Associate Director, Business Strategy

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the development of business strategies and long-range planning for strategic initiatives across departments, service lines, disease centers, and business units.
• Develop long-term strategic plans, including scenario analysis, initiative planning, implementation planning and stakeholder engagement.
• Guide the strategic planning process at various levels of the organization to ensure plans are data-driven and tied to organizational goals.
• Support leaders in crafting business plans and business/funding cases that promote sustainable growth, operational excellence and the advancement of research or clinical initiatives aligned with leadership priorities and highest impact science and care. As needed, build rigorous business cases for new programs, partnerships, capacity expansions, and technology investments.
• Transition ownership of strategic initiatives to implementation leads, maintaining collaboration, oversight, and progress/outcomes monitoring.
• Cook up input/leadership across clinical operations, disease centers, research, finance, and external partners. Establish initiative charters, KPIs, and dashboards; manage governance forums and decision checkpoints; ensure timely follow-up and accountability.
• Develop change strategies and communications plans; create clear presentations and materials tailored to executive and operational audiences.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to synthesize complex information, frame options, and recommend actionable strategies; Strong judgment and decision-making.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel-based modeling (volume forecasts, pro formas, sensitivity/scenario analyses); ability to interpret financial statements and operational data; familiarity with cost accounting.
• Ability to design and track performance improvement initiatives and KPIs.
• Extensive financial literacy in healthcare and/or research.
• Ability to plan and execute change strategies; navigate ambiguity, resistance, and competing priorities while sustaining progress and adoption.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; skill in presenting complex analyses clearly to executives; strong facilitation and stakeholder management; consensus-building across matrixed teams.
• Demonstrated success partnering with clinical, research, education, operational, and administrative stakeholders; ability to broker agreements and maintain productive relationships internally and externally.
• Strong time management, attention to detail, and follow-through; ability to manage confidential information with discretion and integrity.
• General understanding of healthcare regulatory and payer requirements (e.g., CMS policies) and their strategic/operational implications.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Healthcare, or related field required. Master’s degree (MHA, MBA, MPH, or related) preferred.
• At least 7 years of related work experience required in healthcare strategy or management consulting or investment banking, or administrative functions in an academic medical center or cancer center setting, required.
• Experience working with large datasets required.
• Experience working across multiple, complex initiatives required.
• Experience working in a cancer sector/ academic medicine preferred.
• Experience with research departments/institutions preferred.
• Experience working with clinical leaders as partners and advisers preferred.
• Experience in optimizing clinical operations and improving patient care outcomes preferred.