Assistant Director of Patent Law Programs

Overview

Assistant Director of Patent Law Programs — Twin Cities. Full-Time, Regular position in the Civil Service in the Administration-General job family. Salary range: $62,000–$70,000 annually.

This position provides program support for the Law School's patent law programs, including the in-person and online Master of Science in Patent Law degree and an LLM in Patent Law degree programs. The Assistant Director provides overall administrative support for all patent law programs, with emphasis on project management and operational support as the programs expand to asynchronous enrollment. The role serves as a resource to the director, adjunct faculty, prospective and enrolled students on scheduling, budgets, records, purchasing, procedures, and course content.

The role covers all phases of the program lifecycle, including recruitment, admissions, enrollment management, orientation and onboarding, student services, career development, alumni engagement, and data and records administration. It requires significant interaction with faculty and students and collaboration with University departments. Reports to the Director of Patent Law Programs.

• Program Development (15%) — Lead project-management activities to support the asynchronous online format for the MSPL and LLM programs, ensuring timelines, communications, and workflow documentation align with agreements and expectations. Examples include:
  • Coordinate meetings, gather materials, prepare timelines, and maintain documentation for the online program format.
  • Monitor deliverables related to MOUs and ensure contributors have necessary information and resources.
  • Map out procedural steps and administrative processes for course content alignment across online and in-person modalities.
  • Manage partnerships with adjunct faculty and instructional design units to support Canvas course production.
  • Circulate templates, gather drafts, log progress, and prepare summaries for the Director.
• Program Administration and Operations (30%) — Manage day-to-day operations and serve as primary administrative liaison for faculty, students, and University partners to ensure smooth processes and clear communication. Examples include:
  • Serve as primary liaison for adjunct faculty on curriculum, resources, scheduling, and operational matters.
  • Create program schedules, classroom assignments, and rosters; coordinate with the Curriculum Department.
  • Manage logistical needs for adjunct faculty and program events.
  • Manage book orders and facilitate copyright permissions for course materials.
  • Collaborate with Curriculum, Registrar, IT, HR, and other units to support ongoing needs and resolve issues.
  • Initiate and troubleshoot enrollment actions and Registrar-related workflows.
  • Manage orientation for adjunct professors and student instructors.
  • Maintain program documents, orientation materials, handbooks, and course evaluations.
  • Manage Canvas site setup and updates in coordination with instructional support units.
• Recruitment, Outreach, Marketing and Enrollment (25%) — Lead recruitment, outreach, marketing, and enrollment operations across in-person and online pathways. Examples include:
  • Represent the program at recruitment fairs and events; engage prospective students and external partners.
  • Manage recruitment and inquiry pipelines and timely communications with applicants.
  • Direct admissions workflows in Slate and Salesforce; prepare application files and schedule interviews.
  • Collaborate with student-facing University departments to support compliance and guidance.
  • Update digital recruitment assets with Law School Communications and University marketing teams.
  • Develop communication strategies and manage social media activity and scheduling.
  • Liaise with Student Affairs, Advancement, and students on scholarship-related communications and processing.
  • Manage outreach to employers, alumni, and pipeline partners as directed by the Director.
• Student and Alumni (10%) — Enhance the student experience and sustain alumni engagement across pathways. Examples include:
  • Develop and execute orientation and onboarding logistics for cohorts, including communications and scheduling.
  • Respond to…