Manager, Strategic Initiatives

Background

Recognizing that the jobs of the future are rooted in a thriving innovation economy, Tulsa Innovation Labs, LLC (TIL) was founded with support from the George Kaiser Family Foundation to establish a city-wide strategy for inclusive, tech-led growth across five industry clusters- virtual health, energy, advanced aerial mobility, cybersecurity, and analytics.

For more information, visit: www.tulsainnovationlabs.com

... Summary

The Strategic Initiatives Manager is responsible for supporting the successful design, launch, and implementation of new strategic initiatives within the Tulsa Region aligned to TIL’s four cluster areas. The ideal candidate will help lead external engagement and internal project development with the intent of identifying community and industry needs to create new, innovative approaches to economic development programs. This includes analyzing and researching regional needs, garnering support, and connecting in the community with an eye toward partnership and program development, and implementing new ideas with excellence.

The Strategic Initiatives Manager reports directly to the Deputy Managing Director and works cross-functionally with other TIL leaders to manage and also facilitate a broad range of functions including planning, budgeting, partnership building, project management, cross-functional workflow, reporting, and other functions needed to orchestrate successful economic development initiatives. The position ensures communication and coordination throughout the organization, programs, and stakeholder groups.

To be successful in the position, the Strategic Initiatives Manager must have excellent organizational and people management skills, proactive and engaging approach to communication across diverse groups and individuals, as well as mastery of project management skills to plan and facilitate activities, anticipating and mitigating any potential issues, and creating solutions that optimize the impact of TIL.

The initial priority for this role is to support TIL’s implementation and execution of its programs related to the Tulsa Regional Advanced Mobility cluster—a multi-pronged initiative funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC) grant. The Strategic Initiatives Manager will help advise TIL partners spanning higher-education, city government, and workforce development institutions.

Responsibilities / Essential Job Function

The following functions represent the majority of the duties performed by the position. The description is not meant to be all-inclusive or prevent other duties from being assigned when necessary:

• Deploy deep project management skills across the four Build Back Better Regional Challenge component projects to ensure timely and quality execution of projects as defined by the grant
• Successfully engage with key Build Back Better Regional Challenge partners to collect data and create successful reports and data-dashboarding
• Strategic engagement and alignment with TIL leaders to develop, manage, and launch new initiatives, particularly in support of ongoing workforce development initiatives
• Plan and facilitate effective planning sessions; defining and driving alignment around operating plans, timelines, and resource allocation; as well as the development and evaluation of relevant tracking and reporting processes for cross-functional programs
• Works cross-functionally across TIL initiative leaders to identify efficiencies and opportunities for scale across programs and their partners
• Monitors strategic program performance, KPIs, and impact, and recommending and implementing adjustments where necessary
• Utilizes data to advise leadership, inform strategy, and drive continuous improvement throughout all workforce development programs
• Continuously research and engage with national best practices for industry-based workforce development, including identifying and engaging potential partners and operators for future programs
• Work closely with the Public Affairs team to identify opportunities for improvement across policy and identify and help lead the successful application for grants that drive workforce development goals forward
• Serve as a key point of contact and representative for TIL on state, regional, and local workforce development boards, commissions, committees, councils etc.
• Serves as communication and process liaison to ensure collaboration and effective outcomes across owned-initiatives
• Provides assistance and leads/supports projects and other duties as assigned by Managing Director
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Education & Experience:

• High School diploma or equivalent required.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Master’s degree preferred in public administration or policy, business, economics, non-profit administration, urban planning, or related fields.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience leading and managing operations, program, or administrative cross-functional teams in a highly collaborative and interactive environment.
• Prior professional Economic Development or Workforce Development required.
• Experience and/or strong competency related to program or project management.
• Experience with process design/development, root cause analysis, creative problem solving, and process improvement is a plus.
• Experience with MS Office Suite and Salesforce is preferred.

Competencies, Skills & Abilities

• A commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, with experience integrating these values into operational practices and team culture.
• Masterful communication and facilitation skills, approaching all interactions with positive intent, respect, and solutions-based approach.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, effectively assess & prioritize activities, proactively manage timelines, processes, and resources to achieve defined outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to translate a vision, ideas and high-level strategies into initiatives and action plans, creating clarity out of ambiguity, and aligning the team/activities to achieve goals.
• High energy influencer and problem solver, with ability to discern / anticipate needs, proactively mitigate issues, and adapt processes and procedures as necessary to improve for future success.
• Leads and communicates with a highly collaborative and transparent approach to engaging a team and getting results.
• Ability to define and utilize appropriate metrics to measure success and performance of the program as well as individual projects, processes, and procedures.
• Champion of change, with ability to perform and adapt/innovate in a fast-paced, dynamic business environment with ongoing refinements to processes and scope of work to achieve goals.
• Conducts all activities with integrity in alignment with the principles of the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

Physical Requirements

• Communicate: Frequent phone, in-person, and messaging communication via various platforms. Must be able to exchange information effectively and accurately in all elements of verbal and written communication.
• Operate: Constant operation of computer, phones, and other office productivity tools.
• Willingness and ability to travel between program and related stakeholder locations, and service provider/vendor offices as required.

Hours & Location:

• Position is based in Tulsa within TIL headquarters located at 3 North Cheyenne Ave.
• Typical work hours are Monday – Friday from 8:00 to 5:00, with flexibility required for various events, meetings, and relevant business needs.