Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy

New York University • New York, NY

3d • $260,000 - $310,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Tandon School of Engineering at New York University seeks an experienced, nimble, and dynamic leader to serve as its Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy. Reporting to the Executive Dean and Senior Vice Dean as a key member of NYU Tandon’s senior leadership team, the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy facilitates effective decision making, upholds high standards, anticipates potential risks, and oversees outstanding execution of key priorities and initiatives. This role presents a unique opportunity to contribute to the trajectory of a groundbreaking school at one of the most prominent, respected, and ambitious research universities in the world. The Opportunity: NYU Tandon School of Engineering is rooted in a vibrant tradition of entrepreneurship, intellectual curiosity, and innovative solutions to humanity’s most pressing global challenges. As an institution that traces its origins back to 1854, NYU Tandon is rooted in tradition and opportunity. From its historic place at the forefront of polymer science to its newest bench-to-bedside biomedical innovations and from its pioneering work on microwaves to its global leadership in wireless communications, NYU Tandon engineers are behind some of the most influential innovations that have become integral to our way of life. Innovation and entrepreneurship suffuse everything at NYU Tandon — from course offerings to student competitions to labs and prototyping spaces. NYU Tandon is meeting the moment by serving over 7,500 students across 11 academic departments, 13 undergraduate programs, and 35 graduate degree programs. The Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy at NYU Tandon ensures the coordinated and thoughtful response to NYU Tandon’s diverse stakeholders as well as execution of key strategic priorities. This requires significant collaboration with senior leadership within NYU Tandon and across all parts of the University to drive the successful implementation of projects in alignment with mission and vision. Reporting to Executive Dean Juan de Pablo and Senior Vice Dean Eray Aydil, the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy serves as a key advisor to the Deans and represents NYU Tandon on a variety of university priorities and initiatives. The Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy will have a firm grasp of the complexity of projects and priorities across the school, anticipating issues, connecting the dots, and ensuring implementation of strategic priorities. They will cultivate an enterprise mindset and a culture of proactive action across NYU Tandon, supervising information flows and developing operating procedures that streamline decision-making to ensure effectiveness and desired impact. In addition to providing shrewd and confidential counsel rooted in deep expertise and reflective leadership, the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy will lead the NYU Tandon team in efficient and effective execution. In collaboration with other senior leaders, the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy is responsible for developing and executing solutions-oriented approaches to key priorities, functional strategic goals, and issues, and will make key organizational decisions on behalf of the Deans where appropriate. As part of the executive leadership team advising the Deans on complex organizational matters, the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy works collaboratively on appropriate responsive follow-up, and will facilitate resolution of matters requiring the Deans’ attention.

Requirements

• The Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy will be politically astute, with a high level of emotional intelligence, a positive outlook, sound judgement, high standards, and the ability to operate with the highest level of diplomacy and thoughtfulness.
• The successful candidate will be a person who leads with integrity and transparency with a shared commitment to NYU Tandon’s values.
• This person excels at building trust and confidence with constituents through thoughtful decisions and follow-up.
• Strong candidates must have an established record of visionary and proactive approaches to managing complex organizations, comprehensive problem solving, and relationship building.
• Superb communication and collaboration skills are paramount.
• Experience as a senior leader with an appreciation for complex issues involving multiple constituencies with differing priorities is required, in addition to experience utilizing strategic thinking and consulting skills to achieve workable strategies and solutions.
• The selected candidate will have a record of senior management roles with accountabilities for developing and delivering strategic organizational initiatives in support of executive leadership, external and constituency relations, and people and budget management.
• Interpersonal and political savvy to have credibility and build trust both internally and externally with many high-level constituents.
• Self-awareness and style that will be persuasive and dynamic as a senior leader alongside NYU Tandon’s Executive Dean and Senior Vice Dean.
• Leadership style that is adaptive and flexible with the ability to pivot with competing priorities and stay focused on those priorities that are the most impactful.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively work with a wide range of individuals and constituencies in a diverse community.
• Experience using data to inform decision-making.
• Ability to effectively and simultaneously manage multiple high-priority projects within specified deadlines in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• A Bachelor’s degree and minimum of ten years of relevant experience in large, complex organizations is required.
• This is a role with significant in-person responsibilities and candidates can expect to work in NYU Tandon’s Brooklyn office 4 days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Previous Chief of Staff experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience in higher education and/or working in STEM management is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a key partner to the Executive Dean and Senior Vice Dean to assess, monitor, manage, and respond to the diverse stakeholder needs including those from the Board of Directors, Vice Deans, Department Chairs, Associate and Assistant Deans, faculty, senior staff, students, donors, alumni and leaders across NYU.
• Manage the development and execution of the school’s short, medium, and long-term strategic vision and planning.
• Provide structure and vision for a cohesive, high-performing Office of the Dean while providing organizational leadership and managerial oversight for teams reporting into the Office of the Dean including the teams responsible for overseeing the Deans’ schedules, operations, institutional effectiveness, programs, strategy, and events.
• Manage when and how NYU Tandon’s senior leadership team convenes to share information, make decisions, and strengthen connections; this includes driving the objective, content, agendas, and action items to promote alignment and orchestrate execution.
• Proactively identify issues that may present vulnerabilities for NYU Tandon and craft strategies and messaging to meet them while at the same time overseeing crisis and emergency response as needed to ensure clarity, alignment, and resolution.
• Support the Executive Dean and Senior Vice Dean’s engagement with and presentations to University governance groups (including the University Senate and the Senate Executive Committee) and University Trustees; serve on committees and task forces as needed.
• Monitor and evaluate impact and results of programs; utilize data to make decisions and track progress on key priority areas.
• Represent the Executive Dean and Senior Vice Dean in relations, correspondence, and constituencies that reach out to the Office of the Dean and otherwise ensure the execution of school priorities and responsiveness to emergent matters on behalf of NYU Tandon as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees