Director of Strategy and Planning

Islamic Development & Empowerm; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Islamic Development & Empowerm in Alexandria, VA, seeks a Director of Strategy & Planning to guide the organization’s long-term strategy, align cross-functional teams with mission, and oversee the operational plan. You will partner with the CEO and Board to evaluate new programs, measure performance, and drive growth and impact.

The role emphasizes change management, KPI design, and staff development to sustain an ambitious social impact agenda within a faith-based context.

Qualifications

• 7 to 10+ years in strategic planning or nonprofit administration.
• Bachelor's degree required; Master's degree preferred.
• Experience driving strategic initiatives within social impact or nonprofit sectors.
• Strong management and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into actionable plans and measurable results.
• Demonstrated commitment to IDEA's faith-based values and mission.

Responsibilities

• Manage development and execution of the organization's strategic plan in collaboration with the CEO and Board of Directors.
• Design and manage enterprise-wide key performance indicators (KPIs) and frameworks to monitor, evaluation and report on the performance and progress of organizational targets.
• Facilitate strategic alignment across executive leadership, managers and staff.
• Ensure organizational initiatives, annual goals, and resources allocation align with long term strategic goals of the organization
• Provide training and mentorship to staff on frameworks that measure progress of strategy priorities.
• Coordinate with leadership and middle management to ensure alignment on strategy plan and operational plan.
• Identify operations bottlenecks across departments and implement standardized workflows address bottlenecks and scale growth.
• Develop clear messaging frameworks to cascade strategic down to middle management and frontline staff.
• Lead internal change management efforts during major shifts in strategy, organizational structure or operating model.
• Conduct ongoing research on nonprofit landscape, policy changes, philanthropic trends and macro environment factors and recommend shifts as necessary.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Performance measurement

Education

Bachelor's degree

MPA or related master's

Job description

Job Title: Director of Strategy & Planning
Status: Full-time
Location: Alexandria VA
Division: Office of the CEO

Role Overview

The Director of Strategy & Planning will lead the organizational strategic planning process, align cross-functional operations with overarching mission goals, and drive long-term strategic initiatives. This role partners closely with C-Suite leadership and Executive staff to evaluate new program opportunities, optimize performance metrics, and ensure sustainable organizational growth and impact. Additionally, this position will lead the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the organization’s operational plan and provide oversight to measurement mechanisms and development progress reports for leadership.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Manage the development and execution of the organization's strategic plan in collaboration with the CEO and Board of Directors.
• Design and manage enterprise-wide key performance indicators (KPIs) and frameworks to monitor, evaluation and report on the performance and progress of organizational targets.
• Facilitate strategic alignment across executive leadership, managers and staff.
• Ensure organizational initiatives, annual goals, and resources allocation align with long term strategic goals of the organization
• Provide training and mentorship to staff on frameworks that measure progress of strategy priorities.
• Coordinate with leadership and middle management to ensure alignment on strategy plan and operational plan.
• Identify operations bottlenecks across departments and implement standardized workflows address bottlenecks and scale growth.
• Develop clear messaging frameworks to cascade strategic down to middle management and frontline staff.
• Lead internal change management efforts during major shifts in strategy, organizational structure or operating model.
• Conduct ongoing research on nonprofit landscape, policy changes, philanthropic trends and macro environment factors and recommend shifts as necessary.

Qualifications and Competencies

• 7 to 10+ years in strategic planning, management, or nonprofit administration
• Bachelor's degree required, Masters of Public Administration (MPA) or similar degree preferred.
• Track record of driving strategic initiatives within social impact or nonprofit sectors
• Excellent management skills; ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reporting staff members, senior management and executive leadership.
• Innovative thinker, with a track record for translating strategic thinking and planning into actionable plans, and output to achieve tangible results.
• Demonstrated ability to create and sustain an engaging, mission-centered, and high-performing work environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to IDEA's faith-based values, humanitarian principles, and the vision and mission for the organization .
• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication and presentation skills, with the ability to gain the credibility and respect of stakeholders.
• Able to lead a fast-paced work setting with diplomacy, composure, and creative problem-solving skills.
• Highly motivated and committed to the humanitarian mission, possessing personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and leading by example.
• Must be eligible to work in the United States.

At IDEA we are committed to safeguarding and protecting all individuals we come into contact with through our work. IDEA representatives must adhere to its organizational values: Sincerity, Excellence, Compassion, Social Justice, and Custodianship. In accordance with these values, IDEA operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Code of Ethics, and Anti-Harassment and Discrimination.