Director of Pilot Programs & Strategic Innovation

Servant; Marion (IN); On-site; USD 95,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in Marion, Indiana, seeks a Program Director of VIA Journeys to lead a flagship initiative within the Strategic Innovations unit. The role focuses on turning strategy into reality, driving delivery, experimentation, and learning through pilots, platforms, and participant experiences.

The candidate will bring entrepreneurial leadership, technical fluency, and execution discipline to scale from concept to functioning pilots while partnering with churches,

Qualifications

• Master's degree strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of demonstrated experience launching, scaling, and leading programs, products, platforms, or strategic initiatives from concept through execution.
• Experience launching and leading pilots, with ability to move from idea to implementation.
• Strong project and program management skills across multiple priorities and cross-functional teams.
• Experience coordinating diverse stakeholders, including external partners, and building collaborative relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end launch of VIA Journeys, including pilots, operational workflows, and participant experiences.
• Translate strategic direction into executable plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Ensure VIA Journeys moves from concept to active implementation with momentum and clarity.
• Operate with an entrepreneurial mindset—testing assumptions, learning rapidly, and iterating responsibly.
• Design and manage pilots that validate participant value, operational feasibility, and program design.
• Build repeatable processes to support early scaling while preserving quality and trust.

Skills

Leadership

Program Management

Strategic Planning

Stakeholder Engagement

Technical Fluency

Cross-functional Collaboration

Education

Master's degree

Advanced degree

Tools

SaaS platforms

AI integrations

Data systems

Digital learning platforms

Job description

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in Marion, Indiana, seeks a Program Director of VIA Journeys to lead a flagship initiative within the Strategic Innovations unit. The role focuses on turning strategy into reality, driving delivery, experimentation, and learning through pilots, platforms, and participant experiences.

The candidate will bring entrepreneurial leadership, technical fluency, and execution discipline to scale from concept to functioning pilots while partnering with churches,