Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives - Anesthesiology

Washington University in St. Louis; St. Louis (MO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Washington University in St. Louis seeks a strategic partner to support the Chair and Office team, coordinating across leadership, faculty, staff, and partners to advance priorities and ensure timely execution.

You will develop executive presentations and analyses to inform decision-making and drive optimization. The role requires strong communication, judgment, and the ability to manage complex, sensitive information while building consensus across diverse stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting senior executives and leading cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills.
• Ability to translate complex information into concise executive-level materials.
• Advanced proficiency in PowerPoint and Excel; experience with dashboards/reports.

Responsibilities

• Serve as strategic partner to the Chair and Office team, coordinating across leadership and stakeholders.
• Prepare executive-level presentations, dashboards, and briefing materials.
• Track milestones, risks, and progress; escalate issues with proposed solutions.
• Develop and align initiatives, ensuring timely execution and accountability.
• Create communications and materials for internal and external audiences.

Skills

Strategic initiative support

Executive communications

Cross-functional collaboration

Data visualization

PowerPoint/Excel proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Position Summary

Develops and manages strategies, key initiatives and business partner relationships, ensuring stakeholders are aligned and common goals are achieved within established time frames to drive optimization. Supports the Chair in advancing departmental priorities by coordinating complex, cross-functional initiatives, providing executive-level analysis and reporting, and ensuring effective communication and follow-through across the organization.

Location

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63110

Scheduled Hours

40

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Serves as a trusted strategic partner to the Chair and member of the Chair’s Office team, coordinating across departmental leadership, faculty, staff, institutional partners, and other stakeholders to advance the Chair’s and department’s strategic priorities and ensure alignment, accountability, and timely execution. Develops and deploys strategies to successfully implement strategic initiatives and proactive strategic sourcing.
• Serves as primary contact for designated strategic business partners and facilitates strategic communications as part of the Chair’s Office, building strong relationships across diverse stakeholder groups and exercising exceptional judgment and discretion in matters involving senior leadership, sensitive information, and complex organizational dynamics.
• Oversees preparation of strategic initiative reports and organization of business review meetings with strategic partners. Develops executive-level presentations, dashboards, briefing materials, talking points, reports, and analyses that synthesize complex information and support decision-making by the Chair and departmental leadership.
• Establishes and continually monitors and manages initiative expectations with teams; identifies issues for resolution to ensure optimal team effectiveness. Proactively identifies risks, barriers, and competing priorities and escalates issues to leadership with proposed solutions.
• Prepares and maintains status reports and schedules; tracks milestones, deliverables, critical paths, and dependencies; and resets expectations as needed based on project progress and outcomes. Uses data and performance measures to monitor progress, identify trends, and communicate outcomes clearly to leadership.
• Collaborates with internal and contracted team members to ensure optimal outcomes and builds, develops, and maintains relationships vital to initiative and partnership success. Works effectively across organizational boundaries and with individuals at all levels of the organization to build consensus and advance shared priorities.
• Works collaboratively with stakeholders, leadership, and other related staff to define and identify required infrastructure needs to ensure successful launches and ongoing operations. Coordinates cross-functional workstreams and ensures appropriate owners, timelines, and decision rights are established.
• Supports implementation of new departmental priorities and initiatives by developing implementation plans, engaging affected stakeholders, identifying barriers to adoption, coordinating communication and education, and monitoring progress through implementation and stabilization.
• Ensures sustainability is a key focus within projects and partnership initiatives, including clear ownership, operating models, resources, and measures of success.
• Organizes business review meetings with strategic partners, departmental leadership, and internal and external stakeholders, ensuring meeting outcomes are translated into documented decisions, action plans, accountabilities, and follow-up.
• Facilitates administrative policies and work groups, including development of agendas, coordination of participants, documentation of decisions, and follow-through on action items. Ensures decisions and commitments are translated into execution and appropriately tracked to completion.
• Communicates with other departments and university administrators and resolves or assists with the resolution of sensitive issues. Serves as a point of coordination for high-priority and sensitive matters requiring careful communication, appropriate stakeholder engagement, and alignment with departmental and institutional priorities.
• Develops executive communications and materials for the Chair and departmental leadership, ensuring consistency, accuracy, appropriate context, and alignment across internal and external audiences.
• Anticipates issues that may require leadership attention and works proactively with appropriate stakeholders to ensure the Chair is well prepared for meetings, presentations, communications, and other high-priority engagements.
• Exercises sound judgment regarding the appropriate handling, distribution, and communication of sensitive information and maintains a high level of discretion in all interactions.
• Develops high-quality executive presentations, reports, dashboards, and analytical materials using PowerPoint, Excel, and data visualization and reporting tools.
• Performs other duties as assigned. Supports the Chair on special projects, executive priorities, organizational planning, and other time-sensitive initiatives.

Working Conditions

Job Location/Working Conditions

• Normal Office Environment

Physical Effort

• Typically Sitting at a desk or table

Equipment

• Office Equipment

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or combination of education and/or experience may substitute for minimum education.

Certifications / Professional Licenses

No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience

Administrative (6 Years), Supervisory (4 Years)

Skills

Not Applicable

Driver's License

A driver's license is not required for this position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience supporting senior executives and leading complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, with demonstrated ability to establish trust, influence without direct authority, navigate sensitive situations, and work effectively with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex information into concise executive-level communications and presentations.
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and situational awareness, with demonstrated ability to navigate sensitive and high-visibility matters.
• Strong executive communication skills and the ability to adapt messaging, presentations, and briefing materials for diverse internal and external audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate stakeholder concerns, understand organizational dynamics, and communicate effectively in complex or sensitive situations.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel, with demonstrated ability to develop executive presentations and analytical reports.
• Experience developing dashboards, performance reports, and data visualizations using Power BI and/or Tableau.
• Experience using SQL or similar tools to query, analyze, and interpret data is desirable.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, including demonstrated ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously and drive work to completion in a complex environment.

More About This Job

• Demonstrated experience supporting senior executives and leading complex, cross-functional strategic initiatives.