Operational Excellence Manager
Date: May 10, 2026
Location: Round Mountain, Nevada, USA
Company: Kinross Gold Corporation
Round Mountain is an open-pit mine located in Nevada, one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. The mine uses conventional open-pit mining methods and processes ore by mill and heap leach. Kinross began operating the mine in 2003, and it has since become a continuous improvement leader in the Company’s portfolio. Round Mountain poured its 15 millionth ounce in 2018. Round Mountain and the nearby Bald Mountain mine make up Kinross’ Nevada operations.
The Round Mountain mine is an important contributor to the Nye County economy and, working with local stakeholders, has helped achieve significant improvements in healthcare and education in the area.
Purpose Of The Role
The Operational Excellence Manager is the site-based change leader for Round Mountain, responsible for driving measurable, sustainable performance improvement across all areas of the operations and projects.
This role partners closely with the Site Leadership Team to identify, prioritize, and deliver the highest value improvement initiatives, ensuring that continuous improvement (CI) efforts are tightly aligned to site priorities, operational risks, and value creation opportunities. While positioned at a Manager level, this role operates with senior-level influence and accountability, acting as a key advisor to site leadership and a catalyst for cultural and operational change .
Key Accountabilities
Site Change Leadership
• Act as a trusted partner to the Round Mountain leadership team, supporting the translation of site strategy into focused, high-impact improvement initiatives.
• Lead cultural change at the site by reinforcing a problem-solving mindset, accountability for results, and disciplined execution.
• Influence leaders, supervisors, and frontline teams to adopt and sustain improved ways of working.
Prioritization & Value-Focused Improvement
• Support the site in identifying, vetting, and prioritizing improvement opportunities based on safety, cost, reliability, throughput, and overall business value.
• Ensure CI effort is focused on initiatives that deliver material, measurable impact, rather than fragmented or low-value activity.
• Work with site leadership to develop and maintain a clear CI roadmap aligned with annual plans and longer-term site strategy.
Continuous Improvement Execution
• Lead and support site-level CI initiatives from concept through implementation and sustainment.
• Apply Lean and continuous improvement tools to improve processes, eliminate waste, and increase operational efficiency.
• Proactively identify risks, barriers, and change challenges; work with leaders to resolve issues and maintain momentum.
• Track initiative progress and results, ensuring benefits are realized and sustained over time.
Coaching & Capability Building
• Coach site leaders, frontline supervisors, and CI practitioners on:
- Lean and CI principles
- Structured problem-solving and root cause analysis
- Change management and employee engagement
• Build CI capability across the site by mentoring practitioners and supporting leaders in embedding CI into daily management routines.
• Encourage employee participation in CI activities, fostering ownership and engagement at all levels.
Governance, Reporting & Best Practices
• Establish clear governance, metrics, and reporting for site CI initiatives.
• Prepare business cases, progress updates, and results summaries for site leadership.
• Identify and adapt internal and external best practices that are relevant and practical for Round Mountain.
• Liaise with corporate CI and functional partners as needed to share insights, align approaches, and leverage expertise.
• Lead the development, performance monitoring, and ongoing management of the site’s 4PP.
People Leadership
• Provide leadership, direction, and development to CI resources or project teams supporting the site.
• Set clear expectations and hold teams accountable for delivery and results.
Qualifications & Experience
• Post-secondary degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related discipline.
• 15+ years of experience in Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, or operational leadership roles in mining or heavy industrial environments.
• Demonstrated success leading site-based, cross-functional improvement initiatives with tangible business results.
• Strong working knowledge of Lean and CI methodologies (formal certification preferred).
• Solid financial and analytical capability, including evaluating value, developing business cases, and tracking benefits.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence without formal authority.
• Comfortable operating in a hands-on, site-based environment with a balance of strategic thinking and practical execution.
Legislative Requirements
Language Requirements
Kinross is a Canadian-based global senior gold mining company with operations and projects in the United States, Brazil, Mauritania, Chile, and Canada. Our focus on delivering value is based on our core principles of responsible mining, operational excellence, disciplined growth and balance sheet strength. Kinross maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol:K) and the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:KGC).
