Area Director -- BYU-Pathway Worldwide - (Full-time)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints•Salt Lake City, UT

4h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Area Director, Global Engagement and Operations, is a member of BYU-Pathway Worldwide’s U.S. and Canada Field Operations team. The role provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for assigned Church areas and works with Area Presidencies, Church leaders and departments, missionaries, government and educational partners, and community stakeholders to expand access to affordable, spiritually based higher education. The Area Director leads and develops a team of leaders and oversees a geographically dispersed workforce of approximately 200 to 400 senior service missionaries. As BYU-Pathway’s senior operational representative in designated regions, the Area Director builds relationships with Church and educational leaders, advances student recruitment, enrollment, retention, and student outcomes, and represents the organization to government, educational, religious, and community leaders. This is a full-time, hybrid position, typically worked Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The employee must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, physically reside and perform the work in Utah, and be willing to work at BYU-Pathway Worldwide headquarters in Salt Lake City one to three days per week. Only Church members worthy of a temple recommend qualify for employment. The Church is an equal opportunity employer and provides reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with known disabilities.

Requirements

Approximately 13 years of progressively responsible experience in executive or senior leadership, higher education, business development, nonprofit leadership, Church education, or a related field.
At least 5 years of experience leading geographically distributed teams.
Demonstrated ability to set strategic direction, anticipate organizational needs, lead complex initiatives, interpret performance data, and deliver organizational or growth outcomes.
Experience leading teams and collaborating across departments, institutions, cultures, and groups to solve complex problems and manage competing priorities.
Proven ability to build trusted relationships and influence effectively across complex organizations, including without direct authority.
Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, including communicating recommendations clearly to senior leaders and delivering engaging presentations to diverse audiences.
Advanced proficiency in creating polished, audience-focused slide decks and other presentation materials.
Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Willingness to physically reside and perform the work in Utah and to work at the Salt Lake City headquarters one to three days per week.
Must be a Church member worthy of a temple recommend.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for assigned Church areas, aligning work with BYU-Pathway Worldwide priorities and objectives.
Develop and execute strategic plans supporting organizational goals, enrollment growth, student success, and long-term sustainability.
Direct a geographically dispersed workforce of 200 to 400 senior service missionaries through a multilevel leadership structure; equip and support leaders in translating area priorities into local action.
Ensure leaders execute area strategies and meet key performance indicators; monitor performance and implement corrective actions or improvement plans as needed.
Identify opportunities for innovation, process improvement, and operational efficiency, and serve as the primary escalation point for significant operational, partner, and student experience issues.
Establish and maintain strategic relationships with Area Presidencies, Area Seventies, Church departments, local ecclesiastical leaders, and other stakeholders.
Serve as BYU-Pathway’s principal representative within assigned Church areas and participate in strategic, operational, and leadership meetings as a liaison with area leadership.
Foster partnerships and shared accountability that advance enrollment, student success, program quality, and organizational objectives.
Guide the workforce in building relationships with local priesthood leaders, institute directors, self-reliance managers, educational institutions, and external partners.
Develop and oversee relationships with government agencies, civic and community organizations, NGOs, educational institutions, and other external partners; represent BYU-Pathway and guide local partnership efforts.
Oversee area directives and strategies to identify prospective students, encourage participation, grow enrollment, and implement communication, recruitment, and awareness campaigns.
Analyze enrollment, retention, and participation trends and develop action plans to improve outcomes; champion educational initiatives that promote spiritual and temporal self-reliance.
Represent BYU-Pathway with government, educational, religious, and community leaders; promote its mission, programs, and impact and strengthen its reputation and influence.
Collaborate with stakeholders to develop and implement area-specific initiatives, including EnglishConnect, returned missionary engagement, FSY and YSA conferences, and self-reliance programs.
Evaluate growth opportunities, recommend new approaches, and oversee significant area projects from planning through implementation and evaluation.
Cultivate relationships and collaboration across the Church Educational System, including BYU, BYU-Idaho, Ensign College, BYU-Hawaii, Seminaries & Institutes, and BYU-Pathway departments.
Partner with Admissions, Student Services, Advising, Communications, Curriculum, Field Support, Operations, and other departments to coordinate initiatives and remove barriers to collaboration and performance.
Ensure missionaries support student recruitment, communications, weekly gatherings, enrollment growth, and retention; establish engagement priorities and performance objectives.
Oversee missionary training, development, and support; partner with the Field Support Director to implement operational processes and best practices, and improve missionary engagement outcomes.
Monitor enrollment, retention, persistence, and student satisfaction metrics; identify opportunities to improve student outcomes and program quality and address systemic challenges affecting students and field operations.
Contribute to organizational planning, strategy development, and policy implementation, and make recommendations to executive leadership about operations, stakeholder engagement, growth, and organizational priorities.
Lead through influence and collaboration across functions and regions, modeling organizational values and fostering accountability, partnership, innovation, and service excellence.