Academic Affairs Director

UT MD Anderson Cancer Center • Houston, TX

15h • Hybrid

About The Position

Within the Office of Faculty Academic Life, this role supports faculty success, professionalism, onboarding excellence, operational effectiveness, and strategic initiatives that strengthen the academic environment across the institution. Reporting to the Executive Director of Faculty Academic Life, the Director for Academic Affairs will play a critical role in enhancing academic excellence and operational efficiency at UT MD Anderson. This position will oversee the Center for Professionalism Standards and Support (CPSS) and manage all facets of faculty and chair onboarding education across in-person and digital platforms. In their role with CPSS, the Director will ensure the seamless integration of CPSS into the institution's academic framework, reinforcing the commitment to academic excellence. This includes providing strategic oversight and support to embed professionalism programs within faculty development efforts, fostering a culture of excellence throughout UT MD Anderson. The Director will work closely with the Executive Director to shape and implement the strategic direction for faculty professionalism programs, ensuring alignment with UT MD Anderson's overarching goals. The Director will also collaborate with key institutional stakeholders to align academic strategies and advance the core values of our organization. This role requires a deep commitment to institutional success, characterized by informed decision-making and a focus on personal and team development. The Director will model leadership through ongoing personal growth, including continuous learning, coaching, mentoring, and facilitation within the UT MD Anderson community. Additionally, the Director will oversee a team responsible for designing and delivering comprehensive onboarding programs for new faculty and faculty leaders. The Director will also serve as a strategic partner to the Executive Director in advancing key priorities in Faculty Academic Life, supporting organizational planning, operational effectiveness, and cross-functional initiatives. The Director will use data analytics, reporting tools, and emerging technologies to inform decision-making, monitor program outcomes, identify opportunities for improvement, and enhance the faculty experience. This role will collaborate with institutional stakeholders to streamline processes, support technology-enabled solutions, and leverage data-driven insights to advance faculty programs and services across the academic lifecycle. Additionally, this position includes creating a faculty "help desk" at the UT MD Anderson Faculty Collaborative Space, both on-site and remotely. The Director will manage a team to process all active faculty actions, such as joint departments, visas, payroll changes, department switches, leave, and supplements. This position will work with department administrators to streamline workflows and automate documentation wherever possible. The role will also collaborate with the CAO Core and the Academic Analytics & Technology teams to ensure a "one source of truth" for all data entry related to these faculty actions. Furthermore, the role will support the development of a remote or digital on-demand "help desk" to provide continuous support to faculty. The ideal candidate will support faculty affairs operations, faculty onboarding programs, professionalism initiatives, service center or help desk functions, workflow automation projects, data governance efforts, and dashboard-driven performance management within an academic medical center, university, or large healthcare organization.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree related field.
• Ten years related experience in an academic or medical institution.
• Five years of managerial/supervisory experience.
• Successful completion of the LEADing Self Accelerate and/or LEADing Self Discover programs may substitute for one year of required supervisory or management experience.
• Completion of both programs can be substituted for a maximum of two years of supervisory or management experience.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree related field.
• Experience overseeing faculty affairs operations, faculty onboarding programs, professionalism initiatives, service center or help desk functions, workflow automation projects, data governance efforts, and dashboard-driven performance management within an academic medical center, university, or large healthcare organization.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Center for Professionalism Standards and Support (CPSS) and integrate professionalism programs into the academic framework.
• Create a culture of professionalism at the individual, group, and system levels.
• Collaborate with Human Resources, the Leadership Institute, Patient Advocacy, Patient Safety, and institutional leaders to maximize professionalism efforts.
• Partner with the Director of Faculty and Academic Wellness to increase awareness of professionalism's impact on patient safety, experience, employee engagement, and high reliability.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with professionalism leaders at external institutions.
• Provide strategic oversight supporting academic excellence and faculty development initiatives.
• Work with the Executive Director to shape and implement the strategic direction of faculty professionalism programs.
• Direct strategy development and implementation for CPSS.
• Approve new initiatives and communications to ensure consistency and comprehensiveness.
• Plan, direct, and evaluate initiatives designed to improve professionalism outcomes.
• Provide consultation, resources, and guidance to departments regarding professionalism concerns.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director to advance faculty lifecycle management, faculty success, and organizational effectiveness initiatives.
• Lead special projects and cross-functional initiatives for the Office of Faculty Academic Life.
• Develop executive-level recommendations using operational data, stakeholder feedback, and institutional priorities.
• Align academic strategies with organizational goals and core values.
• Monitor Professionalism Ambassador performance and provide coaching and feedback.
• Report engagement, return on investment (ROI), value on investment (VOI), and professionalism intervention outcomes.
• Utilize evidence-based practices and industry standards to improve professionalism outcomes.
• Develop and maintain dashboards, scorecards, and performance measures tracking program outcomes and service delivery.
• Analyze workforce, onboarding, and faculty lifecycle trends to identify improvement opportunities.
• Prepare reports, presentations, and briefing materials for senior leadership and committees.
• Use data analytics, reporting tools, and emerging technologies to support strategic decision-making.
• Monitor operational efficiency and identify opportunities to improve faculty experiences.
• Oversee the design and delivery of onboarding programs for new faculty and faculty leaders.
• Ensure onboarding content is delivered through in-person programs and digital learning platforms.
• Improve faculty integration, engagement, and effectiveness through enhanced onboarding experiences.
• Develop and maintain Chair Toolkit and Faculty Toolkit digital platforms.
• Provide orientation programs covering institutional mission, values, culture, and organizational structure.
• Deliver education regarding departmental tools, processes, and resources.
• Support ongoing professional development through workshops, seminars, online courses, and learning resources.
• Create online learning modules, documentation, and self-paced educational materials.
• Create and manage faculty help desk services on-site and remotely through the Faculty Collaborative Space.
• Supervise a senior faculty advisor and two faculty advisors supporting faculty actions and services.
• Oversee processing of faculty actions including joint departments, visas, payroll changes, department transfers, leave requests, and supplements.
• Collaborate with department administrators to streamline workflows and automate documentation processes.
• Partner with CAO Core and Academic Analytics & Technology teams to maintain a single source of truth for faculty-related data.
• Support development of remote and on-demand faculty assistance services.
• Utilize workflow automation, technology solutions, and process improvement methodologies to reduce administrative burden.
• Partner on data governance, reporting accuracy, and system optimization initiatives.
• Monitor service performance metrics and implement continuous improvement strategies.

Benefits

• Employer-paid medical coverage starting day one for employees working 30+ hours/week, plus optional group dental, vision, life, AD&D, and disability insurance.
• Accruals for PTO and Extended Illness Bank, plus paid holidays, wellness, childcare, and other leave options.
• Tuition Assistance Program after six months of service and access to extensive wellness, fitness, and employee resource groups.
• Defined-benefit pension through the Teachers Retirement System, voluntary retirement plans, and employer-paid life and reduced salary protection programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager