Senior Director - Strategic Initiatives and Implementation

Kirkwood Community College•Cedar Rapids, IA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director, Strategic Initiatives and Implementation advances Kirkwood Community College’s mission, vision, principles, values, and strategic initiatives through continuous improvement. The role creates capacity for Continuing Education and Training Services (CE&TS) to grow, modernize, execute strategy, and improve. It leads cross-functional initiatives, divisional strategic planning and performance management, operational excellence, technology and systems implementations, marketing and market intelligence, customer-experience improvement, internal communications, and designated Vice President-sponsored initiatives. The position turns college priorities into structured plans and measurable results. The Senior Director leads strategic execution, measurable improvement, communication, financial stewardship, and major initiative performance with independent judgment and accountability. The role works with the Vice President, Senior Leadership Team, Senior Directors, Business Operations, and other partners to develop goals, governance, plans, and review cycles; improve processes; and measure outcomes. It also provides leadership and development to staff and builds capability in project management, improvement, technology, and change across CE&TS. The typical schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Additional time outside standard hours may be required as needed. The position works in an office setting.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, education, organizational leadership, project management, technology management, communication, engineering, public administration, or a related field.
At least five years of experience leading complex strategic initiatives, operations improvement, organizational change, technology-enabled work, project or program management, or a related area.
Previous successful supervisory or people-leadership experience.
Demonstrated experience with strategic planning, project management, performance measurement, process improvement, and cross-functional leadership.
Strong facilitation, analytical, communication, change-management, relationship-building, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to exercise independent judgment and accountability for strategic execution, measurable improvement, communication, financial stewardship, and major initiative performance.
Strong technology and systems aptitude, including the ability to learn new technologies and translate business needs into practical solutions.
Ability to evaluate technology, automation, AI, data, and process improvements to simplify work, improve decision-making and experiences, and increase organizational effectiveness.
Ability to meet or exceed goals related to strategic planning, project milestones, process improvement, technology adoption, marketing, customer experience, and benefit realization.
Ability to build a collaborative, high-performing team and strengthen project, improvement, technology, and change capability across CE&TS.
Ability to maintain effective division-wide communication infrastructure and support timely two-way communication.
Commitment to welcoming, valuing, and nurturing people of all backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, and supporting an environment that accepts differences.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a relevant field.
Experience in continuing education, workforce development, higher education, or another complex service organization.
Experience leading enterprise adoption, AI or automation initiatives, or organization-wide change.
Project management, Lean or process improvement, change management, analytics, or related certification or experience.

Responsibilities

Lead division-wide systems implementations and strategic projects, defining scope, timelines, responsibilities, stakeholder engagement, and success measures.
Maintain the division strategic roadmap, scorecard and KPI framework, strategic initiative portfolio, and performance-review cadence; identify off-track work and drive follow-through.
Establish and lead CE&TS operational excellence, including process mapping, root-cause analysis, SOP governance, standardization, continuous improvement, capacity analysis, and measurable efficiency improvement.
Lead cross-functional process redesign involving multiple departments, technology, significant change management, or enterprise-level coordination.
Lead CE&TS technology and systems initiatives, including AI and automation, vendor and system implementations, and related change management.
Guide major cross-functional efforts by establishing the structure, governance, communication, change management, and performance measures needed for successful outcomes.
Facilitate CE&TS strategic planning with the Vice President and Senior Leadership Team, translating vision and priorities into measurable goals, initiatives, owners, timelines, and review cycles.
Connect the College’s marketing expertise with CE&TS needs to support alignment, growth, and measurable results.
Partner with Business Operations to develop and strengthen processes and structures that support divisional operations and execution of priorities.
Own the infrastructure and effectiveness of CE&TS internal communication systems and channels.
Develop business cases and evaluation approaches for major divisional investments to assess value, inform decisions, and measure results.
Monitor and evaluate employee engagement and workplace culture; partner with divisional leaders to identify opportunities and improve the employee experience.
Partner with each Senior Director to improve departmental work while keeping the accountable business or Operations leader responsible for current operations.
Provide leadership and development to staff, ensuring clear accountability and successful execution of priorities.
Use data, customer feedback, financial information, and performance measures to identify priorities, risks, opportunities, and measurable benefits.
Bring timely updates and proposed solutions to the Vice President.
Perform other related work duties as assigned.