Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.

Dartmouth College; Hanover (NH); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Dartmouth College is seeking a strategic project leader to oversee a portfolio of initiatives spanning operations and policy. This role requires exceptional judgment and a commitment to advancing institutional priorities. The successful candidate will manage complex projects, conduct analyses, and prepare materials for board meetings.

A Bachelor's degree and 10+ years of relevant experience in strategic planning or project management are required. This position fosters a culture of inclusion and aims to be a welcoming workplace.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in strategic planning, project management, or institutional administration.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines.
• Strong analytical skills to synthesize complex information.

Responsibilities

• Owns planning and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Conducts research and analysis for institutional decision-making.
• Builds relationships with senior administrators and faculty leaders.

Skills

Strategic planning

Project management

Policy analysis

Verbal communication

Written communication

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Position Purpose

Serves as the primary strategist and project leader for a portfolio of Dartmouth’s strategic initiatives, including cross‑institutional priorities that span operations, capital planning, governance, policy, planning, and crisis management. Simultaneously acts as a strategic liaison and coordinator across other operational initiatives—such as housing, childcare, and energy transition—that have designated owners but require cross‑functional alignment. Reports directly to the Senior Vice President for Operations and Strategic Initiatives, translating senior leadership priorities into structured workplans, timelines, and deliverables. Prepares board‑level materials, conducts policy research and financial analysis, and manages complex stakeholder processes that span academic, administrative, and governance constituencies. This role demands exceptional judgment, political acuity, and the ability to drive progress on sensitive institutional matters in a decentralized, consensus‑oriented environment.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic planning, project management, policy analysis, or institutional administration, preferably in a complex organizational setting such as higher education, government, a large nonprofit, or as a consultant working on projects in those fields.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent projects with competing deadlines, translate ambiguous mandates into structured workplans, and drive initiatives to completion with minimal supervision.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce board‑quality presentations, policy briefs, and executive communications. Strong analytical skills with the capacity to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations. Proven ability to influence and collaborate across diverse constituencies in politically sensitive environments.
• Demonstrated experience managing budgets and conducting financial analysis, including the ability to build financial models, evaluate cost‑benefit tradeoffs, and present data‑driven recommendations to senior leadership.

Key Accountabilities

Strategic Initiative Ownership and Execution (45%)

• Owns the day‑to‑day planning, execution, and delivery of strategic initiatives that lack a dedicated departmental owner, including cross‑institutional priorities related to operations, capital planning, governance, institutional policy, investor responsibility, long‑range planning, and crisis management.
• Develops and maintains structured workplans, timelines, and accountability frameworks for each initiative, ensuring consistent forward progress and clear reporting to the SVP and Board of Trustees as needed.
• Conducts research, analysis, and benchmarking to inform institutional decision‑making on complex policy questions, producing white papers, briefing documents, and board‑ready presentations.
• Advances Dartmouth’s thought leadership positioning in higher education by identifying emerging trends, drafting institutional responses, and coordinating with communications and government relations as appropriate.
• Manages the crisis management planning cycle, including scenario development, tabletop exercises, and maintenance of institutional response frameworks in coordination with relevant campus partners.
• Staffs and supports advisory committees and working groups as assigned by the SVP, preparing agendas, managing follow‑up, and ensuring that committee deliberations result in actionable recommendations.
• Tracks the broader landscape of strategic commitments across the division, identifying risks, interdependencies, and resource conflicts, and escalating issues to the SVP with recommended courses of action.
• Develops and manages initiative budgets, conducts financial analysis and modeling to support strategic decision‑making, and monitors expenditures to ensure fiscal accountability across assigned projects and programs.

Operational Initiative Coordination and Liaison (25%)

• Serves as a strategic liaison to operational initiative owners (e.g., housing, childcare, energy transition), monitoring progress against institutional goals, identifying cross‑cutting dependencies, and facilitating coordination where initiatives intersect or compete for resources.
• Maintains a consolidated view of the division’s strategic initiative portfolio, including status dashboards, milestone tracking, and regular briefings for the SVP that synthesize progress across both owned and coordinated initiatives.

Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Navigation (20%)

• Builds and sustains productive working relationships with senior administrators, faculty leaders, deans, trustees, and external partners whose engagement is essential to advancing strategic initiatives.
• Navigates the complex governance and decision‑making structures of a research university, exercising political acuity and discretion when managing sensitive topics such as investment policy, institutional planning, and strategic positioning.
• Represents the SVP in meetings, committees, and working groups as delegated, ensuring continuity and consistent messaging across institutional conversations.
• Drafts executive communications, talking points, and briefing materials for the SVP in preparation for board meetings, senior leadership forums, and external engagements.

Culture and Employee Belonging (10%)

We are actively striving to make Campus Services a desired place to work in the Upper Valley, a place where people feel welcomed, where they can be their authentic selves, be heard, and feel accepted. We want this culture to be felt by those who receive our services. The way we treat one another should be the same way we treat our customers.

• Demonstrates a commitment to inclusion and cultural awareness through actions, interactions, and communications with others.
• Participates in division wide CEB initiatives and training, including promotion of the 7 Principles (Empathy, Fair, Dependable, Inclusive, Considerate, Vulnerability and Respect).
• Willingness to foster a growth mindset in the areas of belonging and inclusion across the division.
• Demonstrates professionalism and collegiality through actions, interactions, and communications with others appropriate to an environment that is welcoming to all.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Background Check:
Employment in this position is contingent upon consent to and successful completion of a pre‑employment background check, which may include a criminal background check, reference checks, verification of work history, conduct review, and verification of any required academic credentials, licenses, and/or certifications, with results acceptable to Dartmouth College. A criminal conviction will not automatically disqualify an applicant from employment. Background check information will be used in a confidential, non‑discriminatory manner consistent with state and federal law.

Preferred driving requirement: Preferred, but not required.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Dartmouth College is an equal opportunity employer under federal law. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other legally protected status. Applications are welcome from all.