Program Management & Strategic Planning Consultant

Hiring: Program Management & Strategic Planning Consultant

Location: Columbia, South Carolina / University of South Carolina Systemwide – Project-specific location as designated by the University

Contract: Potential Five-Year Contract – One-Year Initial Term with Four Possible One-Year Renewals

The University of South Carolina Systemwide is seeking experienced Program Management & Strategic Planning Consultants to provide comprehensive consulting services supporting higher-education programs, strategic initiatives, resource planning, project implementation, feasibility analysis, and strategic decision-making. The consultant will work with University stakeholders to help define strategic objectives, assess available resources, develop implementation strategies, evaluate projects, and support the development and execution of strategic plans.

The selected consultant/team must possess the knowledge, experience, professional personnel, and demonstrated project history necessary to perform program management and strategic planning services for institutions of higher education.

Key Responsibilities:

✔ Assist University leadership in determining how to achieve strategic goals and objectives and translate strategic priorities into actionable programs and initiatives.

✔ Assess whether appropriate resources are available to meet program goals and identify additional labor, equipment, materials, funding, and other resources required for successful implementation.

✔ Develop program activity plans identifying required activities, resources, equipment, materials, responsibilities, and implementation timeframes.

✔ Assess business environments and conduct feasibility evaluations, including evaluation of potential public/private partnership development opportunities.

✔ Conduct market analyses and research to evaluate market conditions, opportunities, trends, and potential impacts on University programs and initiatives.

✔ Perform economic impact analyses to evaluate the broader economic effects of proposed programs, projects, and strategic initiatives.

✔ Review and confirm organizational/business vision, objectives, priorities, and desired outcomes to ensure alignment between programs and institutional strategy.

✔ Identify, quantify, and evaluate resources required to accomplish strategic and program objectives, including labor, equipment, materials, and other project requirements.

✔ Develop cost assessments by calculating resource requirements and evaluating the total cost associated with proposed initiatives.

✔ Support project budgeting by assessing anticipated costs, identifying budget requirements, and evaluating financial risks and issues.

✔ Identify potential project, financial, operational, implementation, and resource risks and develop recommendations for mitigating identified risks.

✔ Support and oversee project implementation activities to ensure initiatives remain aligned with approved objectives, schedules, resources, and expected outcomes.

✔ Provide project oversight, monitoring, assessment, and performance evaluation to help University stakeholders measure progress and address issues.

✔ Assist the University in analyzing and refining strategic goals, institutional direction, priorities, and resource allocation strategies.

✔ Support development of University strategy and provide recommendations regarding strategic direction and decision-making related to allocation of resources.

✔ Design control mechanisms, governance approaches, and monitoring processes to guide implementation of strategic plans.

✔ Consult with University stakeholders on the development, implementation, monitoring, and refinement of strategic plans.

✔ Research, design, and develop programs that support institutional priorities and strategic objectives.

✔ Develop policy recommendations based on research, analysis, stakeholder input, feasibility assessments, and strategic priorities.

✔ Support development of community action plans and comprehensive plans as required by individual University projects.

✔ Assist with development of regulatory and incentive strategies related to applicable programs and initiatives.

✔ Support historic preservation planning activities when required by a specific project or assignment.

✔ Provide business planning and strategic business analysis services supporting University initiatives.

✔ Support redevelopment planning and economic development strategic planning activities when applicable to University projects.

✔ Provide analytical findings, recommendations, strategic planning materials, and project documentation to University leadership and stakeholders.

✔ Collaborate with University departments, leadership, project stakeholders, external organizations, and other parties necessary to successfully deliver assigned consulting engagements.

✔ Provide professional consulting support across multiple University projects and assignments as requested during the contract period.

Required Experience:

✅ Demonstrated experience providing Program Management and Strategic Planning consulting services , preferably for institutions of higher education or organizations with complex programs and strategic initiatives.

✅ The consulting firm must have been engaged in its current line of business for a minimum of five (5) years .

✅ Demonstrated completion of at least ten (10) projects representative of the services required under this solicitation .

✅ Experience with program management, strategic planning, project oversight, resource planning, feasibility analysis, market analysis, economic impact analysis, and implementation support.

✅ Demonstrated experience analyzing strategic goals and translating organizational objectives into actionable strategies, programs, and implementation plans.

✅ Experience identifying, quantifying, and evaluating project resources, including labor, equipment, materials, and associated costs.

✅ Experience developing or supporting project budgets and identifying budget risks, issues, and resource requirements.

✅ Experience providing project implementation oversight, project assessment, performance monitoring, and strategic recommendations.

✅ Experience developing strategic plans, business plans, comprehensive plans, community action plans, redevelopment plans, or economic development strategies.

✅ Experience conducting policy research and developing practical policy recommendations for institutional or organizational decision-making.

✅ Strong understanding of strategic resource allocation, organizational planning, program development, feasibility evaluation, and implementation strategy.

✅ Experience conducting market research, business environment assessments, and economic impact analyses.

✅ Ability to work effectively with executive leadership, University stakeholders, project teams, external partners, and other affected parties.

✅ Strong analytical, strategic thinking, research, project management, problem-solving, communication, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills.

✅ Ability to provide qualified professional personnel with the appropriate knowledge and experience for individual University projects.

Preferred Background:

⭐ Experience supporting higher-education institutions, universities, colleges, or university systems .

⭐ Experience with complex multi-department institutional strategic planning initiatives.

⭐ Experience with public/private partnership feasibility evaluations.

⭐ Experience with economic development, redevelopment, comprehensive planning, or community planning initiatives.

⭐ Experience developing implementation frameworks and control mechanisms for strategic plans.

⭐ Experience managing multiple projects and providing senior-level consulting support to executive stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate Profile:

The ideal consultant will be a strategic, analytical, and results-oriented professional capable of working with higher-education leadership to translate institutional goals into practical programs, strategic plans, resource requirements, budgets, and implementation activities.

The consultant should combine program management, strategic planning, feasibility analysis, market/economic analysis, project oversight, resource planning, and executive-level advisory capabilities and be comfortable working across diverse University initiatives.