Principal Strategist

Job Posting Title

Principal Strategist

Employee Type

Regular

Recruiting Start Date

01-07-2025

Job Exempt?

Yes

Recruiting End Date

01-18-2025

Aloha mai!  Mahalo for your interest in Kamehameha Schools.  If you are looking for an opportunity to utilize your skills and talents and grow in your profession, while serving and strengthening our Native Hawaiian community, we would love to have you join our ʻohana!

Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha is currently looking for a Principal Strategist. This position will be based out of our Kawaiahaʻo Plaza location and would serve as a key leader on our Uluhiwa/Strategy and Experience team, working alongside its VP and core leadership team.

It would require expertise and skills in the areas of enterprise strategy, assessments, and reporting; drafting high stakes plans and communications on behalf of KS executives; and complex project management involving the intersection and coordination of multiple initiatives and projects of units across the Kamehameha enterprise.

This individual would need to rely upon experiences in working with various Ke Kula ʻo Kamehameha policies, functions, and units, and deftly apply expertise in the various lines of Uluhiwa responsibilities. Another key component of this role would involve assessing risks and opportunities and helping to ensure the wellbeing of Uluhiwa staff and the progress of its kuleana.

Each of these lines of work would apply kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi; Hawaiian community awareness; a deep familiarity with Hawaiian culture and history; and facility in casual conversations in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.  

Job Summary

Enables executive leadership and staff to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.  Highly strategic leadership role that requires a combination of focus and flexibility, the aptitude to engage executive leadership for organization and system transformation, the ability to connect the multitude of work/information/people and the capability to own, shape and drive critical enterprise initiatives internally and externally with stakeholders and organizations. Serves as a key member of the group's core leadership team.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Intelligence

• Facilitates and promotes integration and connections within KS and with other organizations to address complex systems challenges. Plays varied roles in system-impacting relationships and initiatives with other organization leaders locally and beyond.

• Maintains an outward-in and forward-looking perspective to anticipate external and future happenings that may shape and impact KS’ strategic goals and achievement of KS’ vision. Fosters the organization's readiness and ability to share this perspective as it influences the volume, scope and timing of the organization’s multiple concurrent work pieces and cross-functional/cross-sector interactions & initiatives.

• Seeks, learns and maintains a menu of tools and methods that support strategy development, design/root cause analysis, project management and change leadership.

• Prepares for and facilitates (as needed) “critical path” executive meetings (e.g., with CEO, KS executive leaders, Trustees and Hawai'i business leaders) to ensure meeting objectives are realistic and that preparation is appropriate. This responsibility is less about logistics and more about content and appropriateness.

• Partners with the group's executive leader, and other KS executives where appropriate, to actively influence the design, selection, management and implementation of KS’ enterprise portfolio and strategy-level performance measurement, evaluation, monitoring and reporting.

Operations & Management

• Support the group's executive to oversee & lead the group. Cultivates relationships within the group to strengthen the overall group’s cohesion and performance level.

• Influences staff through setting of shared goals, communication, information sharing and transparency. An excellent negotiator who is able to cultivate and manage relationships with all team members. Fosters and maintains a high performing environment based on teamwork, commitment, accountability, co-operation, collaboration and direct, timely feedback.

• Oversees the group's portfolio