Senior, Business Process Owner - Strategic Programs

Requisition ID: 108809

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued.

People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals.

We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey.

About American Water

American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders.

As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $40 to $42 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities.

American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions.

For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Position Information

$68,640 - $114,660

The base salary range represents a good faith salary range for this position. This position is eligible for annual incentive pay and has the opportunity for continued salary growth. If you are hired at American Water your base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as market, geography, skills, education and/or experience. At American Water, we are committed to pay equity.

In addition to compensation, you will be offered a comprehensive benefits package including 401(k),Defined Contribution Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, medical, prescription, dental and vision coverage, plus disability, paid time off, life insurance, voluntary benefits, health and wellness programs and much more!

American Water is also proud to offer employees learning opportunities and work experiences to grow professionally!

Primary Role

This role will involve carrying out all responsibilities detailed in the Job Description, with a specific emphasis on Hire-to-Retire business processes. Key areas of focus will include Talent Management, Talent Development, and Learning & Development processes. These areas encompass, but are not limited to, Performance Management, Learning Administration, and Succession Planning.

The [Value Stream] Process Owner is responsible for driving the analysis, documentation, design, and optimization of end-to-end business processes within a designated value stream for the American Water 2030 (AW2030) program. Supporting the Process Architect and Process Leads, the Process Owner works closely with Subject Matter Advisors (SMAs), transformation teams, and system integrators to ensure future state business processes are well-defined, integrated with systems, and aligned to transformation goals. Key requirements include:

- Design, document, implement, and assist in ongoing optimization of assigned processes within a value stream.

- Collaborate with Process Architect and Process Leads to ensure alignment with end-to-end value stream process architecture and documentation standards.

- Guide Process Analysts in work activities including process updates, requirements documentation, etc.

- Engage Business Subject Matter Advisors (SMAs) to validate and refine process designs.

- Contribute to the development of key process artifacts, including: Process Hierarchies, Business Process Documents (BPDs), Functional and Configuration Design Documents and Requirements Traceability Matrices (RTMs).

Key Accountabilities

- Design and maintain detailed process documentation, including workflows, policies, and standard operating procedures for assigned processes.

- Assist Process Leads in executing process improvement opportunities based on AW2030 wave initiatives.

- Help facilitate cross-functional workshops to align process decisions, business requirements, and integration points.

- Coordinate with IT and other key organizations to ensure process designs align with system capabilities and constraints.

- Engage SMAs to gather insights and validate business requirements.

- Identify employee pain points and process inefficiencies to share with the Process Architect and Process Leads.

- Monitor process performance using KPIs and assist in continuous improvement initiatives.

- Incorporate internal controls, regulatory requirements, and quality standards into process designs.

Knowledge/Skills

Knowledge:

- Understanding of American Water’s organization within a particular value stream including teams, roles, systems, and processes.

- Ability to highlight downstream impacts of process change, and/or identify the correct value stream teams to understand impacts

- Familiarity with current American Water systems used within the value stream and typical employee pain points across processes.

- Knowledge of enterprise-wide systems (SAP preferred, MapCall, Coupa, etc.).

- Knowledge of compliance, risk, and quality considerations in process design.

- Knowledge of process modeling methodologies.

- Advanced proficiency of MS365 (Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams, etc.).

Skills:

- Strong communication and stakeholder engagement within the value stream organization.

- Ability to work effectively at different levels in the organization, across functional areas, and with vendors like consultants, system integrators, etc.

- Ability to analyze data to identify areas for improvement and implement solutions.

- Demonstrated ability to perform in challenging situations.

- Ability to manage multiple tasks at once.

Experience/Education

- Typically requires 5+ years of relevant experience, including 3 + years in process ownership, business analysis, and/or operational excellence roles.

- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.

Travel Requirements

- Up to 50% travel

Competencies

Champions safety

Customer obsessed

Cultivates innovation

Nimble learning

Drives Results

Collaborates

Join American Water...We Keep Life Flowing™

American Water is firmly committed to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and prohibits employment discrimination for employees and applicants based on his or her age, race, color, pregnancy, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, citizenship, or because they are an individual with a disability, protected veteran or other status protected by federal, state, and local laws.