Executive Summary
G. Joel Hager
Strategic Operations Leader · Regional Operations Director · Global Committee Chair
Who I Am
Strategic operations leader who builds systems, not just processes
I am a strategic operations professional with a proven corporate background spanning telecommunications, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare technology, financial services, and large-scale community operations. My career is defined by a consistent pattern: I identify what’s missing, design a solution, build it, and make it sustainable — whether that’s an enterprise service management platform, a production regional health dashboard, or a 13-applet automated community information network.
I currently serve as Regional Operations Director for the Appalachian Region of Paizo Organized Play, holding top authority across a 6-state footprint with promotion and demotion responsibility over a multi-tier volunteer structure and direct reporting accountability to both the Organized Play Foundation and Paizo Organized Play. Concurrently, I chair the Paizo Organized Play Onboarding Committee — a global body serving participants across 18 international regions worldwide — and provide independent operations consulting for a media company.
This work has been ongoing throughout my job search, running in parallel with my professional career for years and continuing through a medical event in May 2026 that has since been resolved. I am fully cleared to return to work and actively pursuing remote roles.
Leadership Approach
How I lead
My leadership philosophy centers on building high-performing, autonomous teams through data-driven decision making and systematic process design. I believe the best operational leaders make themselves less necessary over time — not by stepping back, but by building infrastructure that runs reliably without constant intervention.
Strategic Vision
Translate organizational goals into executable systems. Maintain flexibility to adapt while keeping long-term outcomes in focus.
Operational Excellence
Design processes that reduce inefficiencies, surface performance data, and ensure compliance — built in from the start, not bolted on after.
Team Development
Build capabilities within team members. Create succession pathways. Foster continuous improvement cultures that outlast any individual’s tenure.
Proactive Infrastructure
Don’t wait to be asked. The regional hub website, the health dashboard, the communications network — none of these were requested. They were needed.
Track Record
Transformational results across every environment
Regional Operations Leadership
183% growth in program participation, cancellation rate reduced from 30.41% to 20.92%, first post-pandemic Tier 1 convention status in the Appalachian Region. Sole planner for Paizo Organized Play at DragonCon. Municipal partnership with City of Marietta since 2022.
Operational Intelligence Platform
Authored full product specification and directed production deployment of regional health dashboard on React/JSX, Supabase, Node.js, Vercel, Cloudflare, and GitHub — at zero incremental budget. Designed for replication by other regional coordinators.
Global Committee Leadership
Chairs Paizo Organized Play Onboarding Committee serving 18 international regions worldwide. Co-authored the VO Handbook. Successfully consolidated VO Handbook Task Force into the committee, eliminating organizational redundancy at the national level.
Financial Technology Delivery
Supported complex product delivery at JPMorgan Chase — clean compliance outcomes throughout tenure, consistent delivery timelines through UAT feedback cycles and cross-functional stakeholder management.
Healthcare Technology Operations
Managed Teladoc Health platform documentation and international incident coordination within HIPAA/GDPR frameworks. Identified and escalated a video codec issue from the Denmark office — coordinated resolution preventing broader physician service disruption.
Enterprise Service Management
One of six Tier 2 support leads at Amtrak for 400+ mission-critical applications serving 20,000+ employees. Contributed to team-wide ServiceNow migration — owned the service catalog workstream including requirements gathering and IBM implementation discussions.
Differentiators
What sets me apart
My combination of Fortune 500 compliance discipline, hands-on technical platform delivery, and active multi-state operational leadership is genuinely unusual. Most operations leaders have one or two of these. I’ve been doing all three simultaneously — and demonstrating it with live, publicly accessible work product.
What I’m Looking For
Target role & requirements
Role Types
- Regional Operations Director
- Strategic Operations Manager
- Senior Operations Manager
- Program Director / Manager
- IT / Service Desk Manager
- Technical Program Manager
- Operations Excellence Manager
Work Arrangements
- Remote — available immediately
- Hybrid up to 60% in-office — mid–late June
- MARTA-accessible considered
- No overnight travel
- W2 only — no C2C / 1099
- Contract-to-hire acceptable
Compensation
- Target: $110K+ annualized
- W2 employment only
- Permanent or defined contract-to-hire
- No degree requirement
- Benefits: immediate preferred
Ready to discuss your strategic operations needs?
Let’s explore how this track record of operational excellence, team leadership, and systems-building can drive results for your organization.