Senior Vice President, Strategy

The Strategy Portfolio

The purpose of the Strategy portfolio is to inform critical institutional decisions about Pew's programs, strengthen the design and implementation of Pew's work, and generate knowledge that advances Pew's program objectives. The Strategy function pursues this goal by:

• Enhancing the organization's efforts to generate ideas for new initiatives and larger bodies of work;
• Applying a wide range of planning approaches to help programs turn ideas into effective action;
• Using evaluation to improve program performance, inform decision-making, and support learning;
• Working with teams across the institution to help ensure Pew's research meets the highest standards for quality in the field;
• Ensuring that staff have access to information that meets their needs to design, implement, and manage high-performing strategies, initiatives, and campaigns; and
• Collaborating with colleagues in preparing a wide range of planning and other types of documents for consideration by Pew's Board of Directors.

What You'll Do

The Senior Vice President (SVP) is responsible for the overall direction and performance of the Strategy portfolio. Leveraging their expertise in strategic planning, evaluation, and research, the SVP will analyze and guide program development, identify creative alternative solutions to planning problems, apply a wide range of evaluation tools to inform both Board and senior management decisions, improve program performance and program learning, and provide research expertise and resources that advance program and institutional objectives. This position will work in partnership with Pew's senior program staff and leadership, Board, and CEO, managing complex projects, whether staffed by Strategy, inter-departmentally, or externally.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Strengthen the organization's efforts to generate and explore ideas for new initiatives and larger bodies of work; work closely with program leadership, senior directors, and project leadership to assess and strengthen these ideas; support the organization in pursuing the most promising ideas from conception to initial launch.
• Oversee planning engagements that support the Board, CEO, Executive Vice President (EVP)/Chief Program Officer (CPO), the Senior Vice Presidents (SVP) that oversee each programmatic portfolio, and program staff; strengthen the institution's capacity to plan, launch, and manage projects that achieve programmatic and institutional objectives.
• Guide the organization in identifying its highest value evaluation needs; convey these needs to all relevant parts of the organization and oversee evaluations that provide rigorous, timely, and relevant results, assessing and improving program effectiveness, informing institutional and programmatic decisions, and generating knowledge that strengthens Pew's work.
• Strengthen the use of knowledge from Pew's past and ongoing initiatives, and from the larger fields in which Pew works, to promote staff learning and skill building.
• Provide complementary and objective research expertise and resources that advance program objectives by helping to ensure that Pew's programs are informed by and produce credible, appropriate, and high-quality research.
• Provide research support and resources to staff and oversee Pew's library and archives to meet the organization's information needs.
• Collaborate with program colleagues and other parts of Pew as appropriate, in the preparation of a wide range of planning, evaluation, informational, and other types of documents for consideration by Pew's Board of Directors.
• Provide guidance to position the leaders of the portfolio's teams to realize objectives, build cohesive teams, and ensure professional development and mentoring of staff.
• Meet with Pew's Board of Directors to discuss program strategy.
• Foster a work environment that inspires excellence, values impact, encourages transparency, builds mutual trust and respect, embraces and values diversity, and is collaborative, caring and compassionate.
• Participate, as a member of Pew's leadership team, in efforts to strengthen Pew as a whole, including engagement on issues such as Pew's culture, strategic direction, and staff retention and engagement.

Who You'll Work With

• The Senior Vice President will report to the Executive Vice President (EVP) / Chief Program Officer (CPO).
• The Senior Vice President will lead the Strategy portfolio's planning, evaluation and learning, and research review and support teams; this position will directly manage the Senior Director, Evaluation, Research and Learning, Strategy and Senior Director, Planning, Strategy.
• The Senior Vice President will actively contribute to the Program Executive Team and work closely with the Senior Vice Presidents of the Environment, Government Performance, and Philadelphia/Scientific Advancement program portfolios.

• Demonstrable strategic acumen, with experience planning initiatives designed to drive advances with respect to major societal and/or global challenges.
• Experience assessing risks and opportunities when problem solving, and then making decisions, justifying recommendations, and responding to issues with clarity and diplomacy.
• Experience with and access to broad professional networks; experience building solid relationships both inside and outside Pew to influence positive outcomes.
• Strong understanding of how to lead professionals from a broad range of fields, with the ability to manage by influencing others and accurately reading nuances of meaning.
• High level of professional integrity and demonstrable ability to treat sensitive information about the business and affairs of Pew and those with whom it has relationships with discretion and confidence.
• A strong results orientation, with a track record of solving problems creatively and a strong commitment to producing measurable results.
• Savvy and politically astute and ability to navigate a complex institution and competing priorities. Seasoned judgment, makes decisions, justifies recommendations, and is responsive, clear, and firm with colleagues and partners.
• Exceptional analytic and problem-solving skills; ability to synthesize large amounts of information and focus quickly on the essence of an issue/problem, determine whether it is ripe for intervention, and identify the means to address it.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; good listener who can work productively and diplomatically with a wide array of people who frequently disagree with one another.
• Excellent time- and project-management skills; highly flexible, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities, adjust to changing circumstances, remain attentive to details, and identify resources for projects.
• Bachelor's degree or relevant experience required; graduate degree preferred.
• A minimum of 15 years of professional experience, with substantive knowledge in and responsibility for one or more of the organization's program areas: planning, evaluation, and research.
• Minimum of 10 years of previous direct supervisory experience, including experience managing large teams, managing performance management processes for direct reports, and providing career development advice and counsel; experience running multiple projects and programs concurrently preferred.

Compensation

• $325,000 - $350,000. The salary range represents a reasonable estimate of the annual salary based on Pew's commitment to provide equitable and market-competitive pay. The actual salary offered will take into consideration many factors including but not limited to job-related knowledge, skills and experience, internal pay equity, and business need.
• We offer a competitive salary and benefit program, including comprehensive, affordable health care through medical, dental, and vision coverage; financial security with life and disability insurance; opportunities to save using health savings and flexible spending accounts; retirement benefits to help prepare for the future; and work/life benefits to maintain a good balance.

Additional Details

• Location: This position can be based in either Washington, D.C. or Philadelphia. Pew has adopted a hybrid work model and candidates must live in or around Washington D.C. or Philadelphia, or be willing to relocate to be considered.
• Travel: Occasional domestic and international travel throughout the year for meetings.

Pew is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, or any other protected characteristics.