Strategy and Operations Director

ABOUT THE SCHOOL:

Located in the heart of Oakland, Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children is a one-of-a-kind educational experience committed to empowering our students to realize their full potential. The School also provides vital early intervention and outreach services to visually impaired students, with or without additional challenges, throughout western Pennsylvania. Founded in 1887, our School is best equipped to care for and educate students with visual impairments. As a private institution chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the School educates approximately 200 enrolled students from 80-85 school districts within western Pennsylvania.

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Director of Strategy and Operations serves as a key member of the Core Leadership Team and as the Executive Director's primary leader for implementing the School's strategic priorities. Working closely with the Executive Director, leadership team, Board of Trustees, and external partners, the Director of Strategy and Operations translates the School's strategic vision into measurable results by leading strategic planning, organizational performance, continuous improvement, data governance, and major capital initiatives. The Director ensures that strategic priorities are effectively implemented, organizational performance is measured and continuously improved, and initiatives are successfully executed in support of the School's mission to empower children who are blind, visually impaired, deafblind, or have multiple disabilities to achieve their fullest potential.

FLSA Status: Exempt

Working Schedule: Year-Round; Mondays through Fridays; This exempt leadership position requires a flexible work schedule based on organizational needs. Regular presence during core school hours is expected, with flexibility to adjust schedules to meet operational, project, and Board responsibilities.

Compensation: $150,000 - $180,000 commensurate with qualifications and executive leadership experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Executive Leadership

• Partner with the Executive Director to execute the School's strategic priorities and advance organizational initiatives.
• Collaborate with leadership team members to align departmental initiatives with School-wide strategic objectives.
• Lead enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and special projects as assigned by the Executive Director.
• Represent the School with consultants, governmental agencies, community partners, and professional organizations as delegated by the Executive Director.
• Monitor organizational performance, identify implementation challenges, and recommend solutions that advance the School's strategic priorities.

Strategic Planning and Organizational Advancement

• Serve as the Executive Director's primary implementation leader for the School's Strategic Plan, ensuring initiatives remain on schedule, accountable leaders are identified, barriers are addressed, and progress is regularly communicated to the Executive Director and Board of Trustees.
• In partnership with the Executive Director and strategic planning consultant, represent the School in a comprehensive strategic planning process involving leadership, staff, families, community stakeholders, and Board members.
• Facilitate organizational engagement throughout the strategic planning process to ensure broad participation and alignment.
• Translate the approved strategic plan into a multi-year implementation roadmap with clearly defined priorities, timelines, responsibilities, and success metrics.
• Establish systems to monitor and evaluate strategic plan progress and outcomes.
• Partner with leadership team members to ensure effective implementation of strategic initiatives across all departments.
• Identify barriers to implementation and develop solutions to maintain momentum toward strategic objectives.
• Prepare and present strategic planning updates, progress reports, and performance metrics to the Executive Director and Board of Trustees on a defined reporting cycle.

Data Governance and Organizational Information Systems

• Lead the School's data governance strategy to ensure accurate, consistent, secure, and accessible organizational data.
• Chair the School's Data Governance Committee and coordinate cross-departmental implementation of data initiatives.
• Develop and implement standards for student, programmatic, organizational, and administrative data collection, management, and reporting.
• Partner with IT, educational leadership, and administrative departments to establish centralized data systems that support decision-making, regulatory reporting, and organizational performance.
• Collaborate with the Research and Data team to establish key performance dashboards and data analytics that inform strategic planning, program evaluation, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the development of policies, procedures, and data quality standards to ensure data integrity and consistency across the organization.

Capital Projects and Organizational Growth

• Serve as the School's owner's representative for major capital projects, construction initiatives, renovations, and campus expansion efforts.
• Coordinate and oversee project feasibility assessments, long-range capital planning, project budgeting, and financing analyses.
• Coordinate the procurement and selection of architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, and other project partners.
• Oversee project schedules, regular budgets as well as project budgets, annual and multi-year capital budgets, risk management, and stakeholder communications throughout project lifecycles.
• Ensure projects are completed in accordance with approved scope, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and budget parameters.
• Provide regular updates and recommendations to the Executive Director and the Board of Trustees regarding capital initiatives.

Organizational Excellence

• Assess, strengthen, and optimize core organizational functions, including facilities management, procurement, contract administration, vendor management, and administrative services.
• Develop and maintain organizational performance dashboards and metrics that measure progress toward the School's strategic priorities, support data-informed decision-making, and drive continuous improvement.
• Implement systems and processes that promote efficiency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives to improve organizational effectiveness and service delivery.
• Support leadership team members in developing measurable organizational objectives and performance standards.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate organizational risks in collaboration with department leaders.
• Ensure appropriate policies, procedures, and internal controls are established and maintained.
• Ensure organizational systems, facility documentation, project records, and institutional information are maintained to support operational excellence, compliance, and long-term planning.
• Oversee and maintain the capital assets inventory and ongoing valuation.
• Develop and maintain a long-range capital asset management plan, including five-, ten-, and fifteen-year capital improvement priorities and associated cost projections.
• Regularly report organizational performance and organizational improvement initiatives to the Executive Director and Board of Trustees.

DISCLAIMER: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The employee may perform other duties as assigned to meet the needs of WPSBC.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strategic Thinking and Execution
• Organizational Leadership
• Organizational Excellence
• Data-Informed Decision Making
• Change Management
• Project and Program Management
• Business and Financial Expertise
• Risk Management
• Relationship Building
• Communication and Presentation Skills
• Continuous Improvement Mindset

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

The position requires regular attendance at School facilities, meetings, construction sites, and community events. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required to support meetings, strategic initiatives, and capital projects.