Associate Director, Regional Affairs

About NAFSA:
Association of International Educators

NAFSA:
Association of International Educators is the largest and most comprehensive association of professionals committed to advancing international higher education. Based in the United States, we provide programs, products, services, and a physical and virtual meeting space for the worldwide community of international educators. The association provides leadership to its varied constituencies through establishing principles of good practice and providing professional development opportunities.

NAFSA encourages networking among professionals, convenes conferences and collaborative dialogues, and promotes research and knowledge creation to strengthen and serve the field. NAFSA leads the way in advocating for a better world through international education. NAFSA believes that international education advances learning and scholarship, fosters understanding and respect among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, is essential for developing globally competent individuals, and builds leadership for the global community.

We believe that international education lies at the core of an interconnected world characterized by peace, security, and well‑being for all.

The Associate Director is responsible for implementing a comprehensive structure of support in partnership with the Director, for 11 regional teams. This includes communication, event and activity planning, and logistics and technical support for all regional activities – most notably the annual conferences led by the regional teams.

The Regional Affairs team is responsible for the facilitation of regional leader training at critical junctures throughout the year. The Associate Director will support the Director to this end. This position engages daily with the regional teams to ensure high‑level support and guidance to NAFSA volunteer leaders.

This position provides technical support and leads project management for regions throughout the year, in close consultation and collaboration with NAFSA’s technology team. In coordination with the Director, this position also provides innovative ideas to drive engagement of NAFSA’s regions beyond their conferences. The Associate Director serves as a staff partner to regional cohorts and their respective

Manage, organize, and administer high‑touch support for regional activities. (35%)

• Lead the implementation of conference technology, with support from technology team. Oversee the development, testing, and maintenance of conference technologies.
• Work in partnership with event technology team to create and maintain robust documentation of business practices, procedures, and programmatic needs.
• Design and deliver training for regional volunteer users on event management system and registration system (e.g., Cadmium and Cvent).
• Resolve challenges, including technical issues, and implement process improvements to ensure successful program delivery with high‑quality user experience.
• Work collaboratively with Director on vision and strategy for key periods throughout the year in the regional volunteer cycle and event cycle, including onboarding, site visits, annual conference, regional conferences, end of year recognition and celebration(s).
• Work with Program Manager to ensure cross‑training and consistency across the team on these critical components.

Serve as staff liaison for regional executive teams, cohorts, and other regional volunteer leaders: (30%)

• Collaborate with relevant leaders and internal staff to coach regional executive teams on key annual planning activities, including guidance on deadlines, deliverables, and work plans. (Regional executive team consists of chair, chair‑elect, past chair, treasurers, and conference planners.)
• Collaborate with Director and other relevant internal staff to ensure Regional Affairs’ training and skills development is focused and strategic.
• Schedule and facilitate remote meetings for regional executive teams, with strong reliance and support from regional cohort coaches.
• Maintain close working relationships with key internal NAFSA colleagues to ensure NAFSA‑wide deadlines and…