Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs

University of Colorado•Aurora, CO

3d•$40,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs serves as a strategic leader and partner within the Office for Faculty Affairs (OFA), working closely with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and entire Office for Faculty team to advance faculty success across the institution. This role helps shape and implement policies, programs, and initiatives that support faculty across the academic lifecycle while ensuring compliance with university policies, School of Medicine policies, and best practices in faculty affairs. The Office for Faculty Affairs provides services and resources to advance the teaching, research, patient care, and service missions of the School of Medicine (SOM). To ensure broad representation of faculty across these missions, the OFA seeks two Assistant Deans (20-40%25 FTE each) who bring expertise in faculty affairs and at least one more key faculty group, including clinical and educational faculty, basic science and clinical researchers, advance practice providers, behavioral and mental health providers, and faculty employed by affiliate clinical organizations. The Assistant Dean(s) will provide strategic guidance on faculty policies, career advancement, recognition, and professional development while helping ensure that the needs of diverse faculty groups are reflected in School of Medicine initiatives and decision-making. Located within the Office of the Dean in the School of Medicine at CU Anschutz, the Office for Faculty supports more than 6,000 faculty members across the institution. In this context, the OFA plays a central role in supporting departments and faculty throughout the full academic life-cycle, including recruitment, appointment, annual review, promotion, tenure, recognition, sabbatical, professional development, retirement, and emeritus transitions.

Requirements

Possession of a terminal degree (e.g., MD, DO, PhD, NP, PA) available in their respective field
Experience in health professions education
Eligible for faculty appointment at the University of Colorado School of Medicine at the rank of Assistant Professor or higher
Experience working in an academic medical setting
Four (4) years of experience in faculty affairs within a healthcare setting
Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively with faculty, staff, and institutional leaders while consistently demonstrating sound judgement, initiative, diplomacy, discretion, and confidentiality.
Knowledge of university, school, and departmental policies, procedures, and governance processes, as well as state and federal regulations affecting faculty and staff in a School of Medicine. This includes areas such as faculty appointments, promotion, tenure, leave, benefits, and required reporting.
Ability to lead strategic initiatives and educational projects that advance faculty success and organizational priorities.
Commitment to ensuring faculty policies and procedures are fair, transparent, and consistently applied.
Strong project and program management skills, including planning implementation, assessment, continuous improvement, and stakeholder engagement.
Ability to establish work priorities and provide follow through to ensure completion of projects and initiatives.
Demonstrated commitment to mentoring, coaching, and advising faculty across career stages and professional pathways.
Ability to foster teamwork, build productive relationships, delegate appropriately, and promote accountability.
Demonstrate professionalism, integrity, accountability, and commitment to high standards of service and excellence.
Strong data management, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret data, identify trends, evaluate outcomes, and communicate findings to diverse audiences.
Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills with the ability to communicate complex information clearly and effectively.
Ability to thrive in a dynamic evolving environment, adapting to changing priorities while managing focus on strategic objectives.
Demonstrated skill in consensus building, influence without authority, and change management.

Nice To Haves

Associate Professor or higher
Ten (10) or more years of experience teaching medical students, residents/fellows, graduate students, or post-doctoral research fellows
Five (5) or more years of experience in faculty development or faculty affairs
Five (5) or more years of experience successfully developing infrastructure, policies, procedures, and programming related to health profession education
Demonstrated experience leading, coaching and mentoring a diverse cross-section of people and responsibilities
National reputation in medical education
Strong candidates will have a track record in the basic science research, advanced practice (APP), behavioral and mental health, or child health.

Responsibilities

Guide taskforces and working groups focused on faculty affairs priorities.
Provide strategic leadership on policies, programs, and resources supporting career advancement and recognition.
Oversee continuous improvement of the annual review process and platform, with the goal of optimizing career development conversations and accountability while reducing clerical workload.
Advance modernization of the faculty promotion process and evaluate the impact of new technology.
Develop, implement, and evaluate mechanisms beyond promotion to recognize faculty for their contributions to the SOM missions.
Partner with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and institutional leaders to review, interpret, and recommend policies and procedures related to faculty.
Enhance stakeholder engagement through improved communication strategies, development of faculty-facing resources, and optimized website navigation.
Partner with the Director of Faculty Affairs to promote data-informed decision-making through innovation in data management and reporting.
Additional duties as needed in support of Office for Faculty and OFA.