Chief of Staff to the Provost

Chief of Staff to the Provost

Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive.

In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties.

The Provost and Executive Vice President and Academic Affairs division supports Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.

The Provost and Executive Vice President serves as the university's chief academic officer, reporting directly to the President and providing leadership for the Academic Affairs division of Western Washington University. The Provost is responsible for the academic programs, student support functions, personnel, and associated resources that advance Western's teaching, research, and service missions.

The Chief of Staff to the Provost serves as a senior member of the Provost's leadership team and helps advance the strategic and operational priorities of the Division of Academic Affairs. Reporting directly to the Provost and Executive Vice President, the Chief of Staff works closely with vice provosts, deans, faculty leaders, and administrative partners to facilitate alignment across academic and administrative units, support implementation of key priorities and ensure alignment across the division.

The position oversees special projects and institutional initiatives on behalf of the Provost and supports executive planning and communications for Academic Affairs. It also provides leadership for institutional accreditation activities, including coordination of accreditation reporting, compliance, and reaffirmation efforts.

The successful candidate will bring strong organizational and communication skills, sound judgment, political acumen, change management expertise, and the ability to work effectively within a collaborative and shared governance environment.

Strategic Leadership and Project Coordination

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Provost on divisional priorities, emerging issues, and operational matters.
• Lead implementation of Academic Affairs initiatives and strategic projects by monitoring progress, identifying barriers, and working with stakeholders to advance execution.
• Facilitate communication, collaboration, and change management among colleges, departments, and administrative units.
• Conduct research, prepare briefing materials, and provide analysis to support executive decision-making.
• Represent the Provost in meetings and university committees as assigned.

Office of the Provost Operations

• Manage operational processes and workflows that support effective functioning of the Office of the Provost.
• Coordinate and facilitate leadership meetings, retreats, and divisional planning activities, including implementation of resulting actions.
• Track and monitor progress on divisional initiatives and action items. Provide updates and recommendations to support execution and accountability.
• Coordinate development and implementation of policies, procedures, and operational practices.
• Manage sensitive and confidential matters with discretion and professionalism.

Institutional…