Job Description: EXL is seeking a Senior AVP to anchor its newly established Digital Operations Transformation practice - a high-impact leadership role responsible for building and scaling an AI-enabled transformation engine across EXL's client portfolio. The role will shape next-generation operating models, drive enterprise-wide productivity and innovation, and act as the primary transformation interface for senior client stakeholders.
Working at the intersection of process excellence, digital capabilities, advanced analytics, and AI, the Senior AVP will own the end-to-end transformation agenda across a portfolio of clients in Banking & Capital Markets, Utilities, Airlines & Travel, and Transport & Logistics operations. They will lead a team of transformation professionals, co-create client-facing solutions and products, and collaborate closely with EXL's DE and AI Solutions teams to bring the full depth of EXL's digital and AI capability to bear.
Responsibilities: Transformation Strategy & Operating Model Design
- Define and own the transformation strategy for a portfolio of clients, co-creating roadmaps that integrate process excellence, digital, data, and AI capabilities
- Lead the design of next-generation AI-enabled operating models that drive measurable productivity, quality, and customer experience outcomes
- Identify and size transformation opportunities across the client lifecycle - from diagnostics through to value realization
Process Excellence & Continuous Improvement
- Drive enterprise-wide process redesign initiatives; deploy Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen frameworks at scale
- Establish and govern process excellence standards, toolkits, and capability-building programs within the team and with clients
- Champion a data-led approach to opportunity identification - leveraging process mining, journey mapping, and root-cause analysis
Digital Innovation, Automation & AI
- Lead identification, business case development, and deployment of automation, AI/GenAI, and digital solutions across client operations
- Act as the primary bridge between client operations and EXL's DE and AI Solutions teams - translating operational pain points into technology requirements
- Evaluate and pilot emerging technologies; build views on applicability and ROI within BPO/BPM contexts
Client-Facing Product Design & Development
- Co-design and develop client-facing transformation products and solutions - owning end-to-end design, validation, and deployment lifecycle
- Ensure solutions are scalable, repeatable
- Gather requirements at CXO level and translate into product/solution specifications in partnership with product and engineering teams
Data-Driven Insights & Analytics
- Lead data-driven storytelling to articulate client challenges, benchmark performance, and quantify transformation impact
- Oversee advanced analytics, visualization, and AI-driven insights to inform program priorities and executive decision-making
Stakeholder Engagement, Governance & Change Management
- Own senior client relationships - acting as trusted transformation advisor to client CXOs and COOs
- Establish robust program governance - steering committees, RAID management, and executive reporting
- Drive change management and adoption strategies to ensure transformation outcomes are sustained
- Develop and monitor transformation KPIs and benefits realization dashboards
Team Leadership & Practice Building
- Lead, coach, and develop the transformation team including the AVP and project leads
- Build the Digital Ops Transformation practice - methodologies, assets, case studies, and capabilities that differentiate EXL in the market
- Partner with talent and HR to attract, develop, and retain high-caliber transformation professionals
Thought Leadership & Innovation
- Stay ahead of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices across target domains
- Represent EXL in client forums, industry events, and internal leadership sessions as a transformation subject matter expert
- Contribute to EXL's AI-first operating model philosophy and innovation agenda
Qualifications: Essential – Mandatory Criteria
Education
- Bachelor's degree (any discipline); MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification strongly preferred
Experience
- 16+ years of progressive experience in business transformation and operations management, with a substantial portion in BPO/BPM environments
- Proven track record leading and delivering large-scale, multi-workstream transformation programs across complex organizations
- Experience owning and developing client-facing products or solutions (strong - from design through to deployment - within a BPO/BPM context
- Demonstrated ability to build, lead, and develop high-performing transformation teams
- CXO-level stakeholder management and executive engagement - both with clients and internal leadership
- Deep domain knowledge across at least three of: Banking & Capital Markets | Utilities (Water & Gas) | Airlines & Travel | Transport, Shipping & Logistics
- Commercial acumen - familiarity with P&L, deal commercials, and value realization tracking in a BPO/BPM context
Six Sigma & Lean
- Six Sigma Black Belt certification - mandatory. Master Black Belt preferred.
- Demonstrable portfolio of certified Six Sigma and Lean projects with quantified, validated business impact
- Experience deploying and scaling Lean/Six Sigma frameworks within BPM organizations
Technical & Digital Skills and Experience
- RPA: UiPath, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, or equivalent - including bot governance and CoE operating models
- Process Mining: Celonis, Signavio, Minit, or similar - process discovery, conformance checking, and enhancement
- Analytics & Visualisation: Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, or equivalent - including dashboard design and executive data storytelling
- AI & GenAI: AI/GenAI frameworks, LLM-based workflow orchestration, intelligent document processing; embedding AI into operational models is essential
- Workflow & BPM: Experience designing and governing enterprise-grade workflow/BPM platforms
- Integration: Functional understanding of ETL pipelines and API integration architectures
- Project & Portfolio Mgmt: Jira, Smartsheet, Microsoft Project, or similar - program-level governance
Soft Skills
- Executive-grade communication - compelling business narratives and presentations for C-suite audiences, verbal and written
- Strategic influencer - able to shape direction and gain alignment across large, matrixed organisations
- Strong people leadership - coaching, performance management, and talent development
- Comfort with ambiguity - ability to structure undefined problem spaces and drive clarity
Desirable – Additional Criteria
- Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification
- Certification in digital transformation, AI certifications, design thinking, or agile at scale (e.g., SAFe)
- Exposure to voice/contact centre environments
- Thought leadership track record - publications, conference presentations, or industry panels
