Here at Ellucian, we are motivated by a mission - power education so institutions can empower student success. We are the global market leader in EdTech for higher education, serving more than 2,900 customers and reaching over 22 million students in 50 countries. We are dedicated to helping higher education unlock learning for all by providing solutions that support the entire student lifecycle and deliver insights needed now and into the future.

We embrace the power to lead, the courage to innovate, and the determination to grow. At our core, we believe in humanizing our approach, recognizing that our people are our greatest strength. With a shared vision of transformation, we endeavor to shape a brighter future for higher education.

The Principal Strategic Consultant is responsible for the development and delivery of enterprise and strategic consulting services at senior levels in colleges and universities. The Principal Strategic Consultant provides thought leadership to client executives, and Ellucian colleagues, with in-depth research and understanding of current higher education issues and imperatives, as well as expertise and insights on innovative solutions that address common institutional challenges. The consultant is able to present this knowledge with proficiency and credibility.

As a trusted advisor to institutional leaders, the Principal Strategic Consultant will regularly discuss institutional initiatives and imperatives with executives, to encourage alignment with institutional outcomes and organizational success. He/she will deliver presentations and thought papers on salient topics that address ways to leverage technology to support enrollment management, student learning and success, operational efficiencies, technology effectiveness, and data analytics to drive institutional effectiveness. Extensive collaboration and communication are expected with college and university executives such as Chancellor, President, Provost, Vice Presidents and Deans.

What you will do:

• The Principal Strategic Consultant improves customer performance through the facilitation of planning and consulting and effectively aligning solutions with each institution’s unique strategic direction. In this role, the Principal Strategic Consultant will conduct institutional, information technology, governance, and communications planning engagements, as well as other services as required for client success.
• The Principal Strategic Consultant is charged with the continual review and improvement of strategic services offered and the development of new services to meet client needs. Through collaboration with the Strategy and Planning team and Thought Leadership Community of Practice, he/she insures that service collateral, deliverables and approaches are consistent within the company as appropriate.
• The Principal Strategic Consultant supports services through participation in sales activities and contribution to internal projects. Regular and effective communication with management and peers on issues, risks, and opportunities is required.

What you will bring:

• Five years of higher education experience including success at the Director or VP level.
• Familiarity with current industry trends and issues in higher education, organizational development, strategic planning, data and technology governance, change management, leadership, technology, marketing, and communications.
• Understanding of higher education key performance indicators, the CAUDIT Higher Education Capability Model, used to align the vision and mission of an organization with operational initiatives.
• Solid understanding of the role of technology in supporting the college/university educational mission and enhancing institutional effectiveness and operational efficiencies.
• Understanding of governance, standards, best practices, and outsourcing options relevant for the higher education setting.
• Knowledge and end-user experience with such technologies as student information systems, web technologies, mobile applications, online learning, Saas and Cloud etc.
• Extensive experience in consulting, including discovery, solutions definition, strategy, executive presentations, facilitation, documentation, report writing, change management, and complex problem solving.
• Experience facilitating executive meetings, focus groups, discovery sessions, and surveys, both onsite and remotely, on a wide variety of subjects for a wide spectrum of audiences. Must be able to evaluate audience requirements and adjust facilitation accordingly.
• Proven ability to collaborate with complex clients to discover cultural, technical, and functional conditions, assess the unique needs of the institution, and design solution sets that consider people, process and technology.
• Positive, self-motivated, team-oriented individual with the ability and desire to innovate, create, and develop solutions that have the capability of transforming the effectiveness of higher education.
• Superior interpersonal, written and oral communications skills with an emphasis on relationship building, facilitating, public speaking and presentations.
• Demonstrated professionalism, both in appearance and conduct.
• Ability to work remotely and effectively lead virtual teams (both at the client level and within Ellucian)
• Willing to travel and consult on-site up to 50% of the month. Ability to coordinate and organize travel logistics, time and expense reporting, and other administrative tasks.