Manager, Strategic Operations

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Pay Range: $73,100.00 - $120,600.00

Job Description

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Drives operational excellence and efficiencies by leading a team of professionals responsible for leveraging systems and ‘design-thinking’ approaches that improve the quality and program experiences for students and faculty.  
• Takes the lead to drive process improvements through root causes analysis and change management plans to reach maximum efficiency. 
• Responsible to build cross-functional teams that drive innovation and improvements through and by collaboration, presenting business cases to stakeholders, and operationalizing all necessary phases for successful change management.   
• Responsible for applying learning science techniques through pilot programs, specialty taskforces, analyzing data to extract root causes to optimize and develop ongoing strategic innovations.
• Demonstrated ability to work across organizational eco systems to build consensus and consider the needs and interests of various stakeholders contributing to a diverse team across the college and institution. 

• Responsible to provide feedback, coach, mentor and develop direct reports accountable for assigned projects and performance expectations. 
• Create a positive impact on peers and associates to create a change centric environment while staying focused on student and employee satisfaction.

• Manage and prioritize complex projects that span numerous organizational functions and have non-linear dependencies.
• Focus on the entire arc of the student’s experience from prospect to alumni -- to ensure that the students and faculty friction points are understood, and programs are delivered as seamlessly as possible to ensure the greatest opportunity for student and faculty success. 
• Must demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills, solid organizational skills, and sound judgment to move projects forward and increase efficiency 
• Other duties may be assigned as the position and business needs evolve. 

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Ability to think strategically and tactically with a strong bias for execution
• Ability to lead, build and coach high performing teams within a business and ensure projects, initiatives, or other work functions are performed successfully
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to and thrive in a collaborative environment and apply a positive team approach to working with colleagues
• Possess strong oral and written communication skills, solid organizational skills, and sound judgment to move projects forward and increase efficiency 
• Ability to increase employee engagement, support a positive environment and help remove obstacles for team members
• Knowledge of continuous improvement methodologies
• Ability to apply change management practices to both projects and people
• Aptitude to manage and navigate decisions despite ambiguity
• Knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data analysis
• Ability to market and promote new programs and initiatives focused on Competency-Based Education.
• Highly knowledgeable in best practices, literature, and research on the needs of students at post-secondary institutions and have a strong understanding of the unique needs of WGU students, including graduate and undergraduate students