Sr. Director, Operations

NACD•Arlington, VA

10d•$195,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director, Operations is responsible for strengthening NACD’s enterprise operating model by driving disciplined planning, execution, performance measurement, and cross-functional alignment. Working closely with the Chief Operating Officer and senior leaders, this role focuses on how work gets done across the organization, ensuring that strategy translates into prioritized, well-sequenced, and executable initiatives. The Senior Director, Operations serves as NACD’s enterprise operator and integrator, leading large-scale transformation initiatives, improving operational clarity, and enabling consistent execution across business units and shared services. The ideal candidate is a highly organized detail-oriented systems thinker and trusted partner who can balance structure with flexibility, influence without authority, and move the organization from ambition to sustained performance.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Nonprofit Management, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
7-10 years of experience in operations management, with at least 10 years in a senior leadership role within a nonprofit or business-focused organization.
Strong business side product and project management skills, especially for technology-related projects.
Demonstrated expertise in performance management and metric-driven operational improvements.
Proven track record of managing teams and leading complex projects in a performance-oriented environment.
Familiarity with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel and comfort using various reporting and project management tools such as PowerBI.
Strong technical and business acumen.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and a high degree of self-awareness.
Ability to handle multiple priorities and deadlines with minimal supervision.
Highly organized and ability to prioritize for a team and an enterprise.
Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and annual and strategic planning.
Ability to handle confidential information professionally.
Knowledge/understanding of corporate governance or ability to gain such knowledge quickly.
Prior supervisory and employee development experience.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Operational Leadership Partner with the COO to translate organizational strategy into actionable operating plans, priorities, and execution rhythms.
Support executive and senior leaders in clarifying enterprise priorities, tradeoffs, and sequencing of work.
Act as a neutral, enterprise-focused leader who works across departments to align efforts and resolve operational friction.
Apply NACD’s enterprise operating frameworks, including the 5Ps (People, Planning, Performance, Process, Platform), to support consistent decision-making, execution, and performance management across the organization.
Planning, Prioritization, and Execution Lead NACD’s annual planning and business unit planning processes, ensuring alignment to strategic priorities, capacity realities, and enterprise dependencies.
Steward enterprise planning, prioritization, and governance processes that align strategic priorities, annual business plans, and resource capacity, enabling leaders to make informed tradeoffs and sequencing decisions.
Establish and maintain consistent planning frameworks, templates, and governance practices to enable transparency, accountability, and effective decision-making.
Support leaders in identifying interdependencies, risks, and timing considerations across initiatives.
Performance Management and Metrics Implement and maintain enterprise performance dashboards and operational metrics in partnership with Finance, IT, and functional leaders.
Analyze KPIs and operational data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Provide leadership with clear, concise insights that connect performance data to decisions and actions.
Membership Transformation and Enterprise Product Enablement Serve as the enterprise lead for major membership transformation initiatives, including the design and implementation of NACD’s new tiered and bundled membership models.
Act as product owner for enterprise membership bundles during the design, validation, and launch phases, ensuring alignment across Membership, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Chapters, and other stakeholders, and as product owner for future key initiatives as they arise.
Define and document the operating model for bundled offerings, including pricing logic, benefit structure, eligibility rules, fulfillment workflows, data requirements, and internal handoffs.
Partner with business owners and shared services teams to ensure operational readiness across systems, processes, and customer-facing functions prior to launch.
Establish success metrics, reporting frameworks, and governance processes to monitor performance and guide post-launch optimization.
Support the transition of ongoing product management and commercial ownership to designated business unit leaders following launch.
Operational Excellence and Process Improvement Identify opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce manual processes, and improve operational efficiency across the organization.
Lead cross-functional process improvement initiatives that improve clarity, accountability, and outcomes.
Develop and document standard operating practices where consistency improves performance, while avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy.
Program and Project Oversight Provide operational oversight for enterprise initiatives, ensuring clarity of ownership, scope, milestones, and success measures.
Partner with project managers and business owners to reinforce strong execution and appropriate change management.
Support consistency in pricing models, benefit structures, and operational readiness across NACD offerings, in collaboration with Finance and business units.
Support enterprise operating rhythms and governance forums that provide visibility into progress, risks, and interdependencies across initiatives, reinforcing accountability and continuous improvement.
Risk Management and Business Continuity Lead NACD’s Enterprise Risk Management process in partnership with Legal, Information Security, and executive leadership.
Identify operational risks and support mitigation planning, monitoring, and reporting.
Contribute to business continuity, disaster recovery, and information security planning from an operational readiness perspective.
Enterprise Transformation Enablement Partner with business and technology leaders to operationalize enterprise transformation initiatives, including those related to digital platforms, data, and emerging technologies.
Stakeholder Engagement and Influence Build strong working relationships with executive leadership, business unit leaders, and shared services teams.
Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to leaders navigating complex operational and organizational challenges.
Collaborate with external consultants and vendors as needed to support operational initiatives.
People Leadership Lead and develop direct reports, fostering a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
Set clear expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and support professional development.
Manage contractors and external resources as needed.