Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives

Job Summary

The Office of Strategic Initiatives at CU Boulder invites applications for an Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives! This role provides project management, organizational effectiveness, and continuous improvement support for complex, cross-functional initiatives. Situated within the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) in the Office of the Chancellor, this role supports the successful execution of university-wide priorities by advancing project delivery, data-informed decision-making, and inclusive organizational change practices.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, the associate director partners closely with university leaders, initiative sponsors, and campus constituents to design, implement, and sustain campus initiatives. The position plays a critical role in facilitating the completion and delivery function, ensuring projects are well-scoped, well-managed, and aligned with institutional goals. The position will also be expected to help embed a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence across the university.

Who We Are

The Office of Strategic Initiatives serves as a central resource for the execution of high-priority, Chancellor-sponsored university-wide initiatives. OSI supports campus leadership through strategic analysis, project and portfolio management, resource coordination, and intentional organizational change. The office focuses on building long-term institutional capacity and strengthening how the university plans, implements, and sustains strategic work.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

Project Management

• Support the implementation of strategic projects as prioritized by executive leadership and the senior director of strategic initiatives.
• Develop and maintain project plans, schedules, milestones, dependencies, and results using approved project management and tracking software.
• Coordinate cross-functional project teams to ensure project objectives and timelines are met.
• Produce regular project status reports that clearly communicate milestones, risks, issues, dependencies, and recommendations for action.
• Proactively identify risks and issues, develop mitigation strategies, and raise concerns as appropriate.
• Ensure projects follow established lifecycle standards, governance expectations, and organizational change practices.

Change Management

• Support the design and execution of organizational change strategies.
• Facilitate inclusive, transparent communication with project sponsors and campus constituencies.
• Convene and facilitate meetings, working sessions, and discussions that promote project progress.
• Assemble lessons learned and feedback related to change effectiveness and engagement, contributing to continuous improvement and practices.

Resource Coordination

• Support portfolio-level planning, coordination, and prioritization across multiple concurrent strategic initiatives by tracking scope, timelines, capacity demands, dependencies, and risk across the OSI portfolio.
• Prepare executive briefings, presentations, and synthesize materials that translate complex initiative information into clear, actionable insights.
• Coordinate cross-unit operational inputs (financial, communications, human resources) necessary for successful initiative delivery, ensuring alignment among project teams throughout the project lifecycle.
• Coordinate with external vendors, consultants, and system partners to support initiative delivery as needed.

Continuous Improvement & Additional Project Support

• Contribute to departmental and institutional efforts to strengthen project management and continuous improvement practices.