Director, Strategic Operations

Director Of Strategic Operations

The Director of Strategic Operations serves as the connective tissue between organizational strategic priorities and the cross-functional execution required to bring them to life — translating leadership's intent into structured plans, driving high-stakes initiatives from concept to launch, and serving as a trusted extension of the Chief Strategy & Product Officer across partnerships, strategy, and organizational alignment. The role is inherently ambiguous and highly cross-functional. The Director of Strategic Operations will operate without a fixed playbook and without positional authority, building alignment through influence, credibility, and rigor rather than direct reporting lines. This role runs strategic partnerships end-to-end, from contract negotiation through post-execution relationship management, and functions as the de facto source of truth during fast-moving, high-visibility initiatives. The Director of Strategic Operations will embody the confidence to voice an independent point of view – someone who will challenge assumptions, hold senior leaders accountable to commitments, and surface roadblocks candidly and proactively. This requires diplomacy and expert communication and relationship building skills.

Key Responsibilities

Cross-Functional Program Leadership

• Oversee a portfolio of concurrent strategic initiatives spanning near term execution to long-term planning providing consistent progress against defined outcomes
• Support enterprise integration initiatives (e.g., shared services planning and integration priorities), coordinating across functions and business units to drive alignment and momentum
• Proactively identify scope, ownership, and timeline misalignment before it becomes a critical path risk - facilitating structured alignment sessions among senior stakeholders
• Build and maintain the central project plan, timeline, and decision log that serve as the single source of truth across fast-evolving initiatives
• Prepare agendas for leadership meetings, ensuring the right topics and stakeholders are surfaced and prioritized
• Maintain open lines of communication with sister businesses across Exclusive Collective, coordinating cross-portfolio initiatives as needed

Communication & Presentation Development

• Translate loose ideas, research & analysis, and cross-functional working sessions into polished, executive-ready decks — the primary output format for the team's strategic work
• Capture live working sessions into clear summaries and presentation materials
• Maintain a high bar for visual and narrative craft across all presentation materials, adapting tone and format to the audience

Research & Strategic Analysis

• Support the Chief Strategy & Product Officer with research into hospitality trends, competitive dynamics, and future-facing industry concepts to inform strategic decision-making
• Leverage AI tools to accelerate research, synthesis, and content development across the team's workstreams

Strategic Partnerships

• Lead end-to-end negotiation and launch of strategic partnerships (e.g., private membership clubs, complementary luxury brands), internal and external teams through contract execution and go-to-market
• Own partner relationship management post-launch, ensuring commitments are met and the partnership continues to deliver value on both sides

Documentation & Decision Governance

• Maintain living documentation (project plans, decision logs, policy briefs) with rigorous version control and a clear audit trail
• Build lightweight but durable frameworks to bring order to ambiguous, fast-moving initiatives

Independent Judgment & Constructive Accountability

• Serve as a candid, trusted advisor to the Chief Strategy & Product Officer and broader executive team — willing to voice a dissenting view or challenge a prevailing assumption when the situation calls for it
• Proactively name roadblocks — including interpersonal or performance-related ones — with tact and discretion, ensuring issues are addressed before they compound
• Exercise sound judgment in balancing respect for executive authority with the obligation to speak up when meaningful strategic or operational risk is identified
• Operate as a "trusted challenger" — fully aligned with leadership's goals, but never simply agreeable for the sake of consensus

What Success Looks Like

• Brings structure to ambiguity — comfortable being handed a half-formed, rapidly changing initiative and building the framework, timeline, and documentation that makes it executable
• Facilitates decisive outcomes — skilled at forcing vague discussion into concrete decisions rather than letting meetings end without resolution
• Trusted extension of the Chief Strategy & Product Officer — represents the Chief Strategy & Product Officer's priorities accurately and tactfully across functions and with external partners
• Composed under pressure — when cross-functional alignment breaks down, responds by building better tools rather than escalating friction
• Uncompromising on craft — insists on polished, on-brand, professional materials even under tight deadlines
• Direct, transparent, and appropriately assertive — flags inconsistencies, conflicting information, or unresolved risk explicitly, and is comfortable respectfully pushing back on senior leaders rather than deferring by default
• Holds the room accountable — willing to name when a commitment has slipped, a decision has stalled, or an individual, regardless of seniority, is becoming a blocker, and to do so in a way that preserves trust and relationships
• Direct and transparent — flags inconsistencies, conflicting information, or unresolved risk explicitly rather than letting it pass silently
• Cross-functional fluency — equally comfortable in a Finance margin conversation, a Legal compliance review, and a partner negotiation
• Discreet with sensitive information — trusted with material nonpublic information and board-level context

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience supporting senior executives in a Director of Strategic Operations, Chief of Staff, or similar leadership capacity.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives involving internal and external groups, and Executive stakeholders
• Executive presence and confidence: proven ability to constructively challenge senior leaders, hold stakeholders accountable, and voice an independent point of view — balanced with the interpersonal skill to do so without damaging trust or relationships
• Exceptional organizational, project management, and documentation skills
• Executive presence and experience communicating directly with senior leadership
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word; experience building and maintaining trackers, decision logs, and executive-ready presentations
• Advanced deck and presentation design skills, with a strong sense of visual and narrative craft
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate strategic complexity into clear, concise materials
• Fluency with AI tools for research, analysis, and content development — this role requires significant, active use of AI as part of daily workflow