Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

The RDI Group; Destin (FL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

The RDI Group is seeking a Vice President of Strategic Initiatives in Destin, Florida, to drive the company's growth and operational excellence. This role includes partnering with the CEO to translate strategy into action and manage key strategic projects.

Ideal candidates will bring over 10 years of experience in corporate strategy and demonstrated success in leading enterprise-wide initiatives.

The role offers the opportunity to influence senior executives and contribute directly to the company's success.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in leadership roles.
• Strong experience in driving strategic initiatives.
• Exceptional organizational and prioritization skills.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the CEO to set strategic priorities.
• Own governance and execution of strategic initiatives.
• Develop operating rhythms and reporting processes.

Skills

Corporate strategy

Business operations

Project management

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or advanced degree

Job description

A private equity-backed and rapidly growing hospitality platform is seeking a Vice President of Strategic Initiatives to help drive the next phase of growth, operational excellence, and enterprise value creation. Operating in multiple premier leisure destinations and a strong direct-to-consumer model, the company has experienced significant expansion through acquisitions, technology investments, and operational innovation.

As the organization enters a critical stage of its evolution and positions itself for a potential transaction in the coming years, the company is seeking a highly driven executive who will partner closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to translate strategy into execution. This individual will be responsible for ensuring the organization’s most important initiatives remain on track, creating accountability across functions, and helping prepare the business for its next chapter of growth and eventual exit.

This is a highly visible role reporting directly to the CEO, with broad influence across the organization and direct exposure to ownership and the Board.

Geography

While relocation is not required, and several members of the executive team operate remotely, infrequent travel to the Florida Panhandle—the company's operational and cultural hub—is expected. Candidates should embrace integration into a dynamic, hospitality-driven culture centered there.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner with the CEO and executive leadership team to translate the company’s long-term strategic vision into actionable annual and quarterly priorities.
• Own the governance, tracking, and execution of the company’s most critical strategic initiatives, ensuring accountability, transparency, and measurable progress across the organization.
• Develop and maintain executive-level operating cadences, dashboards, and reporting processes that provide clear visibility into initiative status, risks, milestones, and outcomes.
• Drive cross-functional execution of strategic priorities, working across operations, finance, technology, marketing, revenue management, and human resources to remove obstacles and accelerate results.
• Serve as the central coordinator and facilitator for enterprise-wide initiatives, ensuring leaders remain aligned and focused on key objectives.
• Challenge assumptions, identify execution gaps, and push initiatives forward with urgency and discipline.
• Support annual strategic planning processes, including long-range planning, priority setting, resource allocation, and performance measurement.
• Lead and coordinate exit-readiness initiatives, helping prepare the organization for a future transaction through enhanced reporting, operational rigor, process documentation, KPI development, and strategic storytelling.
• Partner with private equity sponsors and executive leadership to support value creation efforts and strategic business reviews.
• Provide analytical and strategic support for major business decisions, growth opportunities, and organizational priorities.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the CEO and a respected partner to functional leaders across the business.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in corporate strategy, business operations, management consulting, strategic program management, private equity portfolio operations, or related leadership roles.
• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and driving execution across complex organizations.
• Strong experience building accountability frameworks, operating rhythms, KPI reporting, and executive-level governance processes.
• Experience working within private equity-backed, high-growth, or transformation-oriented businesses preferred.
• Track record of influencing senior executives and driving results without direct authority.
• Exceptional project management, organizational, and prioritization skills with the ability to manage multiple high-impact initiatives simultaneously.
• Highly analytical with strong business acumen and the ability to connect strategic objectives to operational execution.
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management skills with experience presenting to executive teams, boards, and investors.
• Comfort operating in fast-paced, evolving environments where ambiguity, change, and growth are constant.
• Willingness to travel periodically to company locations and leadership meetings.

The Opportunity

This role is ideal for a high-energy strategic operator who enjoys creating structure, driving accountability, and ensuring important initiatives get completed. The successful candidate will serve as the connective tissue between strategy and execution—helping leadership translate ambitious goals into measurable outcomes while preparing the organization for a successful future transaction.