Director of Off-Campus Study Programs

The ACM seeks a Director of Off-Campus Study Programs. The ACM, a consortium of 14 liberal arts colleges, has been active in the dynamic and competitive field of off-campus study since the 1960s. Pursuing its mission today, ACM aims to “strengthen its member colleges … through significant, innovative, and sustainable collaborations” including “fostering exemplary liberal arts learning communities in off-campus studies."
Through the consortium, the ACM colleges operate a portfolio of jointly owned off-campus programs to serve the evolving interests and needs of liberal arts students. The Director provides managerial and curricular leadership for this collaboration, working closely with campus-based faculty, off-campus study directors and deans, as well as with program directors, faculty, and staff on site and in the consortial office.
Toward this end the Director works closely with the president and vice president to lead the ongoing processes to specify clear learning goals for each program; recruits visiting and ongoing faculty to pursue these goals; supervises curricular alignment with learning goals in order to make maximum pedagogical use of the program site; oversees staff to assure high-quality logistical support for the academic programs; prepares annual budgets; oversees assessment and regular analysis of program outcomes; oversees program reviews on a five-year cycle; oversees communications with parents, students, and campuses, including orientations and re-entry integration initiatives.
The Director helps to develop and shape the consortium's future initiatives in off-campus study for liberal arts students, building on the current portfolio of programs.
The Director of Off-Campus Study Programs will report to the ACM President. The Director will supervise an Associate Director of Off-Campus Study Programs (who in turn will oversee two Program Associates in Chicago) and Program Directors at program sites in Chicago and abroad. The Director will work closely with the ACM Vice President, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Director of Recruiting and Marketing.
Primary responsibilities include:
• Managing and developing the off-campus program portfolio;
• Responding to shifting conditions and opportunities to adjust programs in accordance with best practices and campus needs;
• Articulating policies that are consistent across the program sites to assure academic quality, ongoing assessment of program effectiveness, safety, financial control, and efficient administration;
• Collaborating with member college faculty and staff to facilitate annual meetings of faculty advisors for each program, an annual meeting of program directors, and a five-year schedule of program reviews, as well as training and preparation for visiting faculty, curricular development, student selection, and orientations and updates for participating students and their parents;
• Supervising an Associate Director (who supervises two Program Associates, who in turn assist in recruiting, orientation, data collection, administrative support, and communications with students, parents, campuses, and program sites) and the on-site Program Directors and visiting faculty;
• Organizing the hiring, training, supervision, and evaluation of program faculty and staff to accomplish the ACM mission;
• Overseeing the provision of timely program information to off-campus study directors and faculty at member colleges and to students and parents through emails, the website and other media;
• Developing consistency in policies and practices throughout consortial program sites;
• Participating in regular meetings of the senior leadership team;
• Working with faculty and staff to maximize the curricular use of the program location;
• Working with consortial and campus colleagues to foster curricular integration between on- and off-campus studies;
• Working with the Chief Financial Officer and Program Directors to develop and oversee budgets to help set prices and assure financial sustainability for each program.

Required qualifications:
• M.A., Ph.D. or other advanced degree;
• Proven track record working effectively with faculty and with curricular issues related to off-campus study, including integration with on-campus study;
• Five years experience supervising staff, managing off-campus study programs, developing budgets, working with faculty and academic leaders;
• Knowledge of trends and best practices in off-campus study and familiarity with the national organizations promoting these practices;
• Demonstrated record of achieving results and showing initiative, creativity, and resourcefulness to accomplish goals;
• Ability to work effectively with a team;
• Experience addressing specific issues through decisions and actions that can be generalized as policy;
• Attentiveness to detail;
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse constituencies, orally and in writing;
• Ability to travel to campuses, conferences, and international program sites;
• Capacity to work and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial organization that values collaboration;
• International experience, ability to work comfortably and effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds.
Preferred qualifications:
• Experience with assessment of off-campus study;
• Familiarity with liberal arts colleges and their educational mission;
• Familiarity with other off-campus study providers, national off-campus study associations, and consortial or membership organizations;
• Quantitative analytic skills;
• Experience designing and establishing new off-campus programs;
• Experience with curricular integration of off-campus study;
• Familiarity with new media information technologies and their use in marketing or communications;
• PhD in a relevant field of study.

This is a full-time, 12-month position in Chicago, IL. Salary dependent on experience. Excellent benefits package and a flexible, stimulating environment. Domestic travel to member campuses and national meetings, and international travel to program sites. Occasional weekend or evening meetings or events. Position posted online at: www.acm.edu/employment.

Applications will be reviewed beginning March 10, 2012, until the position is filled.
Start date: July 2012.

Please send a letter explaining your interest in the position, the qualifications you would bring and how you would contribute to ACM goals for this position. Include a CV and list of references (who would only be contacted with prior permission). Please submit materials electronically as attachments, in MS Word or PDF format, to acm@acm.edu.

The Associated Colleges of the Midwest does not discriminate in the operation of its educational programs, activities or employment on the basis of sex, race, creed, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.