Process Improvement Specialist

BriefYour role

L3 salary: Not published yetSalary figures open with the salaries section.
Upcoming dated changes: 1 change aheadNext: 1 Jul 2027
Where the changes come from
Each change in the Regulatory calendar comes from an official text, linked on its page.
A change affects this role directly when it names a process that is one of the role's main tasks.
Top critical skills: Lean methods and continuous improvement
Process mapping and redesign
Cost structure and efficiency levers

What the role does

Process Improvement Specialist is a role in Change, Projects & Product. The family covers project, programme, product ownership, business analysis, process and service delivery. The core skill is lean methods and continuous improvement, and the main work is change and project delivery.

This is a brief profile written from the catalogue. A full profile with a day in the life, level descriptions and the effect of AI is being written.

Levels

L1 Starting out 0-2 years
L2 Independent 2-5 years
L3 Senior or specialist 5-9 years
L4 Leads a team or an area 8-14 years
L5 Leads the function 12+ years

Full level descriptions and job titles

The EFO level names are the common scale; job titles differ between employers.

Levels of Process Improvement Specialist
Level	What the work looks like	Typical years	Typical job titles
L1 Starting out	Learns the job; executes defined tasks with supervision	0-2	Banks: Analyst, Junior Analyst, Associate (asset servicing), Trainee, GraduateAsset servicers: Junior, Specialist (entry), Officer
L2 Independent	Owns a process end to end; trains L1; first contact for the team's clients	2-5	Banks: Analyst / Senior Analyst, AssociateAsset servicers: Specialist, Senior Specialist, Senior Officer
L3 Senior or specialist	Deep expertise; handles exceptions and change; represents the function in projects	5-9	Banks: Senior Associate, AVP, Assistant ManagerAsset servicers: Senior Specialist, Expert, Team Lead (small team)
L4 Leads a team or an area	Manages people or a large process; owns budgets or controls; escalation point	8-14	Banks: VP, Manager, Senior ManagerAsset servicers: Team Lead, Manager, Head of Section
L5 Leads the function	Accountable for the function in a legal entity or region; sets priorities and standards	12+	Banks: Director, Executive Director, Managing Director, Head of functionAsset servicers: Head of Department, Director

Skills

The percentage is the skill's share of the role; the bars are drawn relative to the anchor skill, which is shown full.

Critical 5

The job cannot be done without these.

Lean methods and continuous improvementWeight 13.3%Anchor skillExpected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Process mapping and redesignWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Cost structure and efficiency leversWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Defining and using KPIsWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Descriptive statistics and distributionsWeight 8.9%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you

Important and supporting skills 17

Important 8

Needed in most positions.

Process mapping tools (Visio, Lucidchart)Weight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Querying data with SQLWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Advanced Microsoft ExcelWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Change management and adoptionWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Stakeholder managementWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Structuring ambiguous problemsWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Communicating data to non-technical audiencesWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you
Project planning and dependenciesWeight 4.4%Expected level: practitionerRelevant to you

Supporting 6

Help in many positions.

Business case and cost-benefit analysisWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Visualisation tools (Power BI, Tableau)Weight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Quality management systems (ISO 9001, PPAP, supplier quality)Weight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Professional written communicationWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Project governance and reportingWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Prioritising with incomplete informationWeight 2.2%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you

Useful 3

Occasionally useful.

Python for data analysisWeight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Leading without formal authorityWeight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you
Target operating model designWeight 0.7%Expected level: working knowledgeRelevant to you

Processes

The work the role takes part in.

Change and project delivery

What each process covers

Change and project deliveryMainRunning programmes and projects: plans, budgets, requirements, testing, cutover.

Dated changes for this role

1 Jul 2027ECB digital euro pilot with 36 payment providersRelevant to you

See all 1 in the Regulatory calendar

Salary snapshot

Salary figures are not published yet

The L3 salary range for this role, with its sources, will appear here when the salaries section opens.

Certifications

PMP PMI
PRINCE2 Practitioner Axelos
Certified ScrumMaster Scrum Alliance
Professional Scrum Master I Scrum.org
CBAP IIBA
CAPM PMI

Concepts to know

Neighbouring roles

Roles that need many of the same skills, by weighted skill overlap, with the skills you would need to add.

Process Analyst (Banking)

92% skill overlap

To add: Trade lifecycle

Your role

Data Analyst

40% skill overlap

To add: Data cleaning and validation, Choosing the right metric for the question, Hypothesis testing and significance

Your role

Data Analyst (Banking)

39% skill overlap

To add: Data cleaning and validation, Trade lifecycle, Choosing the right metric for the question

Your role

Data Governance Analyst

39% skill overlap

To add: Data cleaning and validation, Data governance, quality and lineage, Choosing the right metric for the question

Your role

Service Delivery Manager (Outsourcing & Shared Services)

38% skill overlap

To add: Service delivery and outsourcing management, Vendor and service contract management, Account management and renewals

Your role

Transition Manager (Outsourcing)

37% skill overlap

To add: Service delivery and outsourcing management, Data migration and cutover, Vendor and service contract management

Your role

Do this job? Suggest a correction

Sources

The EFO role catalogue, with skills, levels and processes. How it is built
ESCO classification of the European Commission (external site) for job titles