Senior Associate Vice President for Strategy, Planning, and Decision Support

University of Nevada Reno • Reno, NV

8h • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) seeks an experienced and forward-thinking professional for the Senior Associate Vice President for Strategy, Planning, and Decision Support (Senior AVP). Reporting to the Vice President for Administration and Finance (VPAF), the Senior AVP serves as the principal deputy and second-ranking executive officer of the Division of Administration and Finance. The position carries delegated line authority across the division and serves as Acting Vice President for Administration and Finance during the VPAF’s absence. The Senior AVP leads campus-wide strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, and decision support in partnership with the Office of the Provost and academic leadership, advancing the University’s mission as a Carnegie R1 land-grant institution. The position directly supervises the Office of Planning, Budget and Analysis and the Office of Decision Support, providing executive leadership over the University’s $869 million annual operating budget development process and integrating budget, institutional research, business intelligence, and analytics functions into a unified planning and decision support capability. The Senior AVP ensures alignment of University planning and resource allocation with the strategic plan, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) requirements, and Board of Regents priorities. The role demands a senior leader with proven experience directing large and complex initiatives in a research-intensive university environment, deep fluency with budget and analytics, sound judgment on politically and financially significant matters, and a record of delivering results through teams of professional staff.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree and seven (7) years OR Master’s Degree and five (5) years of progressively responsible managerial and/or related professional work experience.
• Leading strategic planning or institutional effectiveness; or developing, implementing, and managing budgets for complex organizations, including supervisory oversight of a budget office; or business intelligence, institutional research, or data-informed decision-making, including supervisory oversight of an analytics or institutional research function; or combination of the above.
• Leading professional staff at the AVP, Director, or comparable level.
• Higher-education experience or equivalent public-sector experience working with a board, system office, or legislative body.
• Driver’s License

Nice To Haves

• Experience at a Carnegie R1 or land-grant institution.
• Direct experience with strategic and institutional planning at a research university.
• Experience with the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), the Nevada Board of Regents, or comparable state higher-education systems.
• Experience overseeing or partnering with business intelligence, institutional research, or analytics functions.
• Master’s degree in public administration, business administration, public policy, higher-education administration, finance, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Leads campus-wide strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, and decision support in partnership with the Office of the Provost and academic leadership.
• Provides executive leadership over the University’s $869 million annual operating budget development process.
• Integrates budget, institutional research, business intelligence, and analytics functions into a unified planning and decision support capability.
• Ensures alignment of University planning and resource allocation with the strategic plan, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) requirements, and Board of Regents priorities.
• Translates institutional priorities and external requirements into actionable plans, weighing competing demands across academic and administrative units, and exercising sound judgment on politically and financially significant matters.
• Reads, interprets, and acts on complex budget, financial, and operational data; translates analytics into clear executive recommendations; integrates planning, budget, and institutional research into unified decision support.
• Represents the VPAF and the University with credibility before NSHE, the Board of Regents, the Legislature, donors, and community partners; reads political and institutional dynamics accurately; maintains confidentiality and discretion in sensitive matters.
• Builds productive working relationships across the Division of Administration and Finance, the Office of the Provost, academic leadership, and external stakeholders; leads through influence as well as line authority.
• Leads cross-functional initiatives through completion; designs and implements process improvements; brings discipline to the planning, decision, and follow-through cycle in a complex public-sector environment.
• Recruits, develops, and retains high-performing professional staff; sets clear expectations and accountability; fosters an inclusive, service-oriented culture across reporting units.

Benefits

• Remarkable Retirement: Your 19.25% contribution is generously matched by the University. With the faculty retirement plan, you are 100% vested your first day.
• Health insurance options including dental and vision
• Generous annual, sick leave, long-term disability and life insurance
• E. L. Wiegand Fitness Center offers annual or semester memberships and spouse/domestic partner membership options.
• Mountain EAP supports employees (and eligible dependents) through life's difficult moments.
• No state income tax
• Grants-in-Aid for Faculty Employees: The University is proud to provide a reduced-rate tuition benefit to faculty and qualified dependents. Faculty can take up to six credits per semester at a reduced rate. Dependents of faculty have unlimited credits, but in order to be eligible children must be unmarried and under the age of 24 and must receive at least 50% of their financial support from the employee and/or employee’s spouse or domestic partner.
• Faculty Dual Career Assistance Program: The University of Nevada, Reno recognizes the importance of addressing dual-career couples’ professional needs. We offer a dual career assistance program to newly hired faculty spouses/partners that provides resources and assists them to identify career opportunities in Northern Nevada.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior