District Business Operations Specialist - AI & Innovation

Job Description

Innovation-focused operational specialist responsible for identifying, designing, developing, testing, and supporting technology-enabled solutions that improve district operations. This role collaborates with operational teams, department leadership, subject-matter experts, and other stakeholders to translate business needs into practical improvements. The position focuses on artificial intelligence, workflow automation, digital tools, system enhancement, process redesign, and the responsible use of technology.

Expeditors Core Competencies

• Exceptional Customer Service: Exceeds customer expectations by anticipating, understanding, and meeting needs. Is proactive and, when issues arise, is timely and resolute in solving problems, including escalating to management when necessary. This expectation applies both externally and internally.
• Job Execution: Consistently completes quality work that matches job expectations. Is committed to operational excellence and continuous improvement. All activities are compliant with company policies and procedures, the code of business conduct, and government regulations.
• Reliability: Consistently meets deadlines. Is punctual, organized, manages time effectively, and can prioritize.
• Collaboration: Willingly accomplishes assigned responsibilities and assists others for the benefit of the company and its customers. Works in harmony with leaders and colleagues.
• Communication: Listens effectively and communicates professionally, both verbally and in writing. Provides relevant and timely information to co-workers, customers, and service providers.
• Culture: Exhibits and promotes the company's 10 cultural attributes: Appearance, Attitude, Confidence, Curiosity, Excellence, Integrity, Pride, Resolute, Sense of Humor, and Visionary.
• Personal Growth and Development: Participates in training within the company's guidelines, completing at least 52 hours of relevant training per year. Completes required training in a timely manner with minimal reminders. Pursues professional development goals for self, including participating in a development plan as appropriate.

Specialist, District Business Operations Core Competencies

• Innovative | Approaches operational challenges with curiosity and creativity. Identifies ways to improve how work is performed and evaluates technology based on practical business value
• Systems Thinking | Understands how processes, people, data, technology, and business requirements interact. Considers upstream and downstream impacts when designing or modifying a solution
• Technical Problem-Solving | Uses structured problem-solving methods to translate operational needs into technical or process-based solutions. Evaluates root causes, system limitations, business rules, data requirements, and failure points.
• Process Improvement | Documents current-state processes and designs improved future-state workflows that increase quality, consistency, efficiency, visibility, and ease of execution.
• Responsible Technology Use | Applies appropriate judgment when working with artificial intelligence, automation, operational data, and digital tools. Supports security, privacy, access, accuracy, documentation, and human oversight requirements.
• Development and Experimentation | Creates prototypes, tests assumptions, gathers user feedback, and refines solutions through controlled iterations. Distinguishes between proof of concept and a production-ready business solution.
• Change Leadership | Communicates the purpose and value of new solutions, addresses adoption barriers, and provides training, documentation, and ongoing support.
• Continuous Learning | Maintains awareness of relevant developments in artificial intelligence, Microsoft 365, reporting, automation, and operational technology

Specialist, District Business Operations Responsibilities

• Identify Technology and Innovation Opportunities

• Collaborate with district departments and operational stakeholders to identify repetitive work, process gaps, system limitations, and opportunities for technology-enabled improvement.

• Evaluate opportunities based on expected business value, operational risk, complexity, sustainability, and alignment with district priorities.

• Maintain an organized pipeline of innovation and system-improvement opportunities.

• Help distinguish between requests that require process changes, reporting solutions, automation, AI assistance, system development, or escalation to another support group.

• Develop New Operational Solutions

• Design and develop approved tools, workflows, reporting solutions, prototypes, and other operational improvements.

• Translate business requirements into documented functional requirements, process flows, business rules, and expected outcomes.

• Build solutions that are understandable, maintainable, and appropriate for the operational environment.

• Incorporate appropriate validation, exception handling, access controls, and user guidance into developed solutions.

• Coordinate with the appropriate technical, security, data, or business stakeholders when a solution extends beyond district-level ownership.

• Improve Existing Systems and Tools

• Review locally developed tools, reports, workflows, spreadsheets, databases, SharePoint resources, and other operational systems.

• Identify opportunities to improve reliability, usability, performance, documentation, and scalability.

• Reduce unnecessary duplication and manual processing where practical.

• Help establish appropriate ownership, maintenance, change-control, and retirement practices for district-developed solutions.

• Ensure improvements do not unintentionally disrupt existing operational requirements or downstream processes.

• Support Artificial Intelligence Initiatives

• Identify appropriate business use cases for AI-assisted work.

• Develop and test approved AI agents, prompts, workflows, or related solutions that support operational activities.

• Define the intended purpose, approved inputs, expected outputs, and required human review for AI-enabled solutions.

• Evaluate AI outputs for accuracy, consistency, completeness, and operational usefulness.

• Document known limitations, risks, exception scenarios, and user responsibilities.

• Promote responsible use of AI as a decision-support and productivity tool rather than an uncontrolled replacement for required operational judgment.

• Process Mapping and Solution Design

• Observe and document current operational processes.

• Create current-state and future-state process maps when appropriate.

• Identify bottlenecks, rework, duplicate entry, manual handoffs, control gaps, and inconsistent execution.

• Partner with process owners to redesign workflows before applying technology.

• Confirm that proposed solutions address the underlying business problem rather than only automating an inefficient process.

• Testing and Quality Assurance

• Develop test plans and expected results for new or modified solutions.

• Perform functional testing, exception testing, and user-acceptance testing with appropriate stakeholders.

• Verify that solutions work as intended before broader deployment.

• Document defects, corrections, decisions, and outstanding limitations.

• Establish appropriate post-deployment monitoring to confirm continued performance.

• Coordinate rollback or containment steps when a solution produces unexpected results.

• Project and Solution Management

• Manage assigned innovation and system-improvement initiatives from intake through implementation.

• Define project scope, objectives, stakeholders, dependencies, risks, deliverables, and success criteria.

• Communicate project status, decisions, barriers, and required actions to the District Business Operations Manager and relevant stakeholders.

• Prioritize work in alignment with district objectives and available resources.

• Escalate projects that require enterprise-level development, infrastructure, security review, or ownership.

• Technology Governance and Documentation

• Maintain documentation for district-developed systems and improvements.

• Document solution purpose, process ownership, data sources, business rules, access requirements, dependencies, testing, maintenance procedures, and recovery considerations.

• Support appropriate version control and change management practices.

• Help ensure that tools and solutions comply with applicable company policies and approved technology standards.

• Avoid creating unsupported or undocumented systems that become dependent on a single employee.

• Periodically review active solutions to confirm that they remain useful, accurate, secure, and properly owned.

• Deployment and Adoption

• Develop implementation plans for approved solutions.

• Coordinate pilots and phased deployments when appropriate.

• Prepare user instructions, process documentation, training materials, and support resources.

• Facilitate demonstrations and training sessions for district employees and leadership.

• Collect user feedback and address adoption barriers.

• Monitor solution usage and determine whether the expected operational benefits are being realized.

• Measure Business Value

• Establish appropriate baseline and post-implementation measures for major initiatives.

• Evaluate results using measures such as processing time, error reduction, data quality, employee capacity, user adoption, exception volume, or customer impact.

• Communicate measurable results and lessons learned to district leadership.

• Recommend whether a solution should be expanded, revised, maintained, replaced, or retired.

• Identify solutions that may provide value beyond the district and coordinate further review through appropriate channels.

• Support District and Regional Projects

• Support district or regional initiatives involving AI, automation, reporting, operational systems, and process improvement.

• Collaborate with Operations, Solutions, Information Services, Global Business Operations, and other stakeholders as appropriate.

• Share reusable practices, documentation, and lessons learned.

• Assist with evaluation and local implementation of approved company technology deployments.

• Support District Tactical Business Plan

• Contribute to technology, innovation, efficiency, and process-improvement objectives within the District Tactical Business Plan.

• Help district leadership understand the operational opportunities, dependencies, and risks associated with proposed technology initiatives.

• Provide updates on active projects, solution adoption, measurable benefits, and outstanding decisions.

• Promote a Culture of Innovation

• Encourage employees to identify problems, improvement opportunities, and potential uses of technology.

• Facilitate structured discussion of ideas rather than implementing unreviewed requests.

• Share successful use cases, lessons learned, and approved best practices.

• Promote practical experimentation while maintaining appropriate operational controls.

• Recognize and communicate employee contributions to successful innovations.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of Expeditors products, services, and operational processes; more than two years of operational experience preferred.

• Demonstrated interest or experience in artificial intelligence, automation, operational technology, systems improvement, or digital transformation.

• Strong process-mapping, root-cause analysis, and structured problem-solving skills.

• Ability to translate operational problems into clear business and functional requirements.

• Experience developing, modifying, or supporting business tools and workflows.

• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.

• Experience with Microsoft 365 technologies, which may include Excel, Power Query, Power BI, Power Automate, Power Apps, SharePoint, Microsoft Lists, Visio, Microsoft Copilot, or Copilot Studio.

• Experience with scripting, VBA, SQL, APIs, or other development methods is beneficial but not required for every assignment.

• Understanding of testing, documentation, change management, and solution lifecycle practices.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and balance urgent requests with strategic priorities.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Experience delivering demonstrations, training, or presentations.

• Ability to explain technical subjects clearly to nontechnical audiences.

• Effective interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with employees at all levels.

• Ability to handle company information responsibly and follow applicable security, privacy, access, and data-governance requirements.

• Willingness to continually learn new technologies and evaluate their relevance to the business.

Additional Information

Expeditors offers excellent benefits:

• Paid Vacation, Holiday, Sick Time
• Health Plan: Medical
• Life Insurance
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• Training and Personnel Development Program
• Growth opportunities within the company
• Employee Referral Program Bonus