Strategic Planning Director, NextGear Capital

Summary

The Strategic Planning Director, Next Gear Capital is a strategic partner and advisor to the President Financial Solutions and Next Gear Capital Senior Leadership team responsible for determining, articulating, and executing strategic initiatives to drive business impacts in the Next Gear organization. This role works cross functionally and in partnership with the executive support team to enable business operations.

As a member of the Next Gear Capital senior leadership team, the Strategic Planning Director directly supports daily and long-term activities and projects advancing the Next Gear Capital agenda to ensure that all are effectively moving according to plan objectives and established milestones and measurement criteria.

The ideal candidate will have the acumen to handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously mixing long‑term projects with the urgency of immediate demands on the operations. He or she must also have the demonstrated ability to deal with highly confidential information and act as a liaison between the President and other constituencies, both internal and external.

While the Strategic Planning Director will not have direct reports, he/she must exhibit the skills to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others, the ability to build strong and sustainable relationships and the ability to interact within all levels of the organization.

• Participate as a member of the Next Gear Capital leadership team and contribute to major plans and decisions that affect the entire organization.
• Work with President and senior leadership to build and leverage strategic, collaborative relationships with internal and external parties.
• Partner with the President and senior leadership team to set the direction for strategic initiatives; ensure organizational alignment and elimination of wasteful practices.
• Lead by example, setting a tone of transparency, integrity, and service; generate positive energy in the organization.
• Perpetuate a culture of personal responsibility and accountability.
• Represent and communicate on behalf of the President and Operations leadership team to various audiences with knowledge, professionalism, and tact.
• Act as sounding board for President.
• Serve as steward of highly confidential information and act as a trustworthy liaison on behalf of the President and senior leadership on key matters.
• Partner with President and senior leaderships in developing communications, setting agendas, creating initial drafts of communications to key strategic audiences, prioritizing plans to address issues impacting progress to achieve objectives.
• Stay connected with key leaders, alerting the VP to progress or challenges in carrying out initiatives.
• Manage company‑wide initiatives on behalf of the organization (strategic planning, organizational performance, talent management, other employee engagement opportunities).
• Design and implement tools that support the President and senior leadership team in monitoring organizational performance, trending critical metrics and making data‑driven decisions.
• Participate in capital budget and annual business planning process.

• Bachelor's degree and minimum 10 years' experience or Master's degree and 8 years' experience or PhD and 5+ years' experience or 14 years' relevant work experience without a degree.
• 5+ years demonstrated experience managing multiple and diverse projects and assignments in an executive environment.
• A strong track record of effectively managing people and programs.
• Ability to exercise good judgment, tact, professionalism and diplomacy.
• Demonstrated business understanding and working knowledge of best practices.
• Proficient in coaching others and offering sound insight and advice to enable leader effectiveness.
• Strategic thinker with passion for business and an ability to think creatively and analytically.
• Strong knowledge of auto industry required.
• Collaborative mindset with ability to utilize relevant data, statistics, and expert advisors to ensure relevance and effectiveness solutions.
• Entrepreneurial, self‑starter with strong point of view and ability to…