Director, Advancement Transformation

About this role

The University of Southern California division of University Advancement seeks a highly collaborative, analytically minded, and execution-focused Director of Advancement Transformation to help design and deliver the next phase of USC Advancement’s transformation initiative. Working at the intersection of strategy, innovation, data, AI, technology, and organizational change, the Director will work across Advancement units—including Alumni Relations, Annual Giving, Development, Donor Relations, Prospect Development, Advancement Operations, and Communications—to identify high-value use cases, manage cross-functional initiatives, and build and maintain an integrated short- and long-term transformation roadmap.   The Director will serve as a critical connective layer between strategic vision and day-to-day execution, ensuring that transformation efforts remain grounded in Advancement priorities, user needs, and measurable outcomes. This role is ideal for a strong program manager and integrative thinker who thrives in complex environments and is motivated by institutional impact.

Key Responsibilities

Use Case Identification & Prioritization — 25% • Partner with Advancement leaders and frontline staff to identify, define, and document high-value transformation use cases across engagement, philanthropy, AI, technology, data, and operations.

• Translate business challenges and opportunities into clear use cases tied to fundraising outcomes, productivity gains, or improved alumni and donor experiences.

• Support prioritization of initiatives based on impact, feasibility, dependencies, and readiness.

• Maintain a living inventory of current and proposed use cases, including goals, stakeholders, success measures, and implementation requirements.

• Benchmark and research solutions and tools that can support the goals and roadmap.

• Manage and develop the Data AI Analyst, aligning their workplan to transformation priorities and ensuring their technical output connects to stakeholder needs and the transformation roadmap. Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact for the Analyst, supporting prioritization, removing blockers, and translating business needs into clear technical direction.

Roadmap Development & Management — 25% • Co-develop and maintain a 12–24 month transformation roadmap, aligning near-term pilots with long-term strategic objectives.

• Map dependencies across people, processes, data, and technology to support realistic sequencing and execution.

• Support scenario planning and phasing decisions based on capacity, funding, and organizational readiness.

• Regularly update roadmap materials for leadership review and decision-making.

• Partner with the AVP of Advancement Transformation and analytics partners to define success metrics for transformation initiatives.

• Track progress against defined outcomes, including productivity gains, pipeline improvements, engagement growth, or operational efficiencies.

• Contribute to dashboards, reports, and executive updates.

Project & Program Management — 25% • Serve as project manager for priority transformation initiatives, coordinating milestones, timelines, risks, and deliverables.

• Facilitate cross-functional working groups by preparing agendas, capturing decisions, tracking actions, and escalating issues as needed.

• Support development of project documentation, including charters, business requirements, success metrics, and post-implementation evaluations.

• Ensure initiatives remain aligned with agreed-upon outcomes and governance processes.

Stakeholder Engagement & Change Enablement — 25% • Act as a liaison between the transformation team and Advancement units to ensure two-way communication and shared understanding.

• Help surface frontline and leadership feedback to inform continuous improvement.

• Support change management efforts, including communications, training planning, and adoption tracking.

• Build trust and momentum by creating clarity, transparency, and consistency across initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Communication, or a related field.

• Five years of experience in a relevant change management and/or project management role.

• Experience supporting organizational change management in large, complex projects, including building and managing teams.

• Experience and knowledge of change management principles, methodologies, and tools (preferably from Prosci), with a solid understanding of how people go through change processes.

• Strong oral and written communication skills, and the ability to multitask, interact with multiple stakeholders, and navigate changing priorities.

• Ability to fluctuate effectively between learning, teaching, and focused execution.

Preferred Qualifications • Master’s degree.

• Six – ten years of experience in a relevant change management and/or project management role.

• Five years of experience in a large matrixed organization.

• Experience in advancement, fundraising operations, higher education, or mission-driven organizations.

• Relevant experience in technology, software, and/or software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.

• Experience with system implementations, especially involving SaaS solutions, or business transformation projects.

• Experience with Agile hybrid delivery and extending or modifying methodologies.

• Familiarity with data, analytics, CRM systems, or digital transformation initiatives.

• Experience supporting roadmap development, change initiatives, or enterprise programs.

• Familiarity with AI, analytics, or low-code platforms (e.g., Power BI, Power Automate, Copilot Studio, ChatGPT, or equivalent) sufficient to evaluate technical work, ask informed questions, and represent the Analyst’s output to non-technical stakeholders.

In addition, the successful candidate must also demonstrate, through ideas, words and actions, a strong commitment to  USC’s Unifying Values

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