Institutional Innovation Program Director

The University of Notre Dame is more than a workplace! We are a vibrant, mission-driven community where every employee is valued and supported. Rooted in a tradition of excellence and inspired by our Catholic character, Notre Dame is committed to fostering an environment of care that nurtures the whole person-mind, body, and spirit. Here, you will find a deep sense of belonging, a culture that prioritizes well-being, and the opportunity to grow your career while being a force for good in the world. Whether contributing to world-class research, shaping the student experience, or supporting the University's mission in other ways, you will be part of a dedicated team working to make a meaningful impact on campus and beyond. At Notre Dame, your work matters, and so do you!

Advancing the goals of the University and Institutional Research, Innovation, and Strategy (IRIS), the Institutional Innovation Program Director (IIPD) serves the campus community and Notre Dame''s mission by empowering cross-functional teams to assess complex problems, design practical solutions, and implement them at scale across the institution. To do this, the IIPD partners with the executive officers and University leaders on the institution''s most pressing enterprise-level risks and opportunities, as well as with Notre Dame''s colleges, schools, and divisions, to implement improvements in areas such as service delivery, process design, organizational structure, automation, and shared services.

These engagements range from targeted college, school, or divisional efforts to institutionally significant initiatives that cross the University and take shape through organizational evaluations, process improvement projects, and other special projects. Across all of these, the IIPD leads the work using Institutional Innovation''s Assess-Design-Implement model, drawing on facilitation, analysis, stakeholder engagement, and change-management skills to advance validated solutions with institutional impact.

Because engagements are often complex and solutions groundbreaking, success in this role depends as much on how the work is led as on what is delivered: maintaining strong relationships, building momentum and buy-in, and staying unconditionally constructive throughout are critical to the IIPD''s impact.

How the Work Gets Done

Institutional Innovation engagements are built around a core Assess-Design-Implement model, bookended by a scoping pre-phase that sets the work up for success and a transition into a sustainable solution. The Program Director is expected to lead and adapt this model to the scale and complexity of each engagement.

• Pre-Phase: Scoping - Clarify and align project focus

• Define the challenge or opportunity, and set goals, priorities, and expectations with campus partners

• Define success criteria and identify the teams and partners involved

• Establish a project timeline and develop a change-readiness approach

• Assess:

• Conduct qualitative interviews with staff, faculty, and partners

• Review relevant literature, materials, data, and analyses

• Conduct process mapping to understand workflows and dependencies

• Perform internal and external benchmarking

• Synthesize findings, share an assessment report, and validate or refine initial goals and expectations

• Design:

• Conduct facilitated design exercises (e.g., Design Sprints) to understand what success looks like for end users, service owners, and key stakeholders

• Create and iteratively refine solution options based on stakeholder feedback

• Determine the preferred future state and validate the solution

• Implement:

• Develop an implementation proposal, including phases and timelines

• Provide navigational support for logistics and address change management considerations, both logistical and behavioral

• Produce materials to support engagement communications with teams and campus partners

• Ensure a high standard of execution by keeping the validated business case and solution at the forefront

• Moving into Sustainment:

• Establish a timeline for progress check-ins (e.g., 6-month, 12-month)

• Provide ongoing support to maintain change, including documentation and solution health checks

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead complex, cross-functional engagements from scoping through sustainable implementation, often serving as the primary point of contact for senior campus partners and executive sponsors
• Design and facilitate stakeholder interviews, workshops, and design sessions that surface root causes, generate options, and build consensus around solutions
• Conduct rigorous analysis - including internal/external benchmarking, process mapping, and data synthesis - to inform recommendations
• Develop clear deliverables (assessment reports, business cases, implementation plans, and communications materials) tailored to diverse audiences
• Apply change management principles to build buy-in, mitigate resistance, and sustain adoption of new processes, structures, or systems
• Manage scope, timeline, and risk across concurrent engagements, escalating issues and trade-offs as needed
• Coach and mentor project team members and campus partners in problem-solving, facilitation, and process improvement methods
• Contribute to the continued development of Institutional Innovation''s methods, tools, and team capabilities

Working Relationships

The Program Director reports to the Executive Director of Institutional Innovation & Institutional Strategy and works alongside other Institutional Innovation Program Directors as part of a collaborative team. The role regularly partners with executive officers, deans, vice presidents, and staff and faculty leaders across Notre Dame''s colleges, schools, and divisions, and coordinates closely with the other teams within Institutional Research, Innovation, and Strategy - Institutional Research and Institutional Strategy - to ensure aligned, mission-driven support for the University.

Education:

• Bachelors Degree required plus 5-6 years of experience
• Masters Degree preferred

Leadership & Change Management:

• Strategic thinker who enjoys solving complex, ambiguous problems
• Proven ability to lead and influence teams, drive change, and guide colleagues across a variety of levels
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing excellence and driving improvement, with a genuine willingness to embrace and drive change

Project Management & Problem Solving:

• Strong project management, analytical, and decision-making skills, including comfort with analytical reports and numerical analysis
• Strong facilitation skills, with the ability to guide diverse groups toward shared solutions
• Ability to improve processes and steward University resources thoughtfully while elevating service quality
• Quick learner, able to absorb and apply new knowledge efficiently

Communication & Relationship Building:

• Outstanding oral and written communication skills, adaptable to audiences across all levels and areas of the organization
• Strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative, team-first approach, including sound judgment in complex situations and flexibility to contribute wherever needed

University & Constituent Focus:

• A constituent- and University-oriented focus
• Genuine interest in, and growing knowledge of, the University''s academic and administrative functions

Application Deadline to Apply: August 2, 2026

Hiring Pay Range: Commensurate with experience

Required Documents for Full Consideration: Resume and Cover Letter

The University will review applications on a rolling basis and reserves the right to begin the interview process prior to the posting close date. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

The University of Notre Dame seeks to attract, develop, and retain the highest quality faculty, staff and administration. The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or age in employment. Moreover, Notre Dame prohibits discrimination against veterans or disabled qualified individuals, and complies with 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-300.5(a). We strongly encourage applications from candidates attracted to a university with a Catholic identity.