Senior Director, Strategy Alignment

RWJF; Princeton (NJ); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ seeks a Senior Director of Strategy Alignment to advance program-wide strategic alignment, manage high-priority initiatives, and ensure equity considerations are embedded in all decisions. You will lead cross-functional teams, translate strategic direction into actionable roadmaps, and provide board-level briefings.

The role requires diplomacy, problem-solving, and a track record of guiding complex organizational change.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate decentralized units and standardize cross-functional execution paradigms as the chief strategic anchor in the Office of the Executive Vice President (OEVP).
• Lead the alignment of Program unit strategy, priorities, and activities with the Foundation's strategic direction.
• Collaborate with Program leadership, the President's Office, and Equity and Culture to identify alignment, tensions, duplications, or opportunities.
• Translate direction into detailed workflows, inter-departmental service agreements, and multiyear roadmaps.
• Set milestones and governance for high-priority initiatives to keep cross-functional teams coordinated and on schedule.
• Partner with Program leadership to maintain alignment between strategic objectives, program priorities, and implementation activities.
• Manage dynamics and bridge competing priorities through diplomatic resolution and transparent decisions.
• Oversee core strategic planning and resource optimization with senior leadership.
• Structure complex multidepartment problems into clear strategic options and implementable plans.
• Lead analyses on expansion, scaling, realignment, or sunsetting of portfolios.
• Assess risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs in program priorities and resource allocation.
• Review grantmaking to advance racial equity and reduce administrative bias.
• Lead the execution and visual synthesis of strategic progress for executive governance and board briefings.

Job description

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), located in Princeton, N.J., is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. To get there, we must work to dismantle structural racism and other barriers to health. Since 1972, we have focused on developing and promoting innovations in health and healthcare to improve the lives of millions. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to achieve health equity faster and pave the way, together, to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the executive vice president, Programs, the senior director, Strategy Alignment is responsible for advancing strategic alignment across the Program unit, identifying and addressing strategic risks, and supporting decisions related to program priorities and resource allocation. This role drives the complete lifecycle of high-priority internal strategic initiatives, transforming institutional vision into highly integrated operational frameworks, multidepartment workplans, and clear goal stewardship models.

This leader oversees internal integration, change management, and macro-level process tracking across decentralized program units while embedding a robust racial equity and systems-change lens into all management architectures. The ideal candidate excels at structuring ambiguous organizational problems, resolving competing internal priorities with diplomacy, and generating high-quality boardroom materials to facilitate top-tier executive and Board of Trustees-level decision-making.

As with staff at all levels of RWJF, the senior director is expected to demonstrate a passionate commitment to equity and to the Foundation's mission and Guiding Principles.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Internal Integration, Operational Excellence, and Workplan Management: Serve as the chief strategic anchor within the Office of the Executive Vice President (OEVP) to coordinate decentralized units and standardize cross-functional execution paradigms.
• Lead the alignment of Program unit strategy, priorities, and activities with the Foundation's strategic direction.
• Partner with Program unit leadership, the President's Office, and Equity and Culture to identify areas of strategic alignment, tension, duplication, or emerging opportunity.
• Translate enterprise and programmatic direction into detailed internal workflows, inter-departmental service agreements, and practical multiyear roadmaps.
• Establish rigorous milestones and governance frameworks for high-priority initiatives, ensuring cross-functional project teams remain coordinated, strictly on schedule, and unsiloed.
• Partner with Program unit leadership to maintain alignment between strategic objectives, program priorities, and implementation activities.
• Manage internal organizational dynamics and bridge competing unit priorities through diplomatic conflict resolution, systematic alignment, and decision-making transparency.
• Strategic Planning and Resource Optimization: Oversee the Program unit's core strategic planning processes in direct partnership with the executive vice president, VP of Programs, and the Program Leadership team.
• Structure ambiguous, complex multidepartment problems into clear, strategic options and concrete, logistically sound implementation matrices.
• Lead analyses and recommendations regarding the strategic expansion, scaling, realignment, or programmatic sunsetting of active foundation portfolios.
• Assess strategic risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs associated with program priorities, portfolio direction, and resource allocation.
• Review and pressure-test grantmaking approaches to guarantee that processes actively advance racial equity goals and prevent administrative bias.
• Executive Governance, Boardroom Architecture, and Briefings: Lead the execution and visual synthesis of strategic progress for