Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Oracle Transformation

CLASSIFICATION:               Administrative

DEPARTMENT:                    University Life

FLSA STATUS:                      Exempt

SUPERVISION RECEIVED: This position reports to the COO, with close collaboration across senior leadership and strong partnership with the Vice President & Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Assistant Vice President of Human Resources for organizational change management and institutional implementation alignment.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: This position supervises project management staff, currently including a Project Manager, and may oversee additional project resources as needed.

POSITION SUMMARY: The Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Oracle Transformation provides strategic leadership and institutional oversight for major cross-functional initiatives connected to the University’s Oracle ecosystem, enterprise operational alignment, and related institutional implementation efforts, as prioritized by the COO and senior leadership.

This role partners closely with the COO, President’s Cabinet, and senior leadership to support the successful implementation of designated enterprise initiatives that require coordination across systems, departments, processes, and internal and external partners. The Executive Director is responsible for advancing implementation efforts, supporting organizational alignment, removing operational barriers, and ensuring accountability for institutional priorities tied to Oracle and designated cross-functional initiatives.

This position serves as the University’s strategic lead for key Oracle implementation vendors and enterprise consulting partners, ensuring strong relationships, accountability, responsiveness, and alignment with institutional goals.

This role is distinct from positions focused on enrollment growth strategy, academic program development, marketing strategy, student recruitment operations, or broad institution-wide ownership of all strategic initiatives. Instead, this position focuses specifically on enterprise operational execution and institutional coordination related to Oracle transformation and designated institutional priorities.

This is a strategic leadership role focused on institutional alignment, organizational coordination, vendor partnership management, and implementation oversight rather than day-to-day project administration or operational project coordination. The Executive Director provides leadership and direction to project management staff responsible for operational execution activities.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Oracle Transformation & Enterprise Coordination

• Serve as the institutional strategic lead for Oracle-related initiatives, including Oracle Student Management (OSM), Student Financial Planning (SFP), and related enterprise integrations
• Support implementation and operational alignment efforts connected to enterprise systems and designated institutional initiatives
• Partner with executive leadership, IT, and functional departments to ensure enterprise initiatives remain coordinated, aligned, and operationally executable
• Support cross-functional collaboration across Academic Affairs, President’s Office, Enrollment, Finance, HR, Student Affairs, Operations, and Information Technology on enterprise initiatives tied to Oracle and related institutional priorities
• Identify operational barriers, process gaps, or coordination challenges that may impact implementation success and work collaboratively with stakeholders to resolve them
• Encourage operational improvement and process alignment in support of institutional goals and enterprise system functionality

Executive Leadership & Institutional Partnership

• Serve as a strategic partner to the COO and President’s Cabinet on Oracle transformation efforts and designated enterprise initiatives
• Provide regular executive-level updates regarding implementation progress, organizational readiness, project risks, vendor performance, and operational concerns
• Translate complex operational and enterprise system issues into concise, actionable executive communication
• Escalate institutional risks and implementation concerns with clear recommendations and proposed solutions to the COO.
• Support executive decision-making by ensuring leadership has accurate and timely information related to implementation efforts and institutional priorities

External Vendor & Strategic Partner Management

• Serve as the University’s primary strategic relationship lead for Oracle implementation vendors, consultants, and designated enterprise partners
• Develop and maintain strong vendor relationships that foster responsiveness, accountability, collaboration, and high-quality service delivery
• Hold vendors accountable for deliverables, timelines, issue resolution, and implementation support expectations
• Ensure external partners remain aligned with institutional priorities, operational goals, and implementation expectations
• Advocate for institutional needs and proactively address implementation risks or operational concerns with vendors

Enterprise Initiative Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight for designated cross-functional initiatives, as prioritized by the COO and senior leadership, that depend on enterprise systems, operational alignment, and institutional coordination
• Ensure projects have clearly defined governance structures, ownership, accountability, and communication expectations
• Support project management staff in resolving escalated issues, removing operational barriers, and aligning stakeholders
• Monitor implementation progress at a strategic level to support successful execution, adoption, and sustainability
• Ensure initiatives remain appropriately aligned with institutional priorities and available operational capacity

Project Management Leadership

• Supervise and mentor project management staff which currently includes a Project Manager
• Assist in prioritizing project work and institutional implementation efforts in alignment with priorities established by the COO and senior leadership
• Ensure strong alignment between operational project execution and broader institutional priorities
• Provide strategic guidance, prioritization support, executive escalation assistance, and organizational direction to project teams
• Establish project governance standards, reporting expectations, and implementation communication practices
• Maintain a clear distinction between strategic leadership responsibilities and operational project management responsibilities, with project management staff responsible for day-to-day coordination and execution activities

Organizational Change Management

• Lead organizational change management efforts related to Oracle implementation and designated enterprise initiatives
• Support effective communication, stakeholder engagement, implementation readiness, training coordination, and institutional adoption strategies
• Assess organizational readiness and identify barriers to successful implementation
• Partner with HR and institutional leadership to align systems, workflows, roles, and operational processes impacted by enterprise initiatives
• Support departments and institutional leaders through periods of operational transition and process change

QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in business, organizational leadership, higher education administration, information systems, or related field preferred.  7–10+ years of experience leading complex enterprise initiatives, organizational coordination efforts, or large-scale systems implementations. Demonstrated experience providing strategic leadership across complex, cross-functional organizations. Experience supporting ERP implementations or enterprise operational initiatives (Oracle experience strongly preferred).  Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills. Demonstrated ability to influence organizational change and support institutional accountability.  Experience managing external vendor or consulting relationships. Strong leadership, facilitation, organizational, and problem-solving skills.  Ability to manage multiple high-priority initiatives simultaneously in a collaborative and fast-paced environment 

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Experience in higher education.  Experience working directly with executive leadership teams or governing bodies.  PMP, Prosci, or similar project/change management certification.  Experience with enterprise system integrations, operational alignment, and institutional change management.  Experience supporting cross-functional operational improvement initiatives

TO APPLY: Qualified candidates should attach their cover letter, resume, and contact information for three professional references to the online application by clicking “Apply Now”. Please attach documents as a PDF file.

Moravian University will not sponsor applicants for a U.S. work visa for this position.