About Improvement, Analytics, and Innovation Services
Improvement, Analytics, and Innovation Services is an in-house consulting group serving a wide variety of Stanford University organizations and departments (both administrative and academic). Our teams provide expertise in process improvement, service design, facilitation, business analytics, and project management. Our vision is to create, instill, and sustain a business improvement discipline throughout Stanford that delivers transformed and efficient processes and services through a structured, data supported approach. Our mission is to identify, prioritize, and launch projects that measurably improve our business processes and services by looking broadly across the institution and through collaboration with university partners.
The Senior Strategic Facilitator role
This position will lead projects for our growing strategic facilitation service line, including: strategic planning facilitation, cross-team and team-building retreat facilitation, providing coaching and advising to senior leadership teams to develop and implement institutional strategies, and facilitation of focus groups and workshops for gathering qualitative input from a variety of university stakeholders. The role will work with senior leadership across the university to design stakeholder engagements and facilitative approaches for projects that best meet desired organizational outcomes. You will develop, scope, and lead strategy initiatives for clients and their respective leadership teams, facilitating the process and stakeholder engagement throughout. This position will also be expected to contribute to and participate in projects that span this range of efforts across the design, innovation, and facilitation space.
Additional perks of joining our team:
- Exciting and diverse set of projects covering a wide range of topics, not limited to any industry (Stanford is a microcosm of many industries)
- Many opportunities to have a huge impact supporting many groups campus-wide at Stanford
- Be part of an organization that leverages cross-disciplinary domain expertise in process improvement, service design, business analytics, and project management when working on projects
Your responsibilities include:
- Lead multiple complex, high-visibility strategic facilitation projects by engaging senior leadership and a wide range of stakeholders who span many decentralized administrative and academic units.
- Design and facilitate engaging and effective strategic planning processes, cross-team retreats and workshops, focus groups, and co-design workshops
- Manage high-level stakeholder interactions, facilitating difficult conversations and offering coaching to improve leadership effectiveness in challenging dynamics
- Service as a trusted advisor and provide coaching to executives and leadership teams on organizational strategy and stakeholder engagement, helping them navigate organizational challenges and strategic decision-making
- Interpret insights and conclusions from qualitative/quantitative discovery research, synthesize findings, develop actionable recommendations, and communicate results to senior level client teams.
- Assist client teams in developing implementation and action plans based on strategies developed in projects.
- Engage prospective clients who have expressed interest in the team’s services, identifying needs, and tailoring approaches to tackle a broad range of business challenges
- Ensure team operations processes and reporting expectations are met, including: business development, portfolio management, time tracking, billing, and other operational tasks as part of our in-house consulting business.
- Stay abreast of new methodologies and frameworks, and continue to develop our team’s playbook for strategic planning and facilitation. Provide thought leadership and innovation within projects and practice areas.
- Coach and mentor junior team members.
Knowledge, skills, and abilities you bring:
- Expert facilitation skills: Skilled at building trust, managing a room, guiding the conversation, creating safe spaces for constructive conversation, resolving conflict and mediating in group settings, navigating cross-cultural dynamics and a variety of stakeholders, remaining neutral, actively listening and reflecting back, guiding the group toward alignment and resolution
- Executive coaching expertise: Strong experience providing executive-level coaching to senior leaders. Skilled at enhancing leadership performance, resolving conflicts, and improving team dynamics. Proven ability to counsel senior leadership on organizational strategy, leadership effectiveness, and team performance.
- Adaptability and mastery: Creatively design engaging meeting agendas and planning process. Comfort with a wide variety of strategic planning, design thinking, and/or other innovation frameworks; skilled in creatively adapting approaches and agendas in the moment to achieve client goals
- Comfort with complexity and ambiguity: Able to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, manage up and influence, see the big picture and recognize critical details, deal with ambiguity, managing changing dynamics with a growth mindset, apply unstructured, creative problem solving skills
- Excellent communication skills: Skilled at distilling complex information in a clear and simple manner, outstanding interpersonal communication, creating high quality and visually engaging presentations, presenting to senior-level leadership
- Excellent attention to detail and effective time management
- Organizational astuteness, enterprise-wide vision, and comfort advising at senior leadership level
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in business, design, psychology, behavioral science, management science, or other relevant field
- 5+ years of demonstrable and relevant facilitation experience, including working with executives, managers, analysts, and front-line teams
- 5+ years of consulting experience in a strategy consulting firm or equivalent corporate role
- At least 2 years experience leading complex projects
- Experience working with or in higher education industry a plus
Certifications and Licenses
- IAF CertifiedTM Professional Facilitator (CPF) designation and/or equivalent completion of a recognized facilitators program and/or accredited qualification in a pertinent stream (desired but not required)
Physical Requirements
- Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks, seated work and use light/ fine grasping.
- Occasionally use a telephone, stand, walk, twist, bend, stoop, squat, write by hand, sort, and file paperwork or parts.
- Lift, carry, push, and pull objects that weigh up to 10 pounds.
Working Conditions
- Local remote/hybrid considered — must be local within commuting distance to Stanford University main campus (Palo Alto, CA) and Stanford Redwood City Campus (Redwood City, CA) to accommodate client requests for onsite activity facilitation semi-regularly as well as team all-hands onsite events (monthly/quarterly)
- May have occasional extended or weekend work hours during peak business cycles
Work Standards
- Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
- Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
- Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University’s Administrative Guide.
Why Stanford is for you
Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research to cure illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique perks empower you with:
- Freedom to grow. We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, audit a course. Join a TedTalk, film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.
- A caring culture.
