Suggested rewrite: Led a cross-functional initiative that improved [business outcome] by [measurable result], demonstrating experience relevant to this role...
Principal, Business Operations and Strategy
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- Remote from
- USA
- Salary
- USD 145k–180k / yr
- Department
- Product & Operations
- Employment
- Full Time
- Experience
- Director
- Published
- Apply before
- 4 Nov 2026
- Listing views
- 23
- Application actions
- 2
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The role, at a glance.
Instructure is seeking a principal-level business operations and strategy leader to connect enterprise strategy with measurable execution. The role owns annual planning, investment allocation, OKR and QBR governance, and a cross-functional strategic initiative portfolio. It also requires building scorecards, dashboards, decision-rights frameworks, and operating systems that improve organizational maturity. The successful candidate will serve as an executive advisor while mentoring and scaling the BizOps function within a high-growth SaaS environment.
Role DNA
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Pace & Pressure
5/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
5/5Salary analysis
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Core skills
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Sample interview questions
I begin by aligning executives on a clear strategic narrative, measurable company objectives, and decision criteria for investments. I then translate priorities into functional plans, resource scenarios, owners, milestones, and leading indicators, with an operating cadence that keeps assumptions and tradeoffs visible.
I would diagnose whether the issue is unclear outcomes, weak ownership, poor data quality, or an ineffective review cadence. I would simplify objectives, define accountable owners and decision rights, establish consistent metrics and pre-reads, and use reviews to resolve decisions and unblock work rather than merely report status.
I use a transparent prioritization framework that considers strategic alignment, expected impact, urgency, dependencies, investment, risk, and execution capacity. I make tradeoffs explicit to leadership and recommend pausing, sequencing, or stopping lower-value work so critical initiatives have sufficient ownership and resources.
The scorecard should combine outcome measures such as growth, retention, margin, and customer impact with leading indicators tied to each strategic priority. I would also include initiative health, milestone attainment, capacity allocation, key risks, and decision blockers, ensuring every metric has a defined owner and reliable source.
I build credibility through rigorous analysis, concise communication, and a clear understanding of each stakeholder's goals. I frame disagreements around enterprise outcomes and explicit tradeoffs, bring options with recommendations, and document decisions so teams can execute consistently after alignment is reached.
About this role.
At Instructure, we believe in the power of people to grow and succeed throughout their lives. Our goal is to amplify that power by creating intuitive products that simplify learning and personal development, facilitate meaningful relationships, and inspire people to go further in their education and careers.
We do this by giving smart, creative, passionate people opportunities to create awesome. And that’s where you come in:
At Instructure, our Strategy & Business Operations (BizOps) team partners directly with executive leadership to drive growth, efficiency, and execution across the enterprise. Our mission is to connect strategy to execution — ensuring everyone knows where we’re going, why we’re going there, and how far we’ve come. We accelerate Instructure’s most important strategic and operational priorities, from defining growth opportunities and optimizing performance to building the systems, governance, and data infrastructure that scale our business.
The Role
As Principal, Business Operations, you will lead high-impact initiatives that cut across functions, shaping how the company sets priorities, allocates resources, and measures progress. You’ll oversee strategic planning, execution governance (OKRs, QBRs, operating rhythm), and the enterprise initiative portfolio. You’ll also mentor and lead BizOps talent, ensuring the function matures from reactive problem-solving to predictive, insight-driven operations.
What You’ll Do
Lead Enterprise Strategy & Planning: Own the annual strategy and planning cycle — from long-range vision to yearly investment allocation.
Drive Strategic Execution: Govern the company’s OKR and business review process to ensure accountability and measurable progress toward strategy.
Oversee Strategic Initiative Portfolio: Manage cross-functional initiatives that advance Instructure’s strategic priorities; align resources and resolve execution bottlenecks.
Operationalize Visibility: Build and continuously evolve the enterprise “Strategy Scorecard” and shared dashboards to quantify progress and impact.
Build Organizational Maturity: Establish consistent systems, processes, and decision-rights frameworks to move the company from reactive to managed to strategic.
Coach & Influence: Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership; lead, mentor, and scale the BizOps team; drive cultural adoption of data-informed, strategy-driven execution.
What you will need to know/have:
5+ years of experience in management consulting, corporate strategy, or business operations at a high-growth SaaS company.
Proven success leading large-scale cross-functional programs with executive visibility.
Analytical and structured problem solver who can convert insight into action.
Highly skilled communicator able to influence at the executive level.
Track record of building operational systems and governance models at scale.
Comfortable balancing enterprise strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
Get in on all the awesome at Instructure!
We offer competitive, meaningful benefits in every country where we operate. While they vary by location, here’s a general idea of what you can expect:
Competitive compensation, plus all full-time employees participate in our ownership program – because everyone should have a stake in our success.
Flexible work culture. Our remote, hybrid and in-office collaboration spaces vary by role, team and location.
Generous time off, including local holidays and our annual “Dim the Lights” period in late December, when teams are encouraged to step back and recharge based on departmental needs.
Comprehensive wellness programs and mental health support
Learning and development resources, including professional development tools and tuition reimbursement, to support your growth
The technology and tools you need to do your best work
Motivosity employee recognition program
A culture rooted in inclusivity, support, and meaningful connection
We believe in hiring great people and treating them right. The more diverse we are, the better our ideas and outcomes.
Instructure is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We comply with applicable employment and anti-discrimination laws in every country where we operate.
All employees must pass a background check as part of the hiring process. To help protect our teams and systems, we’ve implemented identity verification measures. Candidates may be asked to verify their legal name, current physical location, and provide a valid contact number and residential address, in accordance with local data privacy laws.
Any attempt to misrepresent personal or professional information will result in disqualification.
This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.
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