Faculty Affairs Director - College of Information & Computer Sciences

Title: Faculty Affairs Director - College of Information & Computer Sciences

Executive Area: Academic Affairs

College/School/MBU: College of Information & Computer Sciences

Department: Computer Science

Work Location: Amherst

Schedule: Full Time

Work Arrangement: Hybrid

The Director of Faculty Affairs serves as the senior-most faculty affairs position for the Manning College of Information & Computer Sciences (CICS), overseeing faculty, researcher, and graduate student employee academic personnel matters. Reporting to and serving as a strategic advisor to the Dean, Associate Deans, and Chair, the position manages complex and sensitive cases, leads collaboration with Human Resources Centers of Excellence and Academic HR (AHR) in the Provost's Office, and acts as the subject matter expert for collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and policy interpretation.

• Serves as the primary point of contact within the college for all faculty lifecycle matters, such as appointments, promotions, tenure, performance reviews, and leaves. Processes and tracks each action and ensures timely completion of all personnel actions.
• Directs faculty searches, including guiding search committees and administrative support staff, creating job descriptions, dispositioning applicants, preparing offer letters, and managing onboarding. Prepares all personnel paperwork for part-time lecturers including search waivers and offer letters. Prepares paperwork for faculty teaching during winter or summer sessions.
• Provides confidential consultation to the Provost's Office and relevant bargaining teams to support decision-making, effective contract implementation, and negotiation strategy related to collective bargaining and labor relations.
• Prepares detailed analyses, participates in grievance review and resolution, and collaborates with Labor Relations on contract administration and workforce actions.
• Serves as the primary point of contact within the college for all researcher (Postdoc, Research Fellow, Senior Research Fellow) and graduate student employee (Research Assistants, Teaching Assistants, etc.) academic personnel matters. Manages searches and direct hires, processing all related paperwork. Collaborates with Academic HR (AHR), the Graduate School, and CICS graduate programs staff on policy interpretation and implementation.
• Partners with AHR to interpret policies and resolve complex employee relations or performance issues.
• Collaborates with HR COEs to ensure smooth facilitation of payroll and benefits administration, accommodation requests, and absence management for faculty, researchers, and graduate student employees.
• Prepares MOUs for faculty administrative appointments such as Associate Deans and post-retirement appointments. Tracks appointments to ensure renewals or searches are done on time. Ensures stipends or other related benefits such as course releases are processed and tracked.
• Maintains detailed, accurate faculty salary records to assist the Dean and Chair in evaluating retention or equity requests from faculty. Prepares related MOUs.
• Ensures compliance and consistency in all academic personnel actions and documentation.
• Provides training and guidance to staff who process personnel paperwork related to faculty, researchers, and graduate students.
• Supports change management efforts related to new faculty and researcher policies, collective bargaining agreements, and system upgrades.
• Collects and reports faculty and researcher data for accreditation, compliance, and institutional planning.
• Represents the college in university-wide AHR and HR partner initiatives.

Performs other duties as assigned to meet college and/or university needs.

• Bachelor's degree and seven or more years of progressively responsible HR or faculty affairs experience.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex employee relations or policy matters.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively, and create and maintain harmonious relationships with a diverse population of staff, faculty, & students.
• Independent initiative. Must have the ability to stay on task and work productively with a minimum amount of supervision or guidance.
• The ability to adapt and work effectively as the College grows.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with the ability to complete assignments in a timely manner, balancing the demands of concurrent and potentially competing projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write concisely, express thoughts clearly, and develop ideas in a logical sequence.
• Ability to access, handle, and maintain confidentiality of sensitive information, including management positions related to labor relations and collective bargaining matters.
• Ability to read, understand, apply, and explain rules, regulations, and policies/procedures related to duties. Ability to understand and follow complex oral and written instructions and create effective and…