The Deputy Director, Strategy Planning and Management (DDSPM) will be responsible for leading the strategic, financial, and operational aspects of the FSP program area, bringing to bear senior business, investment, and management expertise on portfolio, initiative, and investment-level decision-making. The DDSPM will lead annual planning and reporting cycle processes, including framing and analysis on issues and investments central to strategy and execution, ongoing pipeline and portfolio management, business analysis, the identification and implementation of improvements to team policies and procedures, and the coordination of business strategies across the Foundation. The DDSPM will also manage a team of business and operations professionals and oversee the development and tracking of performance metrics for the FSP program.
Strategy and Investment Definition:
- Serve as a strategic partner and thought partner with Director and program staff to provide ongoing strategy development, process monitoring, and evaluation of function and core processes.
- Core team member and critical advisor in making data-driven investment decisions (provide complementary strategic and investment acumen to the scientific/technical expertise of the Program Officers).
- Lead or co-lead complex strategic projects that are often cross-functional in nature.
Strategy Execution and Operations
- Develop and execute portfolio and advisory support to program team on development and management of major grants; including identifying success metrics for strategy, portfolio, and individual grants and developing processes/tools to ensure alignment of activities with strategy success.
- Develop and manage budgets and forecasts. Partner with Finance on the development and maintenance of Division's grant, Direct Charitable Expenses (DCE) and contracts pipeline.
- Cultivate insights and story to communicate portfolio allocation and progress. Oversee overall Rhythm of the Business across the team. Accountable for strategy hierarchy and grantee partner engagement.
- Drive alignment of team’s work to strategy and implementation plans. Design analytical model to define strategy metrics, progress metrics and setting of targets and goals. Continuously refine data, metrics and models.
- Lead the process, set the direction and manage the process for strategic planning; including articulation of annual strategic priorities and ensuring that strategy review materials effectively portray and support the continuation or adjustment of the program strategy.
- Partner with support functions and program/functional team management to manage, recruit, develop and train staff who support the activities needed to plan, execute and achieve the strategic plan.
Trusted Advisor to Director and Team
- Act as “sounding board” and thought partner to Directors on broad set of topics impacting the overall management of the program (e.g., partner and program strategy, HR and team fulfillment, management issues, addressing broader Foundation requests, relationships with other Functions/Programs, etc.) and of the team (e.g. communications, collaboration, morale, etc.).
- Provide feedback and advisory support to program team on development and management of major grants.
- Monitor and manage succession planning, team performance and development.
- Support Director with workforce planning.
- Manage, recruit, development and train the business team made up of Program Manager and Program Coordinators who support the activates needed to plan, executive and achieve the strategic plan.
- Responsible to help promote culture and values and may design organization structure, facilitate retreats and cross-organization collaboration.
Cross-foundation Continuous Improvement
- Support continuous improvement and change management initiates including contribution to the design of processes, policies, and organization to improve efficiency and impact of team’s activities.
- Represent program team in foundation-wide continuous improvement efforts, supporting design, execution and change management associated with evolving how we work in the organization.
Reports to: Director, Financial Services of the Poor with dotted line relationship to the Director, Strategy Planning & Management for the Global Development Program.
Leadership & Culture
We believe that energized people, working well together, fueled by great leadership in an inclusive environment in which they thrive, will do phenomenal things.
Core Knowledge & Skills
We are looking for people who enjoy the challenge of working on complex problems and collaboratively creating solutions that have the potential for transformational change in the lives of people around the world. The DDSPM must be a visionary, passionate leader who has an outstanding track record of achievement and leadership in roles of increasing responsibility. S/he must be prepared to work across a diverse set of disciplines, bridging a wide range of expertise all the while being a solid team player, with a demonstrated ability to work with flexibility, efficiency, and diplomacy in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
We seek a senior leader with a minimum of 10+ years’ experience in international business strategy, business development and/or general management; likely experience will have been gained within top tier management/strategy consulting firms, general management or in-house strategy professionals. Experience in retail financial services, payments or mobile telephony a plus. S/he will have deep knowledge of strategy development and implementation and the design of performance management system(s) of goals, targets and monitoring processes.
Additional skills/experience should include:
- Interest in international development issues and a willingness to master the issues and priorities in the financial sector. Experience working in developing countries preferred.
- Demonstrated ability to lead people and teams to effectively achieve clear, yet complex goals and objectives.
- Strong experience in working effectively with senior decision makers as it pertains to strategy development and operations.
- Demonstrated ability in portfolio design and management to create optimal investment mix to drive to a set of outcomes.
- Experience developing and managing strong partnerships and relationships both inside and outside the organization, managing conflicts, and building consensus.
- Proven ability to lead and influence data-driven strategy planning and implementation.
- Effective collaborator, communicator and experienced working in a matrix environment. Ability to navigate operational issues including legal, IT, financial and human resources.
- Proven strength in systems thinking, structured problem solving and strategic business planning, with the ability to easily identify and communicate framework to analyze issues and synthesize disparate information.
- Adept at project management; including critical path thinking, detail orientation, setting priorities, and planning.
- Strong technical and financial knowledge; including the ability to efficiently communicate data and results to inform sound strategic and tactical decisions. Experience developing, evaluating, managing, and monitoring business plans, budgets and financial reports.
- Intellectual quickness, curiosity, discipline, resourcefulness and resilience.
- MBA or other advanced degree in Business, Finance, or equivalent required.
- Ability to travel up to 30% domestically and internationally.
- A sense of humor.
- Demonstrated passion for the Foundation’s values with a commitment to deliver results against the Foundation’s mission.