Director, Leadership Effectiveness

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

1d•$138,320 - $262,080•Remote

About The Position

The Director, Leadership Effectiveness serves as a senior internal consultant and practitioner within the Leadership Academy, partnering with leaders and teams to strengthen leadership effectiveness across St. Jude. The Director leads complex leadership and organizational-effectiveness initiatives from diagnosis and design through implementation, evaluation, and sustained adoption. The role combines organizational development, behavioral science, human-centered design, and organizational change expertise to strengthen leadership capability and address the conditions that shape leadership in practice. Working across organizational boundaries, the Director translates St. Jude’s leadership expectations into practical approaches to improve how leaders and teams operate. The role partners with HR Leadership Development, Culture Strategy, Academy Operations, and other institutional functions to align interventions with institutional priorities and deliver measurable results. The Director manages and develops Academy staff while remaining directly involved in consulting, design, facilitation, and implementation in a small-team operating model.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in organizational development, behavioral science, business, design, or a related field.
7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in organizational effectiveness, organizational development, leadership consulting, strategic design, or related work within a consulting firm or complex organization.
Demonstrated experience managing and developing direct reports and leading complex work through direct, matrixed, and cross-functional teams.
Demonstrated success advising senior executives on complex organizational challenges and translating insights into practical, implemented solutions.
Experience leading leadership, team-effectiveness, or organizational-change initiatives from diagnosis through implementation and evaluation.
Strong understanding of how organizational functions, leadership practices, and institutional conditions interact to influence performance.
Demonstrated ability to conduct and synthesize qualitative and quantitative research, test assumptions, and develop evidence-informed recommendations.
Advanced facilitation and consulting skills, including experience guiding senior teams through sensitive issues, competing perspectives, and consequential decisions.
Experience applying human-centered design, systems thinking, behavioral science, and organizational-change methods.
Strong project leadership skills, including coordinating resources and aligning cross-functional and matrixed teams.
Ability to define meaningful outcomes and evaluate changes in leadership practice, team effectiveness, and organizational performance.
Strong executive communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage credibly with senior leaders.
Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity, exercise sound judgment, prioritize competing needs, and remain directly involved in execution.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
Experience navigating complex organizational environments.
Experience directing external consultants, coaches, or facilitators.
Relevant advanced training or credentials in organizational development, executive coaching, facilitation, or related disciplines.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on complex leadership, team, and organizational-effectiveness challenges.
Lead a portfolio of leadership-effectiveness initiatives, defining objectives, scope, implementation plans, resource needs, and measures of success.
Manage and develop Academy staff through goal setting, performance management, coaching, and ongoing feedback, supporting engagement and career development in alignment with Academy priorities.
Diagnose challenges by distinguishing among individual capability, team dynamics, organizational conditions, and broader systemic factors.
Conduct stakeholder research, interviews, observation, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative evidence to identify institutional needs and patterns.
Design and lead interventions that strengthen leadership effectiveness, team performance, decision-making, collaboration, and organizational performance.
Translate Leading the St. Jude Way, the Culture Principles, and leadership capabilities into practical behaviors, tools, experiences, and ways of working.
Apply organizational development, systems thinking, behavioral science, and human-centered design to develop evidence-informed solutions.
Design, prototype, test, and refine interventions; guide implementation and establish approaches that support sustained adoption.
Define and evaluate intervention outcomes with the SVP and Academy Operations, using findings to improve approaches and inform broader implementation decisions.
Facilitate senior leadership teams through complex conversations, problem-solving, reflection, and decision-making.
Advise leaders navigating organizational change, addressing leadership behaviors, team practices, and organizational conditions required for successful implementation.
Lead cross-functional and matrixed teams, aligning stakeholders, clarifying responsibilities, and securing executive sponsorship for assigned initiatives.
Partner with HR Leadership Development to determine when formal learning is an appropriate response and shape solutions accordingly.
Partner with Culture Strategy where leadership behavior intersects with broader culture priorities, maintaining clear roles and coordinated action.
Direct external coaches, facilitators, consultants, and other practitioners supporting assigned initiatives; establish expectations and evaluate quality and effectiveness.
Partner with Academy Operations on initiative budgets, resource allocation, contracting, and delivery planning.
Advise the SVP on emerging leadership needs, systemic barriers, intervention priorities, and opportunities for institutional impact.
Communicate insights, recommendations, progress, and outcomes clearly to senior leaders and institutional partners.
Remain directly involved in consulting, design, facilitation, and implementation, consistent with the Academy’s small-team operating model.