Senior Manager, Strategy & Office of the President

Position description

Guided by the remarkable legacy of its co-founder, Helen Keller, Helen Keller Intl partners with communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. By delivering the essential building blocks of good health, sound nutrition, and clear vision, we help millions of people create lasting change in their own lives. Working in 20 countries – across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States – and together with a global community of supporters, we ensure every person has the opportunity – as Helen did – to reach their potential. 

Helen Keller Intl is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategy & Office of the President, to lead the activity of the President’s Office. Reporting directly to the CEO, this new position oversees a suite of services for the organization grounded in Helen Keller’s strategic planning and organizational performance management. They will focus on strategic planning and execution, governance, and management of key operational activities. This role requires someone who can not only manage individual tasks but can also influence and drive major changes across a complex, global organization. They need to work well with senior leadership and across teams, helping lead cultural and operational shifts

Duties

Functional Relationships 

The position will report to the CEO. This person will work closely with members of the Board of Trustees and Executive Leadership Team (ELT). They will also collaborate with global and country teams, especially Managing Directors overseeing country office portfolios, People & Culture (HR), and the units under the Chief Financial and Operating Officer to ensure strategy, performance and risk management are fully integrated across Helen Keller. This position also holds key relationships with Trustees, supporting effective agenda setting, performance monitoring, and board management. 

Specific Responsibilities 

Strategic Planning and Execution 

• Lead the strategic planning process and oversee execution of an organizational Balanced Scorecard. 
• Ensure organizational priorities are clearly defined and monitored, overseeing the development and monitoring of organizational performance metrics and reporting frameworks to track progress and ensure accountability. 
• Facilitate quarterly reviews of strategic priorities with the ELT, Board of Trustees, and organizational leaders synthesizing insights and identifying course-corrections where needed. 
• Coach leaders to translate high-level strategic initiatives into actionable operational plans, roadmaps, and change initiatives, fostering alignment across global, regional, and country teams. 
• Lead change management efforts to support strategic shifts, ensuring staff engagement, understanding, and adoption. 
• Prepare clear, compelling communications and presentations to facilitate executive decision-making and governance discussions. 
• Oversee the integration of enterprise risk management processes into strategic planning, enabling risk-informed decision-making at leadership and governance levels. 
• Support and lead internal communications efforts of the organization through excellent storytelling about our organizational strategy and performance. 

Analytics and Decision Support 

• Leverage data, analytics, and performance tracking frameworks to drive evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement. 
• Synthesize complex data into clear, actionable narratives for senior leadership and Board reporting. 
• Lead cross-functional learning that enables Helen Keller to reflect on evidence, adapt plans in real time, and continuously improve results. Promote behaviors and tools that empower teams at all levels to use data, reflect on progress, and iterate strategy in alignment with organizational goals. 
• Support business units across the organization to use information in decision making through self-service strategies (e.g., dashboards, meeting guides, SharePoint sites) 
• Lead or support special projects and operational improvement initiatives tied to the strategic plan or ELT priorities. 

Financial Modeling, Annual Planning, Budgeting 

• Facilitate and continuously improve an integrated annual planning and budgeting process in partnership with the Chief Financial and Operating Officer and department leaders.
• Develop and oversee implementation of organizational planning guidance, templates, and timelines to support coherence and accountability across all units. 
• Provide training, coaching and support to colleagues to ensure uptake and use of annual plans and budgets linked to global strategic priorities. 
• In collaboration with the Chief Financial and Operating Officer, support building and evolving internal capabilities for financial modeling, scenario planning, and multi-year financial forecasting to strengthen strategic decision-making. 

Strategic Council and Decision Support 

• In partnership with the CEO, develop and maintain an agenda for executive level discussions. This includes preparation and facilitation of materials. 
• Partner with the Executive Leadership Team, internal audit and other leaders to ensure alignment of risk appetite and response strategies. 
• Oversee the support provided to the Board of Trustees including onboarding Board members and coordinating and managing Board and Committee meetings, agendas, and materials 
• Coordinate and manage executive leadership meetings and agendas in collaboration with other members of the President’s Offices to ensure meetings are purposeful, well-structured, and outcome-driven engagement, timely decision-making, and clear documentation of next steps and ownership. 
• Oversee Office of the President’s project management support and coordination for cross-functional strategic initiatives. 
• Facilitate regular risk reviews with the Executive Leadership Team and other leadership groups, supporting a strong risk culture and enabling timely mitigation actions.

Organizational Leadership and Representation

• Build strong cross-functional relationships, demonstrating patience, responsiveness, and a stakeholder-centric approach. 
• Execute regular quality checks to ensure continuous improvement in efficiency and effectiveness of the Office of the President. 
• Instill an organizational focus on strong project management skills, starting with the President’s Office. 
• Promote innovation, professional growth, and alignment with Helen Keller’s values, mission and strategic vision among colleagues 
• Exercise sound judgment and decision-making skills, balancing strategic vision with operational realities.
• Create and manage budgets with fiscal discipline. 
• Network with other actors in the international development space to bring business model innovations, effective organizational performance management practices, and strong strategic planning to Helen Keller. 

Other Duties 

This job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities for the position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. All positions are required to perform any additional tasks assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications

For our team to be a great fit for you, the following qualifications should resonate with you: 

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Policy, International Development, Organizational Development or a related field preferred.
• Professional certifications related to enterprise risk management (e.g., CRM, CRMP, CERA) or strategy (e.g., Balanced Scorecard Professional) are desirable. 
• At least 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic planning, organizational performance management, risk management, and/or business transformation in nonprofit or international development settings. Management consulting experience a plus. 
• Demonstrated experience leading organizational strategic planning processes, cross-functional initiatives, risk management, and change management efforts at scale. 
• Successful track record in guiding executive level decision making and presentation of results to a Board of Trustees 
• Strong ability to synthesize complex data into clear insights; experience with dashboards and evidence-based planning to shape strategy and drive organizational learning. 
• Familiarity with budgeting, scenario planning, and financial modeling in collaboration with finance teams. 
• Experience supporting executive leadership and boards, managing cross-functional initiatives, and coordinating high-level meetings and communications. 
• Proven ability to influence across a matrixed, multicultural organization without direct authority. 
• Experience facilitating cross-functional annual planning and budgeting processes. Ability to design user-centered tools (guidance, templates) to support planning, budgeting, and accountability. 
• Strong coaching and training skills to support plan adoption across departments and countries. 
• Expertise in strategy frameworks and change management methodologies. 
• Demonstrated ability to design, manage, and continuously improve data-driven systems for strategic planning, performance measurement, and decision support. 
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to interpret quantitative and qualitative data to shape strategy and drive organizational learning. 
• Exceptional communication skills, including the ability to translate complex information into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences. 
• Demonstrated success building high-performing teams and fostering professional growth.
• Highly proficient with MS Office Suite (especially PowerPoint and Excel); experience with dashboard or data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) a plus. 
• Excellent written and spoken English required; proficiency in French is highly desirable. 
• Ability and willingness to: ο flex working hours to accommodate multiple time zones, as needed. ο Travel to US- based offices occasionally

Application instructions

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