Director, Strategic Operations & Analysis

📋 Description

• • The Director of Strategic Operations & Analysis at the National Geographic Society is a critical leadership role focused on shaping and refining the organization's business and operational strategies. This position is instrumental in driving efficiency, effectiveness, and alignment across various departments, ensuring that operational frameworks directly support National Geographic's overarching mission and strategic objectives.
• • A core responsibility involves partnering closely with business unit leaders to deeply understand their operational needs and challenges. This collaboration aims to define and implement robust operational strategies that are not only effective but also seamlessly integrated with the society's broader goals and priorities. The Director will act as a key liaison, fostering cross-functional communication and building organizational-wide efficiencies by bridging gaps between different departments.
• • This role demands a strategic thinker capable of providing insightful analysis and serving as a trusted thought partner to business units and senior leadership. The Director will advise leadership teams by leveraging data-driven insights, comprehensive analyses, and well-reasoned recommendations derived from operational, financial, and programmatic trends. This advisory capacity is crucial for informed strategic decision-making, where the Director's operational perspectives and innovative solutions will be highly valued.
• • A significant portion of the role (25%) is dedicated to Operational and Service Design. This involves the development, design, and optimization of existing and new operational processes and service delivery models. The goal is to enhance both efficiency and effectiveness, ensuring that services provided by the Society are of the highest quality and delivered in the most streamlined manner possible. This includes creating comprehensive service design frameworks and detailed operational workflows, meticulously aligning business objectives with the needs of stakeholders and beneficiaries.
• • Another key area (25%) focuses on Conceptual Documentation. The Director will be responsible for generating clear, concise, and actionable conceptual documentation. This documentation will outline operational strategies, define business concepts, and present frameworks that are easily understood by senior leadership and can be effectively implemented across the organization. The ability to translate high-level strategic visions into tangible operational plans and conceptual designs is paramount.
• • The final 25% of the role is dedicated to Requirements and Adoption. This involves the critical task of eliciting, documenting, and clearly communicating business and operational requirements. The Director will collaborate closely with technology and business teams to ensure a clear definition of business value, aligning operational requirements with technical capabilities. Furthermore, this role will facilitate large-scale change management initiatives, crucial for ensuring the successful adoption of new operational strategies, processes, and systems throughout the organization. This ensures that strategic changes are not only planned but also successfully integrated into daily operations.
• • The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, with a Master's degree being preferred. A minimum of 10+ years of professional experience in strategic operations, business analysis, or a closely related field is required, demonstrating a deep understanding of operational frameworks and strategic planning.
• • Essential skills include exceptional analytical, problem-solving, and conceptual thinking abilities. The capacity to drive impact through strong communication and collaboration is vital, enabling effective partnerships with diverse teams and decision-makers. The Director must be adept at communicating vision and strategy, inspiring team members and stakeholders towards project success. Experience in building definition and alignment through various visualization and facilitation practices is a must, alongside a proven track record in producing clear, actionable documentation of business and operational requirements and concepts.
• • A strong understanding of core data analytics components, including data management, information architecture, domain modeling, data catalogs, and data governance, is necessary. Familiarity with requirement elicitation techniques such as journey mapping, empathy mapping, service design blueprinting, and user story development is expected. Knowledge of UML diagramming, including use case, activity, object, and state diagrams, is also beneficial. The ability to work autonomously, taking ownership of milestones and planning, is a key attribute.
• • Desired qualifications include the ability to influence stakeholders at various organizational levels, relevant certifications in business analysis or operational design, and familiarity with project management frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, or Waterfall. Experience working across diverse operational strategies and business models, such as grantmaking, events, media, and fundraising, would be advantageous. A genuine passion for National Geographic Society's mission is highly valued, aligning personal commitment with professional endeavors.