Assistant Director, Academic Programs - Health & Kinesiology

Assistant Director, Academic Programs

The Department of Health and Kinesiology (HK) in the College of Applied Health Sciences is one of the largest and most dynamic academic units at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, serving more than 1,900 undergraduate and graduate students across a diverse portfolio of degree programs, minors, and certificates. The Assistant Director plays a key leadership role in supporting HK's academic operations and program coordination.

This is an excellent opportunity for a collaborative and strategic leader who enjoys working in a dynamic, student-centered environment.

Job Summary This position serves as an operational lead responsible for integrating enrollment planning, course scheduling, instructional planning, program analytics, academic communication, minors, and student issue resolution across the department. The individual will provide direct support to the associate heads and leadership to academic program operations, ensuring effective delivery of undergraduate and graduate programs.

Academic Program Leadership and Operational Coordination

• Serve as an operational lead for undergraduate and graduate academic programs.

• Assist the head and associate heads in visioning and leading new academic initiatives.

• Coordinate minors and certificates.

• Coordinate department focus areas.

• Coordinate marketing and communication efforts related to HK courses and faculty and communicate with College marcom in relation to department needs and requests.

• Ensure alignment with departmental and college priorities.

Scheduling, Instructional Planning, Enrollment and Program Analytics

• Analyze course enrollment trends and program data in relation to impact on class size and number of course sections needed.

• Provide data-informed recommendations to the Associate Heads.

• Determine instructional resource needs, including faculty and TAs.

• Coordinate course scheduling, instructional assignments and projections.

• Work closely with department course schedulers.

• Develop PowerPoint presentations and other visual materials to communicate data findings and outcomes with the faculty.

Student Success, Academic Affairs, and College Relations

• Collaborate with college central units to ensure close coordination between department and college-level functions.

• Serve as an escalation point for academic concerns and program-related issues.

• Coordinate with faculty and advisors to facilitate course assignments, timetable scheduling, and the timely resolution of student concerns.

• Serve as a liaison for Academic Affairs and program-related matters with the College.

• Serve as a liaison with the College's Marketing and Communications team.

• Serve as an ad hoc member of the Health and Kinesiology Educational Policy Committees.

Other Duties

• Perform other duties as assigned in support of departmental academic operations and program coordination.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Bachelor's degree.

2. A total of three (3) years (36 months) in education, training and/or work experience in academic operations, program administration, and/or educational initiatives (

Note:

Master's Degree in an area consistent with the duties of the position may be substituted for one (1) year of work experience.)

3. Demonstrated experience in higher education

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in higher education administration, educational leadership, health/kinesiology, public administration, or a related field.

• Demonstrated project management, problem-solving, and relationship-building abilities.

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.

• Experience using data and analytics to support planning and decision-making.

• Experience collaborating effectively with faculty, advisors, administrators, students, and other partners.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, and data-reporting tools.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of higher education academic policies, procedures, and program administration.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively convey information and collaborate with multiple…