Senior Director of Strategic Planning

Career Guide

A Senior Director of Strategic Planning leads long-term planning and sets priorities that help an organization grow. They turn market and customer insights into clear strategic choices, align leaders around a shared plan, and track progress to ensure goals are met.

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Key Responsibilities

Lead the annual strategic planning process and long-range planning cycle
Define enterprise priorities and translate them into measurable goals
Assess market trends, customer needs, and competitor moves
Build business cases for major investments and growth initiatives
Partner with Finance on forecasting and resource allocation
Align senior leaders and resolve tradeoffs across teams
Create executive-ready strategy materials and presentations
Track strategic performance and recommend course corrections
Guide cross-functional teams through strategy projects and milestones
Support leadership in mergers, acquisitions, and partnership evaluation

Top Skills for Success

Strategic Thinking

Executive Communication

Stakeholder Management

Influence Without Authority

Decision Framing

Business Case Development

Financial Modeling

Market Research

Competitive Analysis

Scenario Planning

Portfolio Prioritization

Performance Measurement

Career Progression

Can Lead To

Vice President of Strategy Head of Corporate Strategy Chief Strategy Officer General Manager Vice President of Business Operations

Transition Opportunities

Senior Director of Business Development Senior Director of Corporate Development

Senior Director of Transformation

Senior Director of Revenue Operations Senior Director of Product Strategy

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills

Clear Strategic NarrativesEnterprise Metrics DesignChange LeadershipCross-Functional Operating ModelsBoard-Level CommunicationProgram Governance

Development SuggestionsStrengthen your ability to drive alignment by practicing concise executive storytelling, building a repeatable planning cadence, and linking strategy to a small set of measurable outcomes. Seek opportunities to lead enterprise-wide initiatives with clear milestones and decision points.

Market Intelligence Report

Senior Director of Strategic Planning is part of the Business Operations category.Explore our market intelligence report to see how AI and hiring demand are shifting for these roles.

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Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range

Entry LevelNot typical for this title

Mid LevelUSD 175,000 to 230,000 base salary

Senior LevelUSD 230,000 to 320,000 base salary

Growth Trend

Steady demand in large organizations, especially in technology, healthcare, financial services, and consumer brands. Hiring increases during growth phases, reorganizations, and major transformations.

Companies Hiring

Major Employers

AmazonGoogleMicrosoftAppleMetaSalesforceJPMorgan ChaseGoldman SachsUnitedHealth GroupPfizerWalmartProcter and Gamble

Industry Sectors

TechnologyFinancial ServicesHealthcareConsumer Packaged GoodsRetailManufacturingTelecommunicationsEnergy

Recommended Next Steps

Build a one-page strategy framework that links goals, initiatives, owners, and metrics

Create a portfolio view that ranks initiatives by impact, cost, and feasibility

Lead a cross-functional strategy refresh focused on one growth theme

Partner with Finance to sharpen forecasting assumptions and investment cases

Collect examples of executive-ready presentations for your strategy portfolio

Strengthen your leadership profile by mentoring strategy managers and leading planning rituals