Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA

Job Summary

As a member of the Division of Continuing Education (DCE) leadership team, the Senior Associate Dean will serve as a key advisor on all faculty related matters. The incumbent will spearhead efforts to recruit, retain and enhance the teaching experiences of Harvard-affiliated and visiting faculty across the Extension School, Summer School and Professional Development programs, ensuring that there is integration and consistency across the Division and its priorities.

The Senior Associate Dean will work with the relevant Deans in the Harvard Summer School and Harvard Extension School to bring together multiple faculty recruitment and support operations under the DCE umbrella, bringing strategic oversight, vision and next level thinking in order to engage more Harvard ladder and non-ladder faculty in teaching across DCE. These units have traditionally operated independently, in many cases with separate policies and practices. The goal is not only to increase efficiency but to build a new organization focused on faculty engagement and success. In addition, this person will work with DCE Deans to build a holistic faculty engagement strategy including but not limited to engaging faculty across the University by attending faculty meetings, events and actively seeking other opportunities to meet faculty and share the benefits of teaching across DCE's programs and divisions. The Senior Associate Dean will also work to resolve individual faculty issues and provide management oversight for related issues.

The Harvard Extension Dean for Academic Programs, Dean of the Summer School and Director of Professional Development Programs maintain oversight of their respective academic programs, but the Senior Associate Dean will partner with them to ensure quality courses and programs. The position is also centrally involved in academic decision-making that crosses programs and units, and thus requires close collaboration with many DCE stakeholders.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

In addition to the major areas of oversight mentioned above, the Senior Associate Dean will be responsible for:

• Building a master database (with robust reporting capability) of faculty assignments, areas of specialization, and DCE history
• Creating streamlined and consistent training and evaluation process
• Leading the development of academic policy and procedures across DCE, as it relates to faculty and teaching including decisions about new business processes. Serving on the Extension School Administrative Board, and Summer School Administrative Board.
• Creating outreach strategies to engage the interest of faculty at various levels in teaching at DCE
• Working with teaching and learning team on providing support to online instructors
• Overseeing the contracting and salary assignment process for all faculty and instructional staff.
• Ensuring the accurate publication of all course content on the DCE website (for example, course descriptions and prerequisites, formats, tuitions, limits, faculty affiliations, and biographies).
• Developing and managing communications strategies with faculty and instructional staff, including regular email updates, meetings, and orientations including the annual review and updating of the Faculty Handbook.
• Serving as the Title IX officer for faculty and teaching support staff
• Producing a compelling faculty and TA website.
• Monitoring course websites and syllabi
• Engaging with faculty and other Harvard and DCE colleagues to plan the collection and evaluation of pedagogical, operational, and business data and respond effectively to faculty feedback, student outcomes, and business performance
• Overseeing course evaluations and reporting
• Overseeing hiring of support teaching staff
• Hiring, training and managing existing and new department staff
• Assisting the Dean in establishing key focus areas and identifying metrics for success. Revisits regularly and evaluates progress.
• Researching, benchmarking and analyzing data, making recommendations where appropriate.

Basic Qualifications

• Doctoral degree and ten years of progressive academic affairs experience; previous management experience in an academic affairs setting.
• Previous experience with teaching college level courses, curricular development, and new pedagogies
• Thorough understanding of adult and nontraditional student market to include continuing education, high school/summer and professional development.
• Experience with a broad range of student audiences from high school students to professional adults
• Experience with budgets
• Experience with various learning platforms including online education

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• Strong familiarity with Harvard academic programs, teaching protocols and processes
• Success in collaborating across a complex organization's constituencies
• Excellent judgment, discretion, communication and writing skills

Additional Information

In order to be considered for this role, a resume and cover letter must be submitted with application.

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) is the operating unit of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences designed to support lifelong learners. With four key business units including the Harvard Summer School, Professional Development Programs, Harvard Extension School and Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement, DCE is poised to serve part-time, visiting and working adult students, and to extend the resources of Harvard to these nontraditional populations. DCE has a complex, multi-faceted infrastructure, and a strategic goal to consolidate systems and processes to serve diverse students across a wide range of programs with an agile, quality and market-driven approach.

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) comprises several entities serving about 30,000 students annually. The Harvard Extension School, the Harvard Summer School, the Harvard Professional Development Programs and the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement allow Harvard to serve the learning needs of students across their life. For more than a century, Harvard Extension School has made Harvard faculty and teaching accessible to a diverse community of local, national, and international students. Harvard Extension School enrolls approximately 16,000 students per year in approximately 46 graduate and undergraduate liberal arts and professional fields. More than 1,500 open enrollment courses are offered year-round with over 600 available online are offered at affordable prices to our communities across the world. Harvard Summer School offers approximately 450 courses on the Harvard Campus to 10,000 secondary school, college and adult learners and more than 30 international study abroad programs for up to 600 students each summer. The Division also includes the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement with approximately 550 active members and Harvard Professional Development Programs offering 80 short noncredit courses to almost 4,000 learners annually.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences will not provide visa sponsorship for this position.

All formal offers will be made by FAS Human Resources.

Harvard offers an outstanding benefits package including:

• Time Off: 3 - 4 weeks paid vacation, paid holiday break, 12 paid sick days, 11.5 paid holidays, and 3 paid personal days per year.
• Medical/Dental/Vision: We offer a variety of excellent medical plans, dental & vision plans, all coverage begins as of your start date.
• Retirement: University-funded retirement plan with full vesting after 3 years of service.
• Tuition Assistance Program: Competitive tuition assistance program, $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and discounted options through participating Harvard grad schools.
• Transportation: Harvard offers a 50% discounted MBTA pass as well as additional options to assist employees in their daily commute.
• Wellness options: Harvard offers programs and classes at little or no cost, including stress management, massages, nutrition, meditation and complimentary health services.
• Harvard access to athletic facilities, libraries, campus events and many discounts throughout metro Boston.