Senior Vice Provost, Strategy & Operations

Position Summary

The Senior Vice Provost for Strategy and Operations (SVPSO) at the University of Denver reports directly to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and is a member of the Provost’s leadership team. Serving as a strategic partner to the Provost, the SVPSO works collaboratively with others in the Provost’s office (e.g., senior vice provost, vice provosts, project managers, the Provost’s Executive Assistant, etc.) to provide counsel and project management support to the Provost, primarily at the intersection of the Provost’s initiatives, such as DU Forward, and academic administrative operations. This position is tasked with advancing strategic planning into operational reality. The SVPSO leads the Institutional Research team to support University-wide data-driven decision-making through effective data governance, modeling, reporting and analytics as well as quality assurance and accreditation processes ensuring appropriate stakeholder communication and also leads the Provost’s Office Project Management function to achieve excellence in process design, program/portfolio management, stakeholder engagement, status reporting and issue resolution.

Essential Functions

• Facilitates the resolution of matters requiring the Provost’s attention, providing advice, counsel and operational expertise. Assists the Provost in implementing initiatives to advance the Provost’s initiatives and major projects; monitors and ensures progress in responding to the Provost’s directives and requests.
• Leads DU Forward initiatives throughout the Division of Academic Affairs; develops project plans; creates, curates and reports on key performance indicators; and assists in coordinating University-wide projects.
• Serves as an administrative liaison between the Office of the Provost and other campus wide units/entities/counterparts such as College/School, budget/finance, human resources, facilities, advancement, university relations and information technology.
• Leads a data-driven team focused on the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data about the University’s characteristics and performance to support decision-making and policy formulation. This data encompasses a wide range, from student demographics and academic performance to faculty demographics and workload.
• Oversees a team responsible for driving project management into key components of the Office of the Provost’s Strategy and Operations.
• Serves as the contract lead for the Provost’s Office, including seeking guidance from campus partners to ensure adequate legal and financial protection, as well as risk management.
• Participates as necessary in key constituent meeting and ensuring appropriate and responsive follow-up regarding projects and initiatives. Facilitates the conduct of special studies and task forces; serves as liaison on budgetary and personnel issues; may serve on campus advisory committees, work groups and task forces.
• Provides research and curates background materials for the Provost’s communications: drafts sensitive or high-level correspondence, reports, oral speaking engagements and documents distributed to the campus and to the academic units. Includes support for external speaking engagements and academic conferences.
• Supports Provost’s direct reports by providing broad policy oversight of administrative support services for the Office of the Provost including budget/finance and human resources needs as well as the annual budgeting process involving the academic units.
• Maintains operations and promotes best practices in areas such as contract management, compliance, review and approvals.
• Responsible for the Provost’s Office project management, status reporting, process design, change management and issue resolution.
• Develop policies to enhance internal processes and controls in accordance with, and in response to, federal, state, and local laws to ensure compliance and organizational optimization.
• Serves as a change agent in supporting continuous process improvement and business process reengineering eliminating waste and maximizing University resources.
• Ensure the University's commitment to inclusion, belonging and pluralism as evidenced by: creative and effective initiatives to attract and retain talented students, faculty, and staff; programming that models inclusiveness for all; policy and procedure; and community involvement within and outside of the University.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Strategic Leadership

• Exceptional leadership skills with a successful track record of developing and communicating a strategic vision that inspires and motivates key collaborators.
• Excellent analytical, strategic conceptual thinking, strategic planning, and execution skills.