University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

Penn offers a unique working environment within the city of Philadelphia. The University is situated on a beautiful urban campus, with easy access to a range of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. With its historical significance and landmarks, lively cultural offerings, and wide variety of atmospheres, Philadelphia is the perfect place to call home for work and play.

The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives

Job Profile Title

Executive Director A, Human Resources

Job Description Summary

The Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives reports to the Vice President of Human Resources (VPHR) and serves as a high-trust advisor, operational strategist, and integral member of the Human Resources Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The Executive Director ensures the VPHR’s attention remains focused on the most strategic priorities by anticipating needs, resolving issues, and enabling effective decision-making. Operating with significant autonomy, discretion, and emotional intelligence, the Executive Director will help to align organizational messaging and ensure effective communication of the organization’s services and programs to the community, while managing a wide variety operational, administrative, and communications matters.

Job Description

About the Role

The Executive Director will engage with internal and external community members, including faculty, staff, students, senior University leaders, and industry HR professionals to help drive HR priorities and goals across a complex, decentralized institution. Within HR, the Executive Director will serve as a thought partner to other HR leaders and employees and foster a culture of excellence in stakeholder engagement.

Key Outcomes

The Executive Director will be accountable for delivering the following outcomes:

Execution Excellence: Translate strategy into coordinated action by connecting workstreams, tracking progress, and ensuring follow-through on institutional goals.

Operational Triage: Identify and address emerging issues or misalignments across the HR division before they escalate, enabling the VPHR to stay focused on high-impact work.

Leadership Continuity: Serve as a trusted delegate for the VPHR, empowered to make decisions, resolve issues, and may represent the VPHR’s voice and intent in meetings and communications.

Stakeholder Engagement: Build trust-based relationships with diverse stakeholders through political acumen, high emotional intelligence, effective communication strategies, and consistent delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communications

Ensure consistency and accuracy in the approach and distribution of HR communications.

Prepare the VPHR for high-stakes engagements with concise briefings, decision points, and key messages, and coordinate internal and external communications from the office of the VPHR.

Supervise HR communications team to guide the development of an HR communications strategy, ensure a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to communications to support the Penn HR brand, and coordinate with other members of the HR leadership team to ensure consistent messaging to all constituents.

Develop/maintain a multi-year plan to ensure HR communications are aligned with the HR brand and provide the appropriate level of support to key HR initiatives and HR functional areas.

Manage the VPHR Stakeholder Engagement Plan and ensure proactive, authentic engagement.

Strategic Leadership

Serve as a strategic thought partner to the VPHR in shaping HR priorities and plans, and may represent the VPHR at meetings, making informed decisions aligned with the VPHR’s goals and values.

Act as an “honest broker,” providing objective analysis and multiple perspectives on complex issues.

Proactively identify critical issues for the VPHR’s review, while independently managing day-to-day challenges as they emerge with appropriate tact and diplomacy in highly sensitive and confidential matters. When urgent issues arise, contacts the appropriate stakeholders for background or guidance to inform HR’s response and works to adjust HR leaders’ schedules as needed to support the appropriate action

Support the development and implementation of a strategic plan for Penn HR.

Partner with HR functional areas and project teams/workstreams to develop and implement strategy, deliver tactical results, provide data and critical analysis, and develop and deliver executive summaries and briefings to the VPHR.

Model and encourage cross-team collaboration, fostering productive and collaborative relationships between key internal customers and Penn HR.

Work closely with other University leaders and staff supporting senior leadership to ensure coordination and alignment of the University’s strategic priorities.

Advise on reputational, relational, and political risks.

Workforce Strategy & Organizational Development

Stay abreast of relevant industry trends and participate in leading practices discussions with national peer groups. Identify opportunities to highlight Penn HR activities locally, regionally, and nationally.

Assist the VPHR in determining and managing top priorities to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their work, meeting regularly to establish the key priorities for the week, semester, and year to set the calendar of events.

May lead major cross-functional and cross-school strategic initiatives, as assigned by the VPHR.

Work with the VPHR and SLT on planning, policy development, and problem resolution; ensure implementation plans are effectively developed, communicated, and executed.

Work with SLT to ensure appropriate follow-up and tracking of business and the execution of a wide range of projects consistent with Penn HR’s priorities.

Stakeholder Relationship Management

Maintain strong relationships with senior leaders, faculty, staff, and external partners.

Serve as liaison for stakeholder concerns, resolving issues with diplomacy and pragmatism.

May represent the VPHR’s perspective in politically sensitive or high-stakes discussions.

Staff Oversight

Provide day-to-day direction and oversight to the VPHR Executive Assistant, project managers, and support staff.

Work with the VPHR Executive Assistant to develop and manage the content and logistics of key activities and initiatives. This includes agenda development, initiative and decision tracking, efficient/productive meeting logistics, and ensuring follow-up on action items and hand-offs or delegation as needed.

Provide coaching, performance feedback, and professional development opportunities.

Assess staffing needs and lead hiring processes.

Build office capacity through process improvement and a culture of high performance.

Key Partnerships

The Executive Director will work closely with:

VPHR: Ongoing coordination to manage priorities, commitments, and communications.

VPHR Office Staff: Day-to-day oversight and operational support.

SLT and HR functional unit leaders: Collaboration on priorities, issue resolution, and progress monitoring.

EVP Division Strategic Initiative Leaders: Coordination to ensure alignment with EVP goals.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Qualifications Required

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, or related field.

Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in operations, project management, or leadership roles.

Strong business acumen with analytical, organizational, and communication skills.

Knowledge of functional HR areas.

Strong interpersonal, communication, and conflict-resolution skills.

Proficiency in ERP systems (e.g., Workday) and data-informed decision-making.

Ability to manage sensitive and confidential information with discretion.

Proven ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and stakeholders.

Preferred

Master’s degree in a related field.

10+ years of professional experience, ideally in higher education or similarly complex organizations.

Experience leading transformation initiatives.

Department / School

Human Resources

Pay Range

$164,500.00 - $230,500.00 Annual Rate

Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job’s level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

Special Requirements
Background checks may be required after a conditional job offer is made. Consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.

University Benefits

Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/benefits-pay