Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives - NHLPA UNLMT

Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives – NHLPA UNLMT

National Hockey League Players’ Association

About

Established in 1967, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) is comprised of the 750 players in the National Hockey League (NHL). The primary role of the Association is to act as the collective bargaining unit on behalf of the players, but also assists and manages areas such as marketing, licensing, pension, insurance, Player health and wellness, international development, and communications.

The players’ career development initiative, NHLPA UNLMT seeks to develop resources and opportunities across a range of key areas of interest relevant to the active player population. The objective of NHLPA UNLMT is to provide meaningful, engaging, flexible, and custom learning opportunities to each individual player’s personal and professional development.

As the Sr. Manager, Career Development – NHLPA UNLMT, you will report to the Senior Director, International Strategy & Growth to ensure that the NHLPA’s athlete development resources are best positioned to drive positive outcomes for NHLPA members. The Coordinator, Strategic Initiatives and NHLPA UNLMT Career Strategists report directly to this role.

Primary Responsibilities

The role focuses on three principal areas:

1. Managing the planning, development, and implementation of a framework of programs and services that support the success of NHLPA members.
2. Developing and implementing educational resources, services, and opportunities that enhance NHLPA member experience.
3. Overseeing all NHLPA UNLMT resources and initiatives while serving as the primary liaison and resource for NHLPA UNLMT personnel.

Additional roles and responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

• Maintain and develop all NHLPA athlete development resources/services.
• Establish short and long-term plans, priorities, objectives, and learning outcomes in each program area.
• Lead and direct programs and initiatives, serving as the primary liaison and resource for NHLPA UNLMT consultants/personnel.
• Work in cross-functional teams across the NHLPA to ensure NHLPA UNLMT priorities are being delivered.
• On-going evaluation and development of effective awareness & engagement strategies.
• Ensure optimization of key NHLPA UNLMT resources, recommending adjustments/new opportunities where appropriate.
• Establish & report on annual KPIs.
• Collaborate and foster relationships with key stakeholders – NHLPA members, NHLPA health and wellness team, NHLAA, NHLPA UNLMT vendors/subject matter experts, to advance the support for, and quality of the athlete experience.
• Build and foster relationships with NHLPA members, growing awareness for NHLPA UNLMT offerings and opportunities.
• Participate on task forces and working groups that support the enhancement of NHLPA UNLMT’s resources and services (i.e. Multi-Sport PA Career Consortium) when applicable.
• Communicate and liaise with professional organizations (PAs, World Players Association, etc.) and peer institutional colleagues to expand and enrich athlete development understanding & identify best practices globally.
• Participate in relevant professional development seminars and conferences.

Specific Skills Required

• Strategic thinking with a bias for action.
• Proactively analyze emerging trends, anticipate related organizational needs, develop strategies for meeting them, and ensure the planning process is integrated with the overall strategic plan.
• Oversee the implementation of strategic initiatives, including allocation of resources, while balancing long-term strategy and short-term objectives.

• Comfort with ambiguity.
• Navigates ambiguity and simplifies the complex; draw out insights and develop practical solutions to real problems.
• Think critically and systematically about complex business problems and opportunities.

• Innovative.
• Not satisfied with the status quo or current ways of doing things, continuously looking to improve existing methods or create new ones.

• Self-starter.
• Drive cross-functional projects; identify goals, success criteria, assumptions, own discovery of project requirements through deep subject matter expertise, resource requirements, and timelines.
• Strong project management skills.
• Collaborative and able to thrive in a cross-functional team setting.

• Relationship building and influence.
• Ability to build strong relationships with NHLPA members and peers alike.

• Communication skills.
• Leverage fact-based data & analytics insights from multiple perspectives to build a cohesive narrative, form a perspective, organize thoughts, and present in a clear, concise & succinct manner.
• Ability to partner and collaborate while building trust internally and externally.

• Management skills.
• Provide leadership & mentorship to the Coordinator, Strategic Initiatives, fostering an environment of personal and professional growth.
• Effectively manage and motivate the NHLPA UNLMT team to encourage best practices and optimal work product, creating an environment that fosters continual learning, growth, and innovation.

Education and Experience

• Successful completion of post-secondary education in a related discipline.
• 7-10 years of experience in educational program (career) development and/or education.
• A working knowledge of the athlete development sector as well as current/past practices in this space.
• Consideration will be given to an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience working in a managerial capacity with the ability to work with and motivate cross-functional teams and key stakeholders.
• Experience and/or knowledge and understanding of working with professional athletes is considered an asset.

All interested applicants can submit their resumes to adimaras@nhlpa.com.

No agencies please.

NHLPA is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible work environment. Accommodation is available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment process.