Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives and Operations

Occidental College; Firestone Park (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental College in Los Angeles seeks a Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Operations to lead divisional planning and cross-functional projects. The role oversees the Dean’s Office operations, faculty governance processes, and confidential communications supporting the Dean and leadership team.

Ideal candidates have extensive higher education leadership experience, strong written and verbal skills, and a track record of strategic implementation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field to position duties or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Nine years of progressively responsible administrative, operational, or strategic leadership experience in a higher education setting.
• Two years of supervisory experience, including hiring, managing performance, and mentoring professional staff or academic leadership roles.
• Three years of experience driving cross-functional project management and executing divisional strategic plans using performance tracking frameworks (e.g., OKRs, KPIs, or dashboards).
• Knowledge of academic governance processes, including Promotion and Tenure cycles, sabbatical reviews, advisory committees, and policy administration and records management.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare executive briefings, agendas, reports, policy announcements, and strategic presentations.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and electronic communications skills, with the ability to communicate effectively and professionally across organizational levels.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, and confidentiality when navigating complex matters.
• Proven ability to lead, supervise, mentor, and develop employees; foster high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and promote alignment across diverse campus divisions, with a commitment to justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat, and enterprise academic management systems.
• Strong organizational, analytical, logistical, and project management skills.
• Ability to work independently, anticipate leadership needs, and provide operational support.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions and diverse groups.
• Knowledge of leadership practices, including supervision, performance assessment, and talent management.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning & Project Management: drive divisional strategic plan, track progress toward OKRs, and lead cross-functional initiatives.
• Executive Administrative & Operational Leadership: oversee day-to-day operations, scheduling, briefing prep, and liaison to the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs & Technology Committee.
• Academic Policies and Reviews: oversee Advisory Council and Faculty Promotion and Tenure review processes; manage policy records.
• Strategic Communications & Stakeholder Liaison: lead internal/external communications and prepare strategic presentations with discretion.
• Staff Coordination & Supervision: supervise Academic Affairs staff, recruit/mentor interns, and support cross-unit priorities.
• Other Duties: perform additional responsibilities as needed.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive communications

Policy administration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Job description

About Occidental College

Founded in 1887, Occidental is a nationally recognized, privatecollege of the liberal arts and sciences, dedicated to providing agifted and diverse group of students with a total educationalexperience of the highest quality -- one that prepares them forleadership in an increasingly complex, interdependent andpluralistic world.

What makes Occidental special? An intellectually rigorous academicenvironment. Small classroom settings where students collaboratewith professors and their peers while pursuing or discoveringtheirpassion. A beautiful residential campus that offers studentshands-on engagement with the cultural and intellectual resources ofLos Angeles. A community open to stimulating conversation anddivergent points of view. Some 2,100 students from 46 states and 28countries choose from 41 majors and minors and participate in onethe country’s top undergraduate research programs. Oxy studentsroutinely win top awards and fellowships; its first Rhodes Scholarwas named in 1907. Dedicated to excellence and equity, Occidentalalso is one of the country’s most economically diverse campuses,according to the New York Times. Some 71 percent of Oxy studentsreceive some form of financial aid; 20 percent are Pell Grantrecipients; and 19 percent are the first in their family to attendcollege

Title: Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives and Operations

Department: Office of the Dean of the College

Duration: Indefinite

Employment Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Job Summary

Reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean ofthe College, the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives andOperations provides strategic leadership and serves as a trustedadvisor and executive partner, leading divisional strategicplanning, OKR tracking, and complex cross-functional initiatives.The Senior Director enhances the Dean’s strategic capacity by navigating complex institutional dynamics, providing operationalguidance, and advancing high-priority initiatives with discretionand sound judgment. The Senior Director leads internal and externalstakeholder communications and oversees administrative processesrelated to faculty governance, tenure reviews, sabbaticals, andpolicy administration. The Senior Director provides leadership andoversight of Dean’s Office operations, delivers executiveadministrative support to the Dean and the Dean’s leadership team,and directly supervises the Faculty Director of Assessment and theDirector of Student Academic Success.

Application Deadline: 11/30

Job Duties

• 25% - Strategic Planning & Project Management: Drivethe planning, communication, and implementation of the division’sstrategic plan while tracking progress toward institutional goalsand Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). Serve as a strategicsounding board and advisor to the VPAA/Dean on divisionalpriorities and institutional planning. Lead and managehigh-priority, cross-functional initiatives and special projectsoriginating from the VPAA/Dean’s Office. - (Essential)
• 30% - Executive Administrative & OperationalLeadership: Oversee day-to-day office operations, workflowefficiency, general office hospitality, and divisional meetingscheduling. Optimize the VPAA/Dean’s daily focus and strategiccapacity through executive calendar prioritization, travellogistics, and comprehensive briefing preparation. Provide targetedproject support for Associate Deans and serve as the administrativeliaison to the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs & TechnologyCommittee by preparing briefing materials, agendas, and reports.Proactively identify, triage, and mitigate emerging issues acrossthe division to protect leadership capacity and institutionalreputation. - (Essential)
• 20% - Academic Policies and Reviews: Provide operationalleadership and administrative oversight for the Advisory Council(AC) and the Faculty Promotion and Tenure (P&T) review process.Coordinate academic program reviews with the Faculty Director ofAssessment. Serve as the official custodian of Dean’s Office anddivisional policy records, maintaining records and archives relatedto promotion and tenure reviews, sabbaticals, voluntaryretirements, and emeritus status. - (Essential)
• 15% - Strategic Communications & StakeholderLiaison: Lead internal and external divisional communications,serving as the primary communication bridge between the Dean’sOffice, academic programs, and campus partners. Draftcorrespondence, policy announcements, and strategic presentationson behalf of the VPAA/Dean while navigating complex institutionaldynamics and maintaining strict confidentiality regardingsensitive, high-risk personnel, student, and institutional matters.- (Essential)
• 5% - Staff Coordination & Supervision: Lead andconvene Academic Affairs staff leaders across the unit, includingStaff and Faculty Directors (currently referred to as AALF), insupport of strategic priorities and cross-functional projects.Assist with internal Academic Affairs policies and procedures.Directly supervise and provide strategic oversight for the Directorof Student Academic Success and the Faculty Director of Assessment.Recruit, mentor, and supervise one to two student interns within astructured, professionalized higher education leadershipexperience. - (Essential)
• 5% - Other Duties: Perform other duties as assigned. -(Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field to position duties orequivalent combination of education and experience.
• Nine years of progressively responsible administrative,operational, or strategic leadership experience in a highereducation setting.
• Two years of supervisory experience, including hiring, managingperformance, and mentoring professional staff or academicleadership roles.
• Three years of experience driving cross-functional projectmanagement and executing divisional strategic plans usingperformance tracking frameworks (e.g., OKRs, KPIs, ordashboards).
• Knowledge of academic governance processes, including Promotionand Tenure (P&T) cycles, sabbatical reviews, advisorycommittees, and academic policy administration and recordsmanagement.
• Demonstrated ability to prepare executive briefings, agendas,reports, policy announcements, and strategic presentations.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and electronic communicationskills, with the ability to communicate effectively andprofessionally across organizational levels and with diverseconstituencies.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion,and confidentiality when navigating complex personnel, student,institutional, and administrative matters.
• Proven ability to lead, supervise, mentor, and developemployees; establish performance expectations; provide constructivefeedback; and foster collaborative, high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, cultivate relationshipsand promote alignment across diverse campus divisions, with acommitment to justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, GoogleWorkspace, Adobe Acrobat, and enterprise academic managementsystems, as well as other productivity tools applicable to positionresponsibilities.
• Strong organizational, analytical, logistical, and projectmanagement skills, with the ability to anticipate and preventpotential problems, manage competing priorities, and completemultiple complex assignments accurately and efficiently.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt and perform effectively in ahigh-volume, high-accountability, and confidential environment withchanging priorities and competing demands.
• Ability to work independently, exercise initiative, anticipateexecutive leadership needs, proactively address emerging issues,and provide effective operational support.
• Demonstrated ability to provide effective leadership and workcollaboratively and professionally across functions, disciplines,organizational levels, and diverse groups.
• Knowledge of contemporary leadership and management practices,including employee supervision, performance assessment,professional development, and talent management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Higher Education Administration, BusinessAdministration (MBA), Public Administration (MPA), EducationalLeadership, or a related field.
• Experience operating in a complex academic structure such as ina VPAA/Provost’s office, Dean’s office, or in centraladministration. Formal certification or training in projectmanagement.

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $105,000/yr – $120,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your finalbase salary compensation will be determined based on factors suchas skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. Inaddition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable payequity laws and considers internal equity among current employeeswhen developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the rangementioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring atthe maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow forfuture and continued salary growth. We also offer a generouscompensation and benefits package.