Director, Strategic Initiatives

Reporting to the President of a college, the Director of Strategic Initiatives is responsible for implementing key initiatives and overseeing projects aimed at promoting and supporting a college’s vision, mission, and strategic plans. Working in collaboration with the President and senior college leaders, the Director of Strategic Initiatives provides leadership, administrative direction, and oversight across various areas, including academic programs, enrollment, accreditation, strategic planning, and other operational functions. The Director oversees the successful execution of major projects, managing the full life cycle of such projects from resource acquisition to the coordination of efforts among college teams, district personnel, and external contractors or consultants, and ensuring that projects are delivered on time and in alignment with established plans. Performs related duties as required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Directs and manages projects and initiatives assigned by the President from idea through implementation. Aligns college’s strategic plan with the established strategic plan for the district and collaborates with district personnel to ensure alignment between district initiatives and college projects. Defines project or initiative scope, goals and deliverables that support business goals in collaboration with senior leadership and stakeholders. Generates metrics to measure team and project impact and hold the team accountable for success. Develops full-scale project plans and associated communications documents. Effectively communicates project expectations to team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion. Identifies opportunities to improve student success and business process implementation. Proposes new projects, builds sponsorship, gains resource commitments, and drives project results. Leads teams to drive operational, organizational, and financial improvement projects. Estimates the resources and participants needed to achieve project goals. Drafts and submits budget proposals, RFPs or other necessary documents and recommends subsequent budget changes where necessary. Negotiates with other department managers for the acquisition of required personnel from within the organization where required. Identifies, codifies, and disseminates internal and external best practices. Assesses the need for additional staff and/or consultants and makes the appropriate recruitments through the Office of Human Resources, if necessary, during the project cycle. Sets and continually manages project expectations with team members and other stakeholders; provides consulting, training, and coaching support to employees to empower them to solve problems and implement solutions independently. Tracks project milestones and deliverables. Develops and delivers project proposals, charters, progress reports, requirements documentation, and presentations. Proactively manages changes in project scope, identifies potential crises, and devises contingency plans. Works with stakeholders and the district office to define project success criteria and disseminates them throughout the project life cycle. Builds and grows business relationships vital to the success of the project. Conducts post‑project reviews and creates a recommendations report to identify successful and unsuccessful project elements.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Reports To : President Direct Supervision : Professional and Clerical Staff

QUALIFICATIONS

A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university. Three years of work experience in strategic consulting, strategy departments, and/or turnaround departments. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered based on the applicant’s credentials. Experience working in a higher education environment is desirable. Demonstrated knowledge and experience with process change and optimization. Demonstrated ability to advise and influence leaders across the organization on performance improvement opportunities in academics, finance, and operations. Knowledge of institutional research methodologies and complex statistical analysis. Knowledge of survey design and administration. Knowledge of best practices of outcomes assessment to monitor institutional effectiveness and continuous improvement. Knowledge of institutional effectiveness processes. Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills. Strong problem‑solving and analytical skills. Ability to guide and motivate others toward goal achievement. Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment. Ability to cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships with key stakeholders. Ability to travel within and outside the district as required. Ability and willingness to work some evenings and weekends. Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).

WE OFFER

Excellent health and welfare benefit package and long‑term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) Investment Plans and a pension plan with the State University Retirement System (SURS) Plan. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a more detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page of our website. We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Chicago residency is required for all full‑time employees within six months of hire. Salary Range: $95,000.00 to $97,000.00 Offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as other factors such as internal equity. This job description is developed to provide a general description of the duties and responsibilities of this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive set of the duties and responsibilities, nor the necessary qualifications to perform the work. #J-18808-Ljbffr City Colleges of Chicago