Senior Director, Strategy Alignment

RWJF • Princeton, NJ

9d • $222,200 - $244,420 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Strategy Alignment reports to the executive vice president, Programs, and advances strategic alignment across the Program unit. The role identifies and addresses strategic risks and supports decisions about program priorities and resource allocation. It leads the lifecycle of high-priority internal strategic initiatives, translating institutional vision into integrated operational frameworks, multidepartment workplans, and goal stewardship models.

The Senior Director oversees internal integration, change management, and high-level process tracking across decentralized program units, applying a racial equity and systems-change lens to management practices. The role structures ambiguous organizational challenges, addresses competing priorities diplomatically, and prepares executive- and Board-level materials to support decision-making.

The position is assigned to RWJF’s Princeton, New Jersey office under its Hybrid: Flexible Purpose operating model. On-site participation depends on job responsibilities and organizational and team requirements; there are no fixed on-site days per week. Travel may be required for internal meetings, grantee meetings, conferences, site visits, and community events, up to 40%. The job is performed in a typical business office environment and involves operating basic office equipment and attending in-person and remote meetings.

The non-negotiable starting salary is $222,200, with a possible higher starting salary of up to $244,420 for candidates whose directly related experience exceeds the minimum requirements. RWJF offers comprehensive health and retirement benefits, generous paid time off, and a transition stipend. Applicants must submit a resume and required letter of interest by the stated deadline.

Requirements

• Commitment to racial and health equity and to the Foundation’s vision, values, and Guiding Principles.
• Extensive relevant background in internal operational management, strategy consulting, chief of staff roles, cross-functional program management, or institutional change management in a major nonprofit, philanthropic, corporate, or public-sector setting.
• Documented excellence in designing internal workflows and managing complex partner alignment.
• Mastery of cross-functional workflows, operational dashboards, interdepartmental governance mechanisms, and project roadmaps in highly matrixed structures.
• Proven ability to understand organizational needs, navigate ambiguity, align initiatives with broader goals, and turn vision into concrete execution plans.
• Excellent ability to design and craft executive-ready slide materials, policy briefs, and framing tools for Board-level decisions.
• Flawless written, verbal, and visual communication skills, with strong listening and partner-management capabilities.
• Demonstrated leadership in institutional change, resolving internal tensions and competing priorities, building trust, and fostering a high-performance culture.
• Deep operational understanding of structural racism and its impacts on health equity, and ability to audit management practices and remove administrative bias.
• Strong quantitative and qualitative data synthesis skills and ability to turn large program datasets into actionable operational improvements.
• Seven to 10+ years of relevant progressive professional experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study; additional relevant experience may substitute for an advanced degree.
• Ability to travel to RWJF offices and to grantee meetings, conferences, site visits, and community events, as needed, up to 40%.
• Candidates with 10 to 15 years of experience related to the qualifications may receive particular consideration for higher placement within the salary range.
• Candidates with 15 years of experience and experience in a foundation, government, or chief of staff role may receive particular consideration for higher placement within the salary range.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred.
• Experience in a foundation, government, or chief of staff role, particularly alongside 15 years of relevant experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead alignment of Program unit strategy, priorities, and activities with the Foundation’s strategic direction.
• Partner with Program unit leadership, the President’s Office, and Equity and Culture to identify strategic alignment, tension, duplication, and emerging opportunities.
• Translate enterprise and programmatic direction into workflows, interdepartmental service agreements, and multiyear roadmaps.
• Establish milestones and governance frameworks for high-priority initiatives and coordinate cross-functional project teams.
• Maintain alignment between strategic objectives, program priorities, and implementation activities.
• Resolve competing unit priorities through diplomatic conflict resolution, systematic alignment, and transparent decision-making.
• Oversee Program unit strategic planning with the executive vice president, VP of Programs, and Program Leadership team.
• Structure complex multidepartment problems into strategic options and implementation matrices.
• Analyze and recommend strategic expansion, scaling, realignment, or sunsetting of Foundation portfolios.
• Assess strategic risks, opportunities, and tradeoffs involving priorities, portfolio direction, and resource allocation.
• Review and pressure-test grantmaking approaches to advance racial equity and prevent administrative bias.
• Prepare strategic analyses, recommendations, executive materials, and visual syntheses for Foundation leadership and the Board of Trustees.
• Ensure Board-level mandates are integrated into routine operational structures.
• Oversee operational risk matrices and internal compliance reviews.
• Co-lead organization-wide change management initiatives and support institutional agility and process adoption.
• Build, launch, and monitor unified tracking systems, including KPIs and OKRs, across the Program unit.
• Work with the chief Human Resources officer to design training toolkits and workflows for major institutional pivots or restructurings.
• Advise on organizational alignment, operating model changes, and Program unit restructuring.
• Foster a collaborative, equitable, and performance-oriented culture within the OEVP and cross-functional project teams.
• Partner with the Research Evaluation-Learning department to embed continuous learning in operations.
• Translate evaluation data and research insights into operational improvements and updated standard operating procedures.
• Establish dashboards connecting operational inputs with long-term equity and societal impact targets.
• Monitor strategic alignment indicators and emerging risks, and recommend adjustments to priorities, investments, and implementation.
• Conduct targeted community engagement reviews to gather field feedback on the Foundation’s administrative and operational effectiveness.
• Conduct landscape assessments to identify operational bottlenecks, field shifts, and capacity gaps among grantee networks.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health benefits.
• Retirement benefits.
• Generous paid time off.
• Transition stipend for new hires to help with costs related to transitioning to a new job.

What This Job Offers

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