Strategic Initiatives & Operations Lead

George Washington University; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 131,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare benefits

Tuition assistance

Job summary

The George Washington University’s Division for Student Affairs seeks a Senior Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Operations, to lead high-impact, cross-functional projects and advance divisional priorities within the university’s strategic framework.

Reporting to the VP for Student Affairs, the role emphasizes project and change management, stakeholder alignment, and data-driven decision making to improve student success and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization plus 5 years of relevant professional experience, or a Master's degree or higher in a relevant area of study plus 3 years of relevant professional experience.
• Degree must be conferred by the start date of the position.
• Degree requirements may be substituted with an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute a portfolio of high-impact, cross-functional strategic projects from inception through completion.
• Serve as primary project manager for VPSA priorities, ensuring alignment with institutional goals, scope, and timelines.
• Apply standard project management and change management methodologies to structure deliverables, align stakeholders, mitigate risks, and track outcomes.
• Prepare executive briefings, decision materials, presentations, reports, and background documents for senior university leadership and external engagements.
• Translate institutional strategic priorities into actionable operational plans and measurable targets for the division.
• Conduct environmental scans, benchmarking, and research to inform executive decision-making and operational improvements.
• Recommend and implement streamlined administrative processes and operational models to enhance service delivery.
• Manage the administrative interface with the Board of Trustees, including serving as the Staff Liaison for the Committee on Student Affairs and coordinating reporting requirements, trustee meeting materials, and executive briefings.
• Provide operational support for the Joint Committee of Faculty and Students (JCFS), coordinating meeting schedules and action items.
• Partner with University Advancement and Family Engagement teams to identify divisional fundraising priorities and support stewardship efforts.
• Prepare executive briefings, proposals, donor impact reports, and presentation materials for leadership initiatives.
• Track divisional fundraising progress and donor engagement metrics.
• Monitor and manage divisional grants, tracking key deliverables, ensuring compliance with sponsor policies, and overseeing progress and impact reporting.
• Define, collect, and analyze quantitative and qualitative metrics to evaluate project efficacy and divisional health.
• Maintain divisional compliance with institutional policies, maintaining high confidentiality and discretion in administrative operations.

Skills

Strategic planning

Project management

Organizational development

Management consulting

PMP

Agile

Lean

PowerBI

Tableau

Education

Bachelor's degree + 5 years experience

Master's degree + 3 years experience

Tools

PowerBI

Tableau

Job description

The George Washington University’s Division for Student Affairs seeks a Senior Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Operations, to lead high-impact, cross-functional projects and advance divisional priorities within the university’s strategic framework.

Reporting to the VP for Student Affairs, the role emphasizes project and change management, stakeholder alignment, and data-driven decision making to improve student success and operational excellence.