuous improvement capabilities within day-to-day operations.

Agentic Operations Enablement

• Assess operational processes for automation, AI, and agentic readiness.
• Identify opportunities to standardize workflows, decision points, business rules, and knowledge assets that support future AI-enabled operations.
• Partner with business, technology, and AI teams to redesign work before automation is implemented.
• Contribute to the organization's long-term transition toward agentic operating models by improving process maturity and operational consistency.

Value Realization

• Define measurable success criteria and expected outcomes for improvement initiatives.
• Track realized benefits including productivity, cycle time, quality, capacity, customer experience, and risk outcomes.
• Support portfolio governance by providing visibility into initiative progress, implementation risks, and realized value.
• Ensure operational improvements result in measurable and sustainable business impact.

General

• Responsible for protecting, securing, and proper handling of all confidential data held by Ascensus to ensure against unauthorized access, improper transmission, and/or unapproved disclosure of information that could result in harm to Ascensus or our clients.
• At Ascensus we are guided by our Core Values of People Matter, Quality First and Integrity Always®. They inspire us every day to prioritize an environment of respect for those we serve and one another and should be visible in your actions on a day-to-day.

Supervision  

• N/A

Section 3:  Experience, Skills, Knowledge Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in process improvement, operational excellence, consulting, transformation, or continuous improvement roles.
• Retirement operations and recordkeeping
• Financial services servicing and operations
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or equivalent continuous improvement certification preferred.
• Consulting experience preferred.
• Experience supporting automation, workflow transformation, AI, or digital transformation initiatives preferred.
• Proven experience leading operational improvement initiatives from assessment through implementation and stabilization.
• Strong process analysis, workflow redesign, and operational problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive organizational change.
• Experience implementing and sustaining measurable operational improvements.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to leverage data to inform decisions and quantify outcomes.
• Experience developing business cases, performance metrics, and value realization measures.
• Financial services experience preferred; Retirement industry experience highly preferred.
• Comfortable operating independently in ambiguous environments while maintaining accountability for results.

For all virtual remote positions, in order to ensure associates can effectively perform their job duties with no distractions, we require an uninterrupted virtual workspace and there is also an expectation of family care being in place during business hours. Additionally, there is an internet work speed requirement of 25 Mbps or better for individual use. If more than one person is utilizing the same internet connection in the same household or building, then a stronger connection is required. If you are unsure of your internet speed, please check with your service provider. Note: For call center roles specifically, it is a requirement to either hardwire your equipment directly to the internet router or ensure your workstation is in close proximity to the router. Please ensure that you are able to meet these expectations before applying.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

Be aware of employment fraud. All email communications from Ascensus or its hiring managers originate from @ascensus.com or @futureplan.com email addresses. We will never ask you for payment or require you to purchase any equipment. If you are suspicious or unsure about validity of a job posting, we strongly encourage you to apply directly through our website.