Job Summary

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is seeking an exceptional leader to become Vice President of Strategy and Planning and Senior Advisor to the President. RISD's mission is to "...educate its students and the public in the creation and appreciation of works of art and design, to discover and transmit knowledge and to make lasting contributions to a global society through critical thinking, scholarship and innovation." We are further committed to amplifying the power of social equity and inclusion in art and design to help galvanize and promote more just societies and change our world. We seek a colleague who will be energized by our mission and commitments and by the idea of joining RISD at a transformational moment and developing and defining this newly created position. Indeed, this is maker-space and our leading candidate will have exemplary organizational effectiveness bona fides, an entrepreneurial orientation, and will lead with curiosity and a commitment to collaboration. Under the leadership of President-Elect Crystal Williams and working with the Senior Leadership team and other internal and external partners, the VPSP, who is a member of the President's Cabinet, will oversee the work with Senior leadership to establish a strategy that aligns with the institution's overall strategic initiatives and institution-wide priorities and direct a comprehensive college-wide effectiveness program that includes strategic planning, and is in compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.

The successful candidate will lead and manage the development and implementation of Presidential Initiatives in accordance with emerging priorities and opportunities, and will establish, define, and lead the Office of Strategic Initiatives to ensure that planning and organizational efforts are integrated, coordinated for maximum efficiency and synergy, and culminate in capacity building and enhancement of institutional resource allocation. The VPSP will be responsible for the overall performance management and integration of initiatives to deliver upon performance goals. These goals will also include institution-wide ambitions set by the President and/or senior leadership team, such as goals to enhance national or global rankings. The VPSP will also oversee the President's Administrative Office, Trustee Relations and Community Relations.

The VPSP will play a critical role in helping the President to achieve maximum impact in her role by providing strategic and analytical support to the President, managing certain special projects from the beginning to the end, and assisting the President's Office and senior leadership team to function collaboratively.

The successful candidate will bring forward-looking perspectives, nimble leadership, and with an entrepreneurial stance to drive performance across complex initiatives and inspire the RISD community to be leaders of change. The ideal candidate will identify strategic priorities through a series of discernment and distillation exercises and processes with a wide range of stakeholders that fosters trust, transparency, accountability, and assessment.

Essential Functions:

Strategy and Planning:

• The VPSP will design and implement a process for the Strategic Priorities Initiative and benchmark measures to bolster and deepen the existing Strategic Plan to include new initiatives related to areas such as Sustainability, Community, Holistic Integrated Student Thriving Initiative, and Growth/Revenue Generation, including the establishment and prioritization of key goals with the President and senior leadership, and establish, monitor, and communicate key performance indicators.
  
• Works closely with the Vice President and Associate Provost for Social Equity and Inclusion to ensure all cross institutional activities and initiatives enable and foreground SEI principles and outcomes.
  
• Design, develop and implement strategies and plans to assess, improve, and support the successful attainment of organizational, operational, and the quality and effectiveness of all areas of the institution.
  
• Advance and execute existing priorities by working with senior leadership to strategically align and integrate a range of institutional planning activities to position the institution for continuous improvement, to support decision-making to meet current and future needs.
  
• Provides leadership in accordance with the Mission, Vision, and Core Values established by the College, furthering Goals and Strategic Initiatives.
  
• Coordinate and disseminate the collection of institutional data for internal, regional, and national data repositories.
  
• Coordinate the development and delivery of institutional surveys and disseminate survey results for the broader campus community and the use of appropriate data synthesis and analysis techniques in decision-making.
  
• Direct the design and implementation of administrative and organizational structures and systems to support scaling, integration, and recommend and set timelines and measures, and monitor and report on progress and outcomes. Alert senior leadership team to areas of concern and recommend appropriate solutions/alternatives.
  
• Provide integrated policy analysis and strategic consultation to the President and senior leadership team on major issues affecting the institution; monitoring legislative and other external decision paths to determine impact of possible outcomes on the initiatives of the institution.
  
• Advise the President and senior leadership on the best ways to position the institution with civic and business leadership, alumni, and regional elected representatives on issues that have a direct strategic impact on the core initiatives of the institution.
  
• Interact with senior leadership, industry, government and community officials and stakeholders in the representation and development of strategic program initiatives.
  
• Work with Senior leadership to facilitate the use of institutional data in college planning and decision-making by broadly communicating the results of assessment and evaluation activities so that the institution has a shared understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and set strategic appropriate priorities.
  
• Create, monitor and communicate key performance indicators and metrics.
  
• In collaboration with Institutional Data and Research Services, integrate data sources, analyses and reporting to develop and maintain a coherent system of institutional knowledge transparency.
  
• Direct the design and implementation of administrative and organizational structures and systems to support scaling, integration, and transparency.

Strategic Advisory Services:

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the President and liaison and strategic partner to the senior management team. Update the President on internal campus and external community matters, events and activities. Engage with the Board on behalf of the President as necessary.
  
• Cultivate the relationships and design the actions and plans necessary to move the President's initiatives forward, including overseeing the research of and evaluation of background material. Ensure that the President is informed about and briefed on relevant information prior to meetings and events and make recommendations as appropriate. Make recommendations on emerging issues, and alert the President to matters requiring immediate attention.
  
• Participate in, and in the president's absence direct key stakeholder meetings. Keep the President abreast of current opportunities, challenges, trends, and innovative approaches that could impact the institution, the effectiveness of the President, or the Institution's initiatives. When necessary, serve as an institutional representative concerning government relations. Direct the effective sequencing and follow through of presidential initiatives.
  
• Accurately represents the President's position in internal meetings and discussions to help drive understanding and move decision making forward, promotes the college's values in his/her working relations with other faculty, staff, and students of the college.
  
• Responsible for directing and managing the operations of the President's Administrative Office and Community Relations, including maintaining interface with the President's Cabinet, the Board of Trustees and the Trustee Liaison, as appropriate, to ensure that key issues are proactively addressed and in order to build upon and further advance RISD's positive interactions and proactively resolve key issues as a representative of the President's Office.
  
• Oversee and facilitate external and internal community relation activities for the President.
  
• Assist the President with complex correspondence that requires extreme confidentiality, considerable sensitivity, discretion, judgment or negotiation.

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience:

• High level of knowledge concerning trends and issues in higher education.
  
• Strong background in managing/leading significant institutional and external collaborations. Proven track record in change management, strategy and planning, and institutional effectiveness processes.
  
• Must have exceptional capacity to advance integration and organizational and operational effectiveness and efficiency.
  
• Knowledge of institutional research models and methodologies, as well as principles and practices involved in the research, collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting of statistical data.
  
• Understanding of compliance reporting requirements, awareness of emerging compliance issues and how these impact institutional planning and effectiveness.
  
• Track record of advancing social equity and inclusion goals across many institutional areas.
  
• Demonstrated sensitivity to, understanding of, and proven ability to work with people from a broad range of diverse interests and backgrounds, including but not limited to: socioeconomic, cultural, ability, gender, religious, generational, and racial/ethnic. Proven commitment to inclusive excellence.
  
• Advanced analytic skills with knowledge of outcome measures and assessments, research design methodologies, and proven ability to advance the alignment between data and assessment, and institutional outcomes.
  
• Ability to manage sensitive information with the highest degree of confidentiality; integrity, exemplary discernment and discretion; sensitivity and diplomacy to situations; well-developed interpersonal skills and high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to operate in a matrixed organization; ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, excellent management and team building skills, and top-notch organizational skills.
  
• Proven leadership skills and the ability to work with faculty and staff at all levels of the organization, as well as other internal and external constituents.
  
• Excellent writing, editing, reporting and presentation skills. Strong web/computer skills.
  
• Proven ability in presenting complex information in different formats to various audiences, including senior management, faculty, staff, trustees, and external constituents.
  
• Proven ability to keep a nimble, entrepreneurial, and forward-looking perspective to capture new opportunities and adjust to changing environments.
  
• The ideal candidate will identify strategic priorities and processes with a wide range of stakeholders that fosters trust, transparency, accountability, and assessment.
  
• Master's Degree.
  
• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressive leadership in higher education administration, including strategy, planning, cross functional solutions, strategic planning, and project management.

Union:

No

Work Schedule:

35 hours per week; 12 months per year

Employment Status:

Full-time; Exempt

Documents Needed to Apply:

Resume (Required)

Cover Letter (Required)

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please upload all required documents.

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

RISD recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experience has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.