Director of Business Excellence

Job DescriptionOur ClientA leading diversified organization in Saudi Arabia is looking for an experienced Director of Business Excellence to establish and lead its Business Excellence function across multiple businesses and subsidiaries.Role OverviewYou will lead the organization’s performance and operational excellence agenda, working across multiple businesses to improve productivity, profitability, operational efficiency, and overall business performance.The role goes beyond KPI reporting or quality management. You will work closely with senior leadership to identify performance gaps, understand root causes, develop improvement initiatives, and ensure these initiatives deliver measurable financial and operational results.Key ResponsibilitiesEstablish and continuously develop a group-wide performance management framework covering financial and operational KPIs, budgets, business plans, and performance targets.Analyze business performance, identify material gaps and underlying causes, and work with leadership teams to implement corrective actions.Lead operational and business excellence initiatives focused on productivity, profitability, cost efficiency, working capital, and resource utilization.Review end-to-end business processes and identify opportunities for simplification, standardization, automation, digitalization, and process reengineering.Develop executive dashboards, benchmarking frameworks, and management reporting that provide meaningful insights into business performance.Design and lead structured improvement programmes for businesses or functions with significant performance gaps, including clear targets, owners, timelines, and measurable outcomes.Identify and transfer best practices across businesses while establishing structured continuous-improvement and problem-solving methodologies.Lead cross-functional performance, transformation, cost optimization, productivity, and organizational effectiveness initiatives in partnership with senior management.Must-HaveBachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline; MBA or relevant postgraduate qualification would be an advantage.15+ years of relevant experience, including meaningful leadership responsibility within Business Excellence, Operational Excellence, Corporate Performance, Performance Improvement, or Business Transformation.Strong experience working within a group, holding company, multi-business, or large diversified organization environment.Strong understanding of profitability, margins, cash flow, working capital, productivity, cost efficiency, and overall business performance.Proven experience designing and implementing KPI and corporate performance management frameworks that go beyond reporting and drive measurable improvement.Demonstrated experience leading improvement programmes that have delivered measurable financial and operational results.Strong capability in process improvement, root-cause analysis, benchmarking, continuous improvement, and cross-functional transformation initiatives.Ability to work effectively with CEOs, General Managers, CFOs, and senior functional leaders, combining strong analytical capability with execution and follow-through.Saudi Arabia or GCC experience is highly preferred; exposure to contracting, construction, industrial, energy, infrastructure, real estate, or other asset/project-intensive businesses would be an advantage.