Strategic Impact & Planning Manager

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 84,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

401k match

Benefits package

Training & education reimbursement

Job summary

The USO seeks an accomplished strategist to support enterprise planning, transformation, and cross-functional initiatives. You will organize inputs, analyze data, and prepare executive materials under the VP of SIPMO, translating complex information into clear reports to guide decisions.

This in-person Arlington, VA role requires strong problem-solving, exceptional communication, and the ability to collaborate across teams with discretion and urgency.

Qualifications

• 5+ years supporting enterprise strategy, business transformation, or large-scale organizational initiatives.
• Bachelor’s degree required (nonprofit management, business administration, strategic management, program management, or related field preferred)
• Advanced degree or relevant certification preferred
• Strong structured problem-solving and analytical thinking
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to synthesize large amounts of information into clear insights
• Strong organizational and project management capabilities
• Ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced environments
• High attention to detail and quality of output
• Highly self-directed and proactive

Responsibilities

• Support the development of the USO’s enterprise strategic plan, including research, analysis, and synthesis of inputs.
• Help organize cross-functional inputs into clear summaries, themes, and draft recommendations for review by leadership.
• Prepare draft materials, including executive briefings, board and committee materials, strategy documents, and presentations, for review and refinement by the VP of SIPMO.
• Identify key themes, trade-offs, and decision points within strategy work.
• Conduct research and analysis to support strategic priorities, program design decisions, and enterprise tradeoff discussions.
• Help clarify ambiguous problems by organizing information, identifying options, and outlining actionable next steps for review.
• Assist with research, analysis, and drafting to support business cases for major initiatives.
• Support assigned tasks related to enterprise strategic initiatives and cross-functional workstreams.
• Track progress, identify risks, and elevate issues as needed.
• Ensure alignment between strategy, execution, and operational realities.
• Contribute to development of initiative charters, workplans, and deliverables.
• Partner with leaders across Mission Delivery, Development, Finance, IT, and other functions.
• Facilitate alignment across stakeholders and ensure inputs are incorporated into strategy work.
• Support structured engagement processes (e.g., leadership sessions, working groups, interviews).
• Develop high-quality, executive-ready materials to support: Senior leadership meetings, Board and committee briefings, Strategic updates and communications.
• Ensure materials are clear, concise, and decision-oriented.
• Support the VP of SIPMO in establishing and maintaining the operating cadence for strategy and execution, including weekly workstream tracking, progress reporting, and key meetings.
• Help ensure follow-through on action items and commitments across workstreams.
• Support high-priority, time-sensitive strategic initiatives led by executive leadership.
• Conduct rapid analysis and develop recommendations under tight timelines.
• Contribute to CEO-level materials and decision support as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.
• This is an in-person position located in Arlington, VA.

Skills

Structured problem-solving

Analytical thinking

Written & verbal communication

Organizational & project management

Executive-level synthesizing

Cross-functional collaboration

Self-directed

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

The USO seeks an accomplished strategist to support enterprise planning, transformation, and cross-functional initiatives. You will organize inputs, analyze data, and prepare executive materials under the VP of SIPMO, translating complex information into clear reports to guide decisions.

This in-person Arlington, VA role requires strong problem-solving, exceptional communication, and the ability to collaborate across teams with discretion and urgency.