Head of Business Execution, North America

Springer Nature•New York, NY

7d•$250,000 - $260,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the President, North America, the Head of Business Execution, North America is responsible for driving operational performance, strategic execution, governance, and organizational effectiveness across Springer Nature's North America business. The role serves as the President's primary business partner and a key integrator across a highly matrixed organization, ensuring regional priorities are translated into clear plans, measurable outcomes, and sustained business impact. The Head of Business Execution leads business planning, performance management, strategic initiatives, and transformation efforts that enable the region to achieve its growth ambitions. The successful candidate will serve as the senior leader accountable for business performance management, strategic execution, organizational effectiveness, and operational excellence across North America. Working across multiple businesses, functions, and stakeholder groups, they will bring together leaders with differing priorities to drive alignment, accountability, and execution against shared objectives. Success in this role will depend on the ability to influence without authority, build trusted relationships, and create followership across the organization. This role requires exceptional judgment, credibility, and discretion. As a trusted thought partner to the President, North America, the Head of Business Execution will play a critical role in helping shape priorities, navigate complex decisions, anticipate challenges, and drive execution across the region. They will regularly represent the President in internal forums, lead work on their behalf, and serve as a trusted connector between regional, functional, and global leaders. A high degree of trust, transparency, and mutual confidence is essential to success in the role. The North America business has a clear strategy and significant opportunity ahead. The challenge is not defining what to do; it is bringing together diverse cross-functional teams operating across different businesses, functions, time zones, priorities, and capabilities to execute effectively as one North America business. This individual will play a critical role in creating the operating rhythm, governance, transparency, and organizational discipline required to accelerate execution and achieve the region's long-term ambitions. This role is ideally suited to a leader who combines strategic thinking with operational excellence, who can move comfortably between executive-level discussions and hands-on execution, and who is motivated by building organizational capability rather than personal visibility. The ideal candidate will be highly collaborative, intellectually curious, transparent, and deeply invested in helping others succeed. They will be ambitious for the business, humble in their approach, and focused on creating impact through influence, partnership, and shared accountability. They will be a builder of teams, relationships, and capabilities. Above all, they will be someone who consistently puts the success of the organization ahead of their own and is motivated by helping Springer Nature achieve its long-term potential in North America. This is a full-time role offered in the New York office. The location strategy supports the team structure and aligns with business needs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.
12–15+ years of leadership experience in strategy, operations, consulting, transformation, corporate development, business management, or related fields.
Demonstrated success leading large-scale strategic initiatives and business transformation efforts.
Experience operating at senior executive level and influencing across complex matrix organizations.
Strong business and commercial acumen with the ability to connect strategy, financial performance, and operational execution.
Experience building operating models, governance frameworks, and organizational capabilities.
Strong analytical skills with ability to synthesize complex information into clear recommendations and actions.
Proven ability to lead through influence and drive accountability without direct authority.
Exceptional communication, executive presence, and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to operate effectively in ambiguity and lead through organizational change.
Experience managing business performance, financial planning, resource allocation, and operational risk within a complex organization.
Demonstrated success influencing executive stakeholders and leading high-stakes negotiations in highly matrixed environments.
Proven ability to build strong internal and external relationships, represent organizational interests, and drive outcomes through influence rather than authority.
Track record of fostering innovation, collaboration, and high-performance cultures during periods of growth and transformation.

Nice To Haves

Experience in scholarly publishing, information services, media, healthcare, higher education, consulting, or related industries.
Experience in a Chief of Staff, Strategy & Operations, Business Management, Transformation, or General Management role.
Experience supporting senior executives and leadership teams in high-growth or highly matrixed organizations.
Familiarity with research, academic, healthcare, policy, or knowledge-based markets.

Responsibilities

Own the North America operating model and lead its implementation and continuous evolution.
Accountable for monitoring and driving performance across North America against agreed strategic, operational, and financial objectives.
Lead operating cadence, governance forums, leadership reviews, and decision-making processes across North America.
Establish accountability frameworks to ensure commitments, initiatives, and strategic priorities are delivered.
Lead business planning, prioritization, and resource allocation discussions across the region.
Shape the commercial and functional strategic direction of North America, ensuring alignment across stakeholder groups and with Springer Nature's enterprise priorities.
Oversee business performance management, resource allocation, operational risk, and long-term value creation across North America in partnership with Finance and business leaders.
Drive accountability for regional performance through the North America Leadership Council, ensuring strategic, operational, and financial objectives are achieved.
Lead execution of the North America Mid-Term Plan, ensuring strategic priorities are translated into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.
Identify barriers to execution and work across functions to resolve challenges and accelerate progress.
Support development and implementation of new capabilities identified in the North America strategy.
Drive alignment across publishing, content, commercial, communications, institutional, policy, finance, and operational teams.
Monitor strategic progress and recommend course corrections as market conditions evolve.
Partner with business leaders to evaluate strategic growth opportunities, investments, partnerships, acquisitions, and expansion initiatives.
Partner with business leaders to evaluate and prioritize strategic growth opportunities, including author acquisition, content retention, portfolio development, automation, customer experience, and market expansion initiatives.
Lead development of business cases and strategic recommendations for North America leadership and Executive Committee review.
Ensure alignment between portfolio priorities, market opportunities, and resource allocation decisions.
Lead or support high-stakes negotiations and strategic discussions related to partnerships, investments, acquisitions, and other growth opportunities.
Lead cross-functional transformation initiatives that improve performance, accountability, execution, and customer focus.
Drive adoption of new operating processes and solutions, governance structures, and ways of working.
Create greater transparency around performance, ownership, and business outcomes.
Build a culture of execution, continuous improvement, and shared accountability.
Foster a culture of experimentation, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement that enables the business to adapt and grow.
Establish the KPIs, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms required to manage North America as an integrated business.
Partner with Data & Analytics, Finance, Market Research, and business leaders to ensure leadership receives actionable, regular insights.
Translate business performance, market intelligence, and strategic analysis into recommendations for decision-making.
Establish transparency into progress against strategic goals and growth ambitions.
Direct a portfolio of high-impact, enterprise-wide initiatives where executive sponsorship and cross-functional leadership are required.
Coordinate responses to emerging market, competitive, funding, policy, and industry developments affecting North America.
Ensure strategic opportunities move from concept through implementation and measurable business impact.
Represent the President, North America, and the regional business in executive forums, strategic discussions, and selected external stakeholder engagements as appropriate.

Benefits

Medical, Dental and Vision
401(k) with company match and contribution
Hybrid office working policy, Summer Hours, and paid time off
Flexible Spending and Commuter programs
Multiple Life insurance options
Disability coverage
Tuition Assistance
Voluntary benefits: Identity Theft Protection, Pet Insurance, and Legal Assistance Insurance
Employee Assistance Program
Family-friendly benefits and a variety of employee discounts
An array of Employee Social Networks