LEAN Team Director
ABOUT THE SHEFFIELD ADMINISTRATION
Detroit is entering a historic new chapter under Mayor-Elect Mary Sheffield, the city’s first woman to serve as Mayor. Elected with a decisive mandate, Mayor-Elect Sheffield brings a steady, community-rooted approach to governing—one focused on listening to residents, healing long-standing divides, and delivering meaningful improvements in daily life across every neighborhood. She will take office on January 1, 2026, with a commitment to building a city that lifts every family and expands opportunity for all.
As she forms her administration, Mayor-Elect Sheffield is assembling a talented, diverse team of leaders who bring deep expertise, lived experience, and the courage to put forward bold, innovative ideas that move Detroit forward. Her team will drive a City government grounded in collaboration, equity, transparency, and results. The Sheffield Administration seeks mission-driven individuals who are ready to serve, ready to build, and ready to help shape Detroit’s future.
ABOUT THE OFFICE
The Chief of Staff’s Office is the central coordinating hub of the Sheffield Administration, responsible for ensuring that city operations are resident-centered, efficient, and aligned with the Mayor’s priorities. As Detroit enters a new era of equity-focused governance, the Chief of Staff’s Office plays a critical role in modernizing internal systems, improving coordination across departments, and strengthening how residents experience local government. Within this office, the Lean Team leads enterprise-wide process improvement—working across all city departments to streamline workflows, eliminate barriers, and help agencies deliver services that are timely, transparent, and accessible. The Lean Team collaborates with operational departments, neighborhood-facing teams, and public-service leaders to ensure that the City’s internal processes enable Detroiters to receive high-quality, dignified, and predictable services at every point of contact.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The Lean Team Director serves as the City’s senior leader for enterprise process improvement and organizational performance, reporting directly to the Chief of Staff. The Director leads a cross-functional team responsible for evaluating, redesigning, and strengthening citywide operational systems using Lean, Six Sigma, human-centered design, and data-driven problem-solving methodologies. This role works closely with department heads, frontline teams, service centers, and the Mayor’s Office to identify pain points, streamline processes, remove bottlenecks, and modernize outdated workflows that impact resident experience. The Director also helps embed a culture of continuous improvement across city government—ensuring that reforms support the administration’s commitments to equity, dignity-centered service delivery, operational transparency, and improved overall quality of life for Detroiters. The role requires an empathetic, systems-oriented leader who can navigate complex bureaucratic environments and drive sustainable, measurable change across multiple departments.
This role will drive the administration’s priorities, including:
Streamline high-impact resident-facing processes, such as permitting, licensing, service requests, and benefits access
Improve digital access and usability for residents navigating city services, especially seniors, low-income households, immigrant communities, and those with limited digital literacy
Develop and implement process-improvement initiatives that support equity, transparency, speed, and reliability
Modernize internal operational workflows to reduce redundancy, shorten wait times, and increase productivity
Align Six Sigma improvements with the work of the Neighborhood Opportunity & Empowerment Hubs and frontline service centers
Support cross-department digital integration to improve data sharing, case management, and coordinated service delivery
Increase staff training and capacity for continuous improvement across all departments
Support accountability systems that measure service speed, quality, accessibility, and resident experience
Help departments meet the Mayor-Elect’s standards for responsiveness, customer service, and resident-centered public administration
Drive innovation in digital tools that support homelessness prevention, health services, transportation supports, small-business processes, and neighborhood services
This description outlines the general nature and key responsibilities of the role and is not intended to be exhaustive; duties, responsibilities, and activities may be modified at the discretion of the Mayor.
Core responsibilities include:
Lead the City’s enterprise-wide Lean and process-improvement agenda within the Office of the Chief of Staff.
Oversee design and implementation of LeanSix Sigma, and human-centered process improvements across multiple departments
Evaluate and redesign workflows for efficiency, speed, and resident accessibility
Partner with department heads to identify priority projects that remove barriers for residents or employees
Develop measurable performance targets and dashboards that track improvements in speed, reliability, and customer experience
Collaborate with digital services, application development, and IT infrastructure teams to align process improvements with system upgrades
Manage enterprise change-management strategies to ensure adoption of new workflows and technologies
Train staff across departments in Lean thinking, continuous improvement, and problem-solving methods
Conduct process mapping, discovery sessions, and data analysis to understand root causes and system gaps
Support modernization of legacy systems and align business processes with updated technologies
Work closely with the Mayor’s Office to ensure alignment between process-improvement priorities and resident-facing outcomes
Improve cross-agency coordination through streamlined data integration and workflow automation
Develop written reports, recommendations, and presentations for executive leadership and City Council
Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and accountability across the Detroit workforce
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in information systems, business administration, public administration, engineering, or a related field
Advanced Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous-improvement certification preferred (e.g., Lean Black Belt, Six Sigma Black Belt)
Five or more years of experience leading process-improvement or digital-transformation initiatives in complex organizations
Experience working within or alongside an information-technology environment preferred
Strong understanding of organizational change management, workflow redesign, and operational efficiency
Demonstrated ability to lead cross-departmental projects and collaborate with diverse stakeholders
Experience modernizing resident-facing processes such as permitting, licensing, inspections, benefits access, or service requests
Ability to translate technical concepts into clear strategies for non-technical audiences
Strong project-management skills with experience managing multiple, high-priority initiatives
Commitment to equity, accessibility, and a resident-centered approach to government service
Knowledge of Detroit’s neighborhoods, city services, and civic landscape strongly preferred
Ability to work in fast-moving, politically sensitive environments with sound judgment and diplomacy
Rate of Pay: $120,000-157,000 annually, commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Benefits: Our goal is to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce by providing generous healthcare and other benefits to eligible employees. Learn more about benefits for City of Detroit employees.
Equal Opportunity in Employment: The Sheffield Administration is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Even if you do not meet all of the requirements listed above, we encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills, experience, and expertise necessary to thrive in this role. The City of Detroit is an equal opportunity employer, and we encourage candidates of all backgrounds—including those historically underrepresented in municipal government—to apply.