Strategic Operations Program Manager

Western Governors University•Salt Lake City, UT

2d•$75,200 - $112,700•Hybrid

About The Position

As a Strategic Operations Program Manager for Western Governors University (WGU) and the School of Education (WSE), you hold a crucial Strategic operations and portfolio management position that profoundly impacts the school and student experience. Each Strategic Operations Program Manager leads a portfolio of programs, projects, and initiatives connected by a shared organizational goal or area of impact. The Strategic Operations Program Manager serves as a strategic thought partner who helps translate strategy into execution by coordinating people, processes, systems, and stakeholders to improve student and organizational outcomes. Responsibilities include facilitating organizational change, supporting process improvement efforts, coordinating cross-functional initiatives, maintaining portfolio visibility, and helping stakeholders successfully implement and sustain strategic objectives. In this capacity, you are tasked with aligning products with strategic objectives, optimizing resource allocation, and driving successful execution to achieve desired outcomes. Strong leadership, strategic thinking, and effective collaboration with diverse stakeholders are paramount for success in this dynamic role. You will often provide the strategic perspective to stakeholders whose needs go far beyond their area of responsibility and will help to ensure initiatives serve the great WGU, WSE with a focus on the continuous improvement of the student journey. Your success will be measured through the effective delivery of programs, projects, and initiatives that support strategic priorities, improve operational effectiveness, enhance the student experience, and deliver measurable outcomes for WSE and WGU. In this role, you will report to the Senior Manager, Strategic Operations.

Requirements

Master's degree in a related area from an accredited institution.
4+ years of related experience to include a combination of being able to effectively plan and implement strategic initiatives with the goal of driving student outcomes, student satisfaction, and profitability.
In lieu of a master’s degree, a bachelor’s degree + 7 years of relevant experience may be considered if candidates possess the necessary skills and knowledge required for the position.
Experience developing, delivering, and evaluating strategies at post-secondary or similar mission driven institutions.
Experience with successful collaboration across multiple departments and proven ability to produce results to operational improvements that impact the student experience.
Ability to establish measures of success and evaluate outcomes through qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Experience collaborating across multiple teams and stakeholder groups to achieve shared organizational objectives.
Possess a student and stakeholder obsession with a focus on driving successful outcomes.
Possess an understanding of higher education, regionally specific student needs, industry and job market trends, and educational market trends.
Often serve as a credible voice of the department with both internal and external partnerships.
Execution focused with the ability to dive-deep and live in the details with a fast-paced weekly execution cadence.
Ability to organize and coordinate activities and results within a highly matrixed environment and across cross-functional teams.
Ability to collaborate with and lead teams, including those in a remote environment, while demonstrating excellence, integrity, and respect.
Ability to build relationships and influence at all levels, both internally and externally.
Proven ability to analyze data to identify trends and drive innovation and to be a change agent in a rapidly changing environment
Possess sound judgement and critical thinking and decision-making skills.
Possess strong oral and written communication skills.
Knowledge of portfolio, program, and project management principles and practices.
Knowledge of organizational change management principles, stakeholder engagement, and adoption strategies.
Knowledge of process improvement methodologies and process mapping techniques.
Ability to apply systems thinking to identify relationships among people, processes, systems, and organizational priorities.
Ability to manage competing priorities while balancing strategic objectives, operational needs, and student impact.
Ability to establish success measures and evaluate outcomes through qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Leadership skills encompassing guidance, coaching, and training, aligned with WGU's leadership principles.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education
Demonstrated success bringing structure, alignment, and measurable outcomes to complex cross-functional initiatives.
Experience with program management, project management, change management, process improvement, and portfolio management practices.
Experience facilitating organizational change, process improvement, or operational excellence initiatives.
Familiarity with departmental operations within WGU.
Familiarity with strategic operations within the School of Education.

Responsibilities

Manage implementation, change, and strategic projects for the School of Education.
Act as a liaison between academic program leaders, the college, and university stakeholders for the designated portfolio of work.
Participates in and contributes to regular faculty, staff, department, and meetings with college partners as appropriate.
Facilitate organizational change efforts through stakeholder engagement, impact assessment, communication planning, readiness activities, adoption support, and transition planning. Focuses on the student’s academic journey to ensure that we deliver programs that are seamless, frictionless and deliver on our student promise of degree and career success.
Lead and support process improvement initiatives including process mapping, workflow analysis, documentation, standardization, and continuous improvement efforts.
Maintains a solid understanding of college and institutional goals and priorities as they relate to the student experience and the School of Education offerings.
Coordinate cross-functional WSE initiatives by connecting stakeholders, clarifying roles and responsibilities, identifying dependencies, and facilitating issue resolution.
Establish and monitor project, program, and initiative success measures to evaluate business impact, operational effectiveness, stakeholder outcomes, and student impact.
Strategic Operations Program Manager Exhibit expertise in the unique needs of WGU students, particularly in engagement, retention, and satisfaction, leveraging this knowledge for strategic planning and ongoing improvement.
Maintain a solid grasp of college and institutional objectives pertaining to the student's experience and the School of Education offerings.
This individual is confident in reading and interpreting statistical information and data relevant to the student experience.
Conduct post-project reviews to capture lessons learned, identify opportunities for improvement, and support organizational learning.
Maintain visibility into assigned portfolio work through status reporting, risk identification, dependency management, and prioritization activities.
Support intake and evaluation activities by helping stakeholders define objectives, scope, intended outcomes, impacted stakeholders, timelines, and measures of success.
Performs other related duties as assigned.