Strategic Ops & Transformation Lead

About the Role

The Strategic Operations and Transformation position supports the advancement of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research’s strategy by translating executive priorities into practical operating plans, cross-functional initiatives, governance routines, measurable outcomes, and durable improvements in enterprise performance. This individual contributor role will have delegated authority from the Chief Operating Officer to convene stakeholders, structure cross-functional work, request status on executive-sponsored priorities, prepare recommendations, track commitments, and escalate barriers across the enterprise on behalf of the Operations Group to strengthen enterprise execution across functional boundaries within the organization.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a complex, mission-driven environment where scientific, operational, contractual, customer, and enterprise priorities intersect. The individual must be able to bring structure to ambiguity and translate intended outcomes into sustained organizational execution through relationship building, emotional intelligence, and mutual benefit.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior strategic execution leader within the Operations Group, translating enterprise priorities into actionable plans, milestones, governance routines, and measurable outcomes.
• Support implementation of strategic operating priorities, with particular emphasis on portfolio management, program execution excellence, customer trust, and operating discipline.
• Diagnose organizational, governance, process, accountability, and stakeholder alignment barriers that delay execution of strategic priorities.
• Lead or coordinate selected executive-sponsored transformation initiatives by assembling cross-functional teams, often without direct line authority, to align stakeholders, clarify decisions, resolve issues, implement action plans, and maintain momentum.
• Translate executive direction or strategic objectives into implementation actions that establish clear ownership, decision rights, operating cadence, communications, risks, dependencies, and measures of success.
• Influence adoption of new practices and expectations across senior leaders and teams through credibility, facilitation, disciplined follow-through, and practical change leadership.
• Exercise sound judgment and perform effectively in ambiguous, evolving, or uncertain circumstances, including framing issues clearly, assessing risks and tradeoffs, and advancing practical recommendations when the path forward is not fully defined.
• Identify barriers to execution and recommend practical interventions to improve project implementation, accountability, stakeholder alignment, communication, governance, and benefits realization.
• Support the development of repeatable tools, templates, charters, dashboards, and lessons-learned mechanisms that enable consistent project initiation, completion, and measurement of success.

Basic Qualifications

• Possession of a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Information Systems, Healthcare Administration, or a related field from an accredited college/university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) or four (4) years relevant experience in lieu of degree. Foreign degrees must be evaluated for U.S. equivalency.
• In addition to the education requirement, a minimum of ten (10) years of progressive experience in strategic operations, enterprise transformation, business operations, program or portfolio management, management consulting, organizational effectiveness, and/or strategy execution.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience leading cross-functional initiatives, enterprise projects, transformation efforts, or complex operating improvements involving senior stakeholders in a mid-to-large organization.
• Demonstrated ability to lead without direct authority in a matrixed organization, including the ability to convene teams, facilitate decision-making, resolve issues, and drive projects to intended outcomes.
• Demonstrated success translating ambiguous strategic priorities into clear plans, milestones, decision points, communications, governance structures, and measurable outcomes.
• Demonstrated strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple concurrent initiatives in a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated high emotional intelligence, political sensitivity, and ability to build trust with stakeholders while maintaining objective follow-through and accountability.
• Demonstrated strong written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate clearly with executive leaders, functional leaders, technical experts, and administrative staff.
• Demonstrated experience developing and institutionalizing lessons-learned or continuous-improvement practices.
• Demonstrated experience leading the adoption and sustainability of new expectations, tools, behaviors, and ways of working.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and complete assignments with limited supervision.
• Demonstrated high degree of proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and Project, or a similar project management tool.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Possession of a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, Finance, Economics, Engineering, Information Systems, Healthcare Administration, or a related field from an accredited college/university according to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
• Experience working in or with a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), national laboratory, federal contractor, academic medical center, research institute, life sciences organization, or similarly complex mission-driven environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of federal sponsor expectations regarding cost, schedule, and performance discipline and operational accountability in federally funded environments.
• Demonstrated high degree of proficiency with Power BI tools and dashboards.
• Demonstrated experience building operating cadence mechanisms such as executive dashboards, action registers, decision logs, risk registers, initiative charters, and performance reviews.
• Demonstrated experience with complex portfolio management, program management, enterprise risk management, or change management using tools or methods such as Lean/Six Sigma, Agile/SAFe, operating model design, or similar approaches.
• Demonstrated experience effectively engaging C-suite executives, executive governance bodies, board-level committees, sponsor/customer engagements, or parent-company leadership forums.
• Professional certification such as Project Management Professional (PMP), Program Management Professional (PgMP), Prosci Change Management Certification, Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP), Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, SAFe Agilist, or equivalent certification.

Pay

140,400.00 - 206,510.00 USD