Senior Director, Institutional Initiatives and Operational Planning

The Director, Institutional Initiatives and Operational Planning serves as a senior partner within the Chief of Staff Office. This role is responsible for coordinating and orchestrating college-wide initiatives once institutional direction has been set by the President and Cabinet. The position focuses on institutional project management, operational planning leadership, accreditation support under the guidance of the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), and leadership of SLCC360. This role ensures clarity, alignment, accountability, and follow-through across divisions for high-impact institutional work. The Senior Director supervises a small team that supports operational planning execution and institutional project success and works closely with Cabinet members, division leadership, and campus partners. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Institutional Initiatives and Project Execution Partner with the Chief of Staff to drive execution of assigned institutional initiatives and priorities. Manage cross-functional projects, including scope definition, timelines, dependencies, risk management, and escalation. Establish and maintain institutional project management standards, tools, and reporting practices. Coordinate with Cabinet members and division leaders to align roles, deliverables, and sequencing of work. Surface execution risks, capacity constraints, and interdependencies to senior leadership. Provide structured facilitation, coordination, and follow-up for institutional workgroups as needed. Operational Planning Leadership and Execution Fully manage the institutional operational planning process, including timelines, standards, templates, and expectations. Support divisions and departments in operational plan development and implementation. Ensure consistency across operational planning tools, documentation, and reporting. Monitor implementation progress, identify barriers, and elevate institutional learning related to execution. Assign and monitor team responsibilities supporting operational planning maintenance and outreach. Partner with Institutional Effectiveness in Operational Planning metrics and ongoing app maintenance. Accreditation Support and Institutional Compliance Under the guidance of the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO), support NWCCU accreditation efforts. Support accreditation-related training, engagement, and institutional readiness activities. Assist with report drafting and institutional narrative development as assigned. Support planning and coordination of accreditation site visits. SLCC360 Leadership and Institutional Engagement Lead SLCC360 content development, coordination, registration, and post-event follow-through. Partner with the College's Special Events Director on logistics and execution. Collaborate with divisions on session content and alignment. Partner with the Chief of Staff and President on plenary themes and strategic emphasis. Coordinate with Marketing on outreach, materials, and communications. Track post-event actions and ensure follow-through. People Leadership and Team Management Supervise coordinator-level staff supporting operational planning and institutional project management. Provide direction, prioritization, coaching, and performance feedback. Build internal capacity for project execution and operational planning support. Allocate team resources across planning cycles and institutional priorities. Other Duties as Assigned Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of people with a variety of abilities and backgrounds, to maintain good working relationships across the College. Ability to work with all groups from a variety of academic, socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds, and with community college students, faculty, and staff, including those with disabilities. Bachelor's degree required Three (3) to six (6) years of progressively responsible experience in higher education administration, project management, operational planning, or institutional coordination. Master's degree preferred Experience leading operational planning or institutional execution frameworks. Experience working closely with executive leadership teams. Experience managing complex, cross-functional initiatives.