Director, Central Operations, Process Optimization

Position summary 

Nava is at an inflection point. We are building toward an AI-native future, and the operational infrastructure to support that transformation does not yet exist. The Director, Central Operations, Process Optimization is a net-new role created to build it. This is a rare opportunity to shape what operational excellence looks like at a company that is serious about doing this differently.

The person in this seat is responsible for understanding how Nava's internal operations actually work today, identifying where they fall short, and leading the work to make them measurable, scalable, and increasingly automated.

That work starts with process mapping, but it does not end there. The ultimate lens for this role is operational transformation in an AI-native way. You will lead the assessment of which operational problems should be solved with tooling, which with agentic AI, and which with redesigned human-led processes. You will own that framework and lead its adoption across Nava's operations. And you will own the change management required to make new ways of working actually stick: building buy-in, driving adoption, and bringing cross-functional teams along through meaningful change.

This is a 0-to-1 builder role for someone comfortable working in ambiguity, confident designing from first principles, and energized by the challenge of making transformation real, not just designed. You will work in close partnership with the VP, Ops & Automation and will be a key voice in shaping how Nava operationalizes its AI-first direction. As the function matures, you will have the opportunity to build and lead a team.

All duties will be in service of Nava's values: Be Active Stewards, Delivery over Dogma, Build Together, Innovation Requires New Perspectives, and Progress Takes Work.

This role is open to Director or Senior Director, Central Operations, depending on experience.

What you'll do

• Inventory and map Nava’s core internal operations across cross-functional teams and shared services; identify the highest-impact gaps and sequence improvement work accordingly
• Design and implement improved processes that reduce manual effort, increase consistency, and produce measurable outcomes; establish and maintain a living process inventory across the org
• Own the change management required to make transformation stick: build stakeholder alignment, drive adoption of new frameworks and ways of working, and bring cross-functional teams along with clarity and conviction
• Lead the evaluation and decision-making process for where Nava should build AI-powered solutions, use external tools, or optimize human-led processes; developing a clear framework for assessing readiness, ROI, and risk; ensure tooling decisions follow process design rather than precede it
• Partner with engineering, data, and operations to translate documented processes into viable candidates for automation or AI augmentation
• Track the AI and automation solutions portfolio across the Operations function, ensuring initiatives are properly scoped, measured, and integrated into the broader operational roadmap
• Stay current on emerging AI tooling and agentic workflow capabilities; bring informed recommendations to leadership on where Nava can gain leverage
• Own central operations for the Ops & Automation function: define how work is prioritized, how decisions get made, and how initiatives are tracked from scoping through delivery
• Define the operational excellence framework Nava uses to assess and score core business processes; establish KPIs and leading indicators, and stand up measurement infrastructure to monitor performance over time
• Identify which operational functions are candidates for a shared services model; design those models including ownership, SLAs, handoff points, and governance; lead phased stand-up
• Provide process and automation support to Staffing Operations as it stabilizes and scales
• Build proactive, trusted relationships with cross-functional leaders across Delivery, People Operations, Finance, and Growth; communicate progress, roadblocks, and recommendations to the VP, Ops & Automation and senior leadership with clarity and confidence
• As the function matures, opportunity to build and lead a team as the function scales; the right person will help define what that team needs to look like

Required skills

• 10+ years of experience in business operations, strategy & operations, management consulting, or a closely related field
• Demonstrated experience mapping & improving complex, cross-functional business processes from scratch in an ambiguous or high-growth environment
• Experience owning centralized operations — defining prioritization frameworks, decision-making processes, and delivery tracking
• Demonstrated ability to lead AI and automation transformation operationally: evaluate build-vs.-optimize decisions, scope work for technical partners, and drive adoption of AI-enabled ways of working
• Proven track record driving change management in an operational context: making new processes, tools, and frameworks stick across teams you do not directly own
• Experience building and implementing KPI frameworks and operational measurement systems
• Proven ability to design and stand up shared services or centralized operational models, including SLA definition, ownership structures, and governance
• Exceptional cross-functional facilitation and stakeholder alignment skills; can influence without authority across all levels of an organization
• Comfortable operating across tactical execution and strategic design within the same week