Associate Director of Divisional Operations, Educational Linguistics; ELX

Associate Director of Divisional Operations, Educational Linguistics (ELX)

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn''s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning.

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The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title
Associate Director of Divisional Operations, Educational Linguistics (ELX)

Job Profile Title
Associate Director B, Student Services, Graduate Programs

Job Description Summary

The Associate Director of Divisional Operations serves as a key operational leader driving the efficiency, continuity, and excellence of academic divisions and programs. This role holds broad responsibility for shaping and stewarding the administrative infrastructure that enables faculty, students, and staff to thrive - orchestrating complex, cross-functional operations that span student services, academic programming, resource management, and institutional coordination.

As a trusted operational partner to division leadership, the Associate Director exercises significant independent judgment in managing competing priorities, resolving operational challenges, and implementing process improvements that enhance the academic experience. This individual functions as a central hub of institutional knowledge and serves as a high-visibility point of contact - building and maintaining critical relationships across the university ecosystem to ensure programs run with precision and purpose.

Key Responsibilities

• Fieldwork & Community Partnerships, including PEDAL: As PEDAL Program Coordinator, oversee all aspects of the PEDAL program, ELX''s in-house ESL program, which serves as the primary fieldsite and teaching lab for EDUC 5299: TESOL Classroom Fundamentals;
  With PEDAL''s Faculty Advisor, oversee all administrative operations of PEDAL, delegating appropriate tasks to two GAs per year, to ensure successful programming and ongoing expansion and improvement through outreach and marketing, attendance tracking and retention strategies, class scheduling, teacher recruitment, hiring, and onboarding, regular professional development workshops, and curriculum development.
• Student Support & Program Coordination: Serve as the division''s primary student-facing leader, independently guiding students through program milestones, registration, and academic procedures with a high degree of knowledge and responsiveness;
  Direct advising operations, including advisor/advisee assignments and the onboarding and integration of graduate assistants into divisional workflows;
  Partner strategically with the Student Records Office to ensure the accuracy and integrity of all academic records - monitoring student status, graduation timelines, course registration, graduation applications, and compliance audits;
  Own and continuously improve student-facing resource platforms (e.g., Canvas); lead annual review processes and maintain comprehensive tracking of student progress across the division;
  Serve as a liaison to the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid, Office of Student Success, and the Office of Academic Affairs.
• Administrative and Operational Support: Independently manage the full scope of divisional operations, providing high-level administrative leadership to faculty, division leadership, and division managers across all programs;
  Direct the planning, coordination, and documentation of division meetings and events - overseeing scheduling, space logistics, materials preparation, and follow-through;
  Serve as the division''s central point of operational contact, managing inquiries, visitors, and communications with professionalism and institutional knowledge;
  Administer and continuously optimize electronic filing systems, divisional calendars, internal communications infrastructure, and listserv management to ensure…