Vice President for Institute Initiatives

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Job Summary

The California Institute of Technology seeks a Vice President for Institute Initiatives (VPII) to serve as a trusted senior advisor to the President-elect and to guide the development, coordination, and execution of the Institute's highest strategic priorities and cross-institutional initiatives. The position will report directly to the President-elect and will be a member of the Institute's senior leadership team. The VPII will play a key role in advancing Caltech's strategic direction and the effective execution of institutional priorities while ensuring alignment across Institute leadership, faculty, and the Board of Trustees. The VPII will provide executive leadership for the Office of the President-elect.

Essential Job Duties

Institutional Strategy:

• Advise the President-elect on priorities, opportunities, and risks across academic, research, and administrative domains. Provide strategic counsel and briefings to the President-elect on key institutional matters.
• Serve alongside other key constituents in advancing the Institute's strategic vision and long-range planning.
• Play an integral role in strengthening relationships with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Campus.
• Help translate strategic direction into actionable initiatives, implementation frameworks, and accountability structures.
• Monitor and drive progress on Institute priorities and goals, ensuring coordinated execution across divisions and administrative units, and facilitate cross-institutional communication and shared understanding of strategic priorities.

Leadership of Major Initiatives:

• Identify and advance opportunities for institutional innovation, partnership, and program development aligned with strategic priorities.
• Support the development, launch, and execution of major Institute initiatives and programs by assembling and guiding cross-functional teams, engaging stakeholders, establishing governance structures and performance measures, and ensuring initiatives are executed with clarity, accountability, and measurable impact.
• Guide complex, multi-stakeholder projects involving academic divisions, research centers, administrative units, JPL, and external partners.
• Help identify and address cross-divisional challenges and emerging institutional issues.
• Coordinate engagement with the Board related to institutional strategy and major initiatives.
• Promote internal relationships by working collaboratively with the offices of the provost and the vice provosts, the other vice presidents, JPL, and the academic divisions, with an ability to reach out and involve all members of the community.
• Actively participate in helping Caltech achieve excellence through cooperative partnerships and relationships wherever they need to occur.

Executive Advisory and Institutional Representation:

• Represent the President-elect's interests across internal and external engagements, advancing and stewarding Caltech's mission.
• Serve as a standing attendee on designated Board of Trustees committees.
• Develop analyses, reports, and presentations to support executive decision-making and institutional communication.

President Elect's Office Leadership and Organizational Development:

• Provide leadership of the President-elect's Office, ensuring coordination, operational effectiveness, and alignment with institutional priorities. Lead and mentor the President-elect's Office team, fostering a high-performing, collegial, collaborative, and responsive environment.
• Establish systems and processes that support effective decision-making and priority management across the President-elect's portfolio.
• Guide senior leadership searches on behalf of the President-elect, as needed, including search strategy, process design, committee management, and stakeholder engagement.
• Advise on organizational structure, leadership alignment, and succession planning across the Institute.
• Support the onboarding and integration of senior leaders to ensure alignment with institutional priorities and strategic direction.

Basic Qualifications

• Advanced degree (master's degree or higher).
• Senior-level leadership experience in a complex research university, scientific institution, or similarly mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated success leading institution-wide strategy and large-scale cross-organizational initiatives.
• Exceptional strategic judgment and ability to translate vision into execution.
• Proven ability to build alignment across diverse stakeholders, including faculty, administrators, and governing boards.
• Experience advising senior executives and managing high-level institutional priorities.
• Demonstrated commitment to integrity, discretion, and sound judgment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Substantial experience in strategic leadership, institutional planning, or executive administration.
• Demonstrated experience with large-scale research enterprises, interdisciplinary initiatives, and research environments with substantial external funding.
• Skilled consensus builder with exceptional diplomacy and judgment.
• Highly effective executor in complex, fast-moving environments.
• Collaborative leader committed to developing people and teams.

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter