Director of Academic Personnel Policies and Services (Academic HR Leader)

Indiana University

$95K — $110K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a related field; Master's preferred.
  • 5+ years of academic HR or related experience influencing internal stakeholders.
  • 2+ years of management experience in academic HR or related functions.
  • Strong HR generalist background with proven change management skills.
  • Ability to coach and deliver constructive feedback effectively.

Responsibilities

  • Provide senior leadership and expert guidance on academic HR policies.
  • Serve as a trusted advisor to academic leadership on faculty lifecycle processes.
  • Lead a professional team managing faculty personnel policies and systems.
  • Ensure compliance and audit readiness for faculty records and transactions.
  • Recommend and implement operational improvements to mitigate institutional risk.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical and dental insurance.
  • Generous contributions to health savings accounts.
  • Tuition subsidy for employees and family members.
  • Generous paid time off and holidays, including winter break.
  • Employee assistance program (EAP).
Full Job Description
No job description available

Job Summary

Department Specific Responsibilities
  • Reports to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs within the Provost's Office at Indiana University Indianapolis.
  • Provides senior-level leadership and expert guidance on academic personnel policies, faculty lifecycle processes, and faculty governance operations in support of the university's academic mission.
  • Serves as a trusted advisor to academic leadership, this position ensures consistent, equitable, and policy-aligned practices across faculty appointment, advancement, review, and transition processes.
  • Leads a professional team responsible for the interpretation, implementation, and continuous improvement of academic personnel policies and systems, manages high-risk and highly complex faculty matters, and serves as the principal liaison between the Provost's Office, IUHR, and academic units..
  • Provides strategic leadership for academic personnel policy implementation, ensuring alignment with university priorities, faculty governance actions, and applicable laws and regulations.
  • Serves as a senior academic HR advisor to school HRBPs, school leadership, campus academic leadership, and IUHR on complex faculty and academic staff matters, including appointments, reappointments, non-reappointments, promotion and tenure, leaves, phased retirement, and emeritus status.
  • Recommends policy clarifications, procedural enhancements, and operational improvements to mitigate institutional risk and improve consistency across academic units.
  • Oversees and provides final approval authority for academic personnel transactions, including:
  • Faculty and academic staff offers and contract approvals
  • Reappointments and non-reappointments
  • Promotion and tenure processes
  • Faculty leaves (medical, parental, incremental, sabbatical)
  • Phased retirement and emeritus/emerita requests
  • Academic eDocs and related PeopleSoft transactions
  • Ensures data accuracy, policy compliance, and audit readiness for faculty personnel records and systems.
  • Interprets and applies academic personnel policies, exercising independent professional judgment on high-impact cases in collaboration with the AVP for Faculty Affairs.
  • Monitors policy developments at the campus and university levels and supports the AVP for Faculty Affairs in policy analysis, revision, and implementation.
  • Leads and supervises professional academic HR staff, including 2 transaction services representatives.
  • Provides direction, coaching, and performance management to ensure high-quality service delivery and staff development.
  • Oversees workflow design, workload prioritization, and quality control for academic HR operations.
  • Serves as the primary liaison for faculty hiring and appointment systems (e.g., PeopleAdmin, PeopleSoft), ensuring proper use, training, and data governance.
  • Oversees faculty data management related to tenure timelines, third-year reviews, promotion reviews, post-tenure review scheduling, and personnel audits.
  • Administers background check adjudication, PI faculty verifications, and related compliance functions.
General Responsibilities
  • Develops, motivates and leads a highly effective academic HR team that delivers value to the organization with expert knowledge of academic processes related to recruitment, promotion and tenure, reappointments, employee relations, and other academic HR activities.
  • Partners directly with leadership to develop and implement academic HR strategies. Provides strategic academic HR oversight to specified client groups, acting as a trusted adviser to leadership.
  • Acts as a primary point of contact for senior leaders, providing expertise and guidance in the areas of recruitment, promotion and tenure, employee relations and other academic HR activities.
  • Coaches leaders on leadership behaviors and practices focusing on development and performance strategies to promote engagement and a culture of continuous growth and development.
  • Provides strategic academic HR consulting and problem-solving solutions on the most complex issues to leadership.
Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION

Required
  • Bachelor's degree in related field.
Preferred
  • Master's degree in related field
WORK EXPERIENCE

Required
  • 5 years progressively responsible academic HR or related experience influencing a wide variety of internal stakeholders.
  • 2 years o Management experience in academic HR or related functions.
LICENSES AND CERTIFICATES

Preferred
  • SHRM-SCP/SHPR Upon Date of Hire
SKILLS

Required
  • Ability to inspire and develop staff.
  • Ability to lead/manage others.
  • Builds and manages effective teams.
  • Effective leadership skills.
  • Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback.
  • Instills commitment to organizational goals.
  • Strong HR generalist background.
  • Proven ability to manage, lead, and drive change initiatives to deliver business results.
  • Proven background in strategic influence and negotiation and is skilled in communicating and influencing a wide variety of internal stakeholders resulting in mutually beneficial outcomes.
  • Strong business acumen to help lead and drive change.
Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Additional Information

Level of Decision-Making

The position exercises a high level of independent judgment in the interpretation and application of academic personnel policies, procedures, and guidelines. The Director is authorized to approve academic personnel actions, recommend and implement operational improvements, and determine appropriate courses of action in complex or non-routine situations, including those involving institutional, legal, or reputational risk. Decisions are made with limited routine oversight and frequently require balancing policy intent, institutional precedent, risk mitigation, and the needs of academic units, with escalation to senior leadership as appropriate for matters of significant impact or exception.

Scope and Impact:

With responsibility for complex academic personnel operations spanning approximately 3,000 full-time faculty across multiple academic units, this role exercises significant independent judgment in high-risk areas with institutional, legal, and reputational implications. The position directly influences faculty experiences, supports informed academic leadership decision-making, and sustains the integrity of academic personnel systems and processes

Work Location

Provost Office

Indiana University Indianapolis campus.

Advertised Salary

The salary range for the role is $95,000 - $110,000.00

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:
  • Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
  • Health savings account with generous IU contributions
  • Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
  • Basic group life insurance paid by IU
  • Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
  • Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
  • Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
  • Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
  • 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
  • Generous paid time off plans
  • Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
  • Employee assistance program (EAP)
Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IU Benefit Programs Brochure .

Job Classification

Career Level: Sr. Operational

FLSA: Exempt

Job Function: Human Resources

Job Family: Academic HR

Click here to learn more about Indiana University's Job Framework.

Posting Disclaimer

This posting is scheduled to close at 11:59 pm EST on the advertised Close Date. This posting may be closed at any time at the discretion of the University, but will remain open for a minimum of 5 business days. To guarantee full consideration, please submit your application within 5 business days of the Posted Date.

If you wish to include a cover letter, you may include it with your resume when uploading attachments.

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