Director of Student Academic Affairs and Associate Dean

The College of Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis is looking for a versatile and experienced leader to direct and oversee the development, implementation, and management of Student Academic Affairs functions within the College Office. This position is one of the senior leadership roles in the College Office reporting directly to the Vice Dean of Undergraduate Affairs.

The largest undergraduate program at WashU, the College of Arts & Sciences contains approximately 4,600 degree seeking undergraduate students and more than 600 non-A&S second majors and minors; additionally, it engages with pre-college, prospective, and visiting students as well as alumni. Student Academic Affairs (SAA) comprises five central functional areas: four-year advising and the first-year experience; student progress and academic success;

academic policies and administration; post-graduate and pre-professional planning; and pre-health advising and programs.

The Director of Student Academic Affairs and Associate Dean will translate and implement strategic liberal arts and sciences priorities within Student Academic Affairs, including Literacies for Life and Career a signature initiative of the A&S strategic plan, serve as a key leader in the College’s efforts to support students from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, this position will serve as the principal liaison and strategic partner for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and develop, in conjunction with the Vice Dean, the undergraduate admissions strategy for Arts & Sciences.

Twenty-six FTE staff members report through this position with five reporting directly to the Director of Student Academic Affairs. In addition to collaborating closely with the office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences and academic units of the school, the Director of Student Academic Affairs will engage in communication and coordination with campus partners across the university, for example the three other undergraduate divisions, the Learning Center, Student Financial Services, and departments within the Division of Student Affairs.

Lead the development and oversight of Student Academic Affairs activities and personnel.

• Direct the development, planning, execution, and oversight of programs and events in all five functional areas within SAA (including but not limited to: four-year and post-graduate advising, academic success, and academic and curricular policy).
• Lead, mentor, and coach the senior assistant deans of the five functional areas in their development as supervisors. Identify ongoing opportunities to develop specific management and leadership skills.
• Facilitate collaboration amongst the senior assistant deans in cross-functional projects and programs. Oversee, coordinate, support, and provide direction to the senior assistant deans in all collaborative and collective work.
• Ensure the alignment of programs and initiatives within SAA with strategic priorities within Arts & Sciences and the University at large, particularly as they relate to the liberal arts and sciences mission of the College.
• Lead the assessment of programs within the SAA functional areas. Work with functional leads and team members to ensure program goals are effectively implemented and evaluated and make recommendations for improvement.
• Serve as the chief program officer responsible for recruitment, hiring, supervision, professional development, and general management functions of all SAA personnel.

Represent the College of Arts & Sciences with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and other mission-critical stakeholders.

• Lead, in partnership with the Vice Dean, the development and implementation of an undergraduate recruitment strategy for the College of Arts & Sciences in collaboration with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the office of the Dean of Arts & Sciences.
• Develop and participate in recruitment and presentation sessions; coordinate and oversee the training of SAA personnel to give presentations to prospective students; manage the College’s relationship with designated faculty members to participate in recruitment efforts.
• Work with the Arts &…