Vice President, Strategy and Business Operations

About Us

At Udemy, we’re on a mission to improve lives through the power of learning. We’re a leading global learning company and one of the world’s largest education platforms, with more than 67 million learners. Our goal is to provide flexible, effective skill development to empower organizations and individuals. 

Talented people are everywhere, and the right opportunity can be hard to come by. That’s why we’re focused on revolutionizing learning, using our skills and expertise to help others develop theirs and reach their full potential. Individually, we bring our unique perspective to reimagine the way we share knowledge. Together, we can improve lives by making learning more accessible for our learners, our instructors, and businesses around the world.

Hybrid work

Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco with global offices in Australia, India, Ireland, Türkiye, and other US locations. Our robust hybrid work model spans San Francisco, Denver, Austin, Ankara, Dublin, and Melbourne. This hybrid position requires two days per week in the office at the nearest hub. Learn more about us on our company page.

 

About you

You have the ability to think both strategically and operationally.  You are able to create structure amidst ambiguity.  You are an excellent listener.  You are able to facilitate critical discussions across parties with differing viewpoints, driving parties to clarity and alignment.  You are as comfortable rolling up your sleeves to dig in to fix a process as you are helping set the strategy for the company and creating a presentation for the board.  You are resilient and adaptable, and able to embrace change and lead others to do so.  You thrive in a high performance environment, and believe business performance and a great culture are not at odds with each other.

 

About this role 

The Vice President of Strategy and Business Operations will play a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction of Udemy. This role involves leading the corporate strategy development process, driving business operations excellence, and ensuring that product and go-to-market (GTM) strategies are aligned with the company's overarching objectives. This leader will oversee both short and long term corporate strategies, critical cross-functional initiatives, the management and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) and oversee corporate development activities.The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with strong leadership and operational skills and a proven track record in managing large cross-functional initiatives.

 

What you’ll be doing:

• Strategic Leadership -  Develop and refine the corporate strategy in partnership with the executive team to drive long-term growth and profitability in alignment with our vision and mission.  Facilitate Product and GTM strategic planning processes and ensure alignment overall corporate strategy. 

• Metrics and Monitoring - Design and implement a robust framework for metrics and monitoring across the organization to track progress and make data-driven decisions.  This insight will be crucial to identify growth opportunities, assessing the impact of strategic initiatives, and addressing challenges swiftly.

• Corporate Development - Lead mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities, including sourcing, evaluating, and executing transactions.  Oversee due diligence, financial modeling, and integration planning to ensure seamless execution of corporate development initiatives. Manage relationships with consultants, and other external partners to advance corporate development objectives.

• Operational Excellence  - Oversee all aspects of business operations including oversight of metrics, large cross-functional initiatives and processes to ensure efficient execution and allow for continued profitable growth and scale.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration - By fostering collaboration across departments, this role will ensure that all teams work cohesively towards shared goals, reducing silos and improving execution speed and outcomes.

• Leadership and Development - Mentor and develop team members, promoting a high performance culture focused on growth and accountability.  Serve as a key member of the senior leadership team, contributing to company-wide decision making and prioritization.  

 

Critical Skills

• Stra