Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, Batten Institute at Darden School of Business

UVA Health•Charlottesville, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business, one of the world's leading business schools, seeks a strategic and collaborative Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Programs to join the Batten Institute of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology. The Senior Director is a senior operational and programmatic leader of the Batten Institute who is key to shaping its future vision and leading execution against it. This position develops and drives mission-critical programs by engaging a broad coalition of Darden staff, faculty, students, and alumni across initiatives spanning the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and technology/AI. The Senior Director advances the Institute’s mission of building entrepreneurial mindset and skillset in MBAs and Darden’s mission of inspiring purpose-driven innovative leaders who will change the world. The Senior Director manages an experienced team of direct reports and collaborates closely with the larger Batten Institute and Darden enterprise leadership teams. This position reports directly to the Batten Institute Executive Director and is based at the Darden School of Business in Charlottesville, VA, with an ideal start date of October 2026.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least five years of relevant professional experience required, including 2 years of managerial experience.
Demonstrated ability as a results- and relationship-driven people manager.
Expertise in program management, entrepreneurship and venture development, Venture Capital, and/or tech.
Collaborative team player who can effectively engage with other senior leaders and manage by influence across the Darden enterprise, working proactively and professionally with students, faculty, and staff.
Demonstrated impact in setting and achieving metrics-driven goals for high-quality programs through both systemic and individual development.
Ability to push through strategic initiatives and ensure successful execution against plans and objectives.
Ability to translate thoughts and directives from several areas into a cohesive plan of action.
Ability to be a self-starter, own a vision and drive results.
Ability to manage budget processes and procedures.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree and 10+ years of relevant experience, including 5+ years of managerial experience.
Belief in the mission of the Batten Institute and Darden School, and passion for the University of Virginia; Darden alumni are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

Shapes the student experience across MBA formats and sectors through co-curricular and experiential learning programs in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and tech/AI. Programs may include immersions, workshops, bootcamps, incubators/accelerators, speaker series, awards/competitions, conferences, projects, courses, internships/fellowships, and student club activities—offering unique opportunities to skill-build and to network with academics, practitioners and mentors.
Manages the team that runs flagship student and alumni programs including i.Lab Incubator, the Southeast Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference, Batten Venture Internships, Tech & AI Learning Series, DC Tech Connect, and the Batten Scholarships. Develops new, impactful programs in collaboration with the team.
Supports students 1:1 around their specific needs in career/startup development and networking.
Runs point on initiatives to invigorate and sustain a strong Darden alumni community in the stated focus areas and galvanizes a robust network to support current students and fellow alumni in collaboration with Darden’s Alumni Engagement team and Alumni Career Services.
Helps manage the prestigious Batten Scholar program (full tuition and fees), inclusive of Batten Scholar alumni, and related scholarships for innovators. Creates mechanisms for longitudinal outcome tracking.
Supports Darden faculty through strategic planning and outreach for course speakers, conference panelists and guests, and co-curricular workshops.
Helps faculty to bridge theory and practice by creating programmatic touchpoints with leaders of tech companies, recently acquired companies, early-stage ventures, and VC firms.
Works with Batten’s thought leadership team to find opportunities for faculty and Darden alumni to create and curate content that strengthens Darden’s brand around entrepreneurial mindset and skillset.
Develops strong partnerships with a range of stakeholders as a critical element of success in this role. The Senior Director is a visible face of the Institute, partnering with colleagues in the Darden offices of Communications & Marketing, Admissions, Alumni Engagement, Alumni Career Services, Career Services; as well as the Dean’s Office and other centers of excellence (Lacross Institute for Ethical AI; Mayo Center for Asset Management; Institute for Business in Society; Center for Global Initiatives), in order to strategize on and deliver top-notch programs, communications, events, and engagement opportunities for key stakeholders.
Oversees MBA rankings submission process for entrepreneurship specialty.
Partners with Batten Institute Executive Director and Darden leadership to deepen collaborations across UVA around entrepreneurship and innovation—notably UVA Innovates/The Foundry, UVA Northern Virginia, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the McIntire School of Commerce—to advance the Institute’s goals.
Choreographs alignment of team priorities and new pilots in support of Darden’s strategic goals.
Maintains a partnership with the Darden School Foundation and the UVA Alumni Association, representing and engaging alumni entrepreneurs, innovators and technologists.