Assistant Director for Doctoral Research & Academic Advising (47213)

Golden Gate University•San Francisco, CA

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

Reporting to the Associate Dean of GGU Worldwide, the Assistant Director for Doctoral Research & Academic Advising provides bilingual leadership and operational oversight of doctoral research and academic advising. The position serves as the primary liaison among doctoral students, faculty, and university departments, ensuring compliance with university policies while advising GGU Worldwide students and providing English and Mandarin Chinese support to Chinese-speaking students and international partners. The role supports doctoral research quality and administration, including dissertation committees and student progress; leads academic advising and student-success services; assists with transfer credits, registration, academic records, and graduation processes; and collaborates with university offices and international partners to improve academic services and student outcomes. The position also supports China initiatives and partnerships and represents GGU Worldwide on university committees and institutional projects.

Requirements

Doctoral degree in business or a related field.
At least five years of progressively responsible experience in higher education, graduate education, doctoral program administration, student advising, academic affairs, or research administration.
Professional proficiency in spoken and written English and Mandarin Chinese.
Knowledge of curriculum-support and student-success software and systems.
Proficiency with learning management systems and educational technologies.
Excellent analytical and communication skills.
Strong writing and editing skills and a publication record.
Attention to detail.
A caring and patient approach to students.
Strong interpersonal, cross-cultural, and diplomacy skills.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Proficiency in data analysis, report writing, and APA style.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting dissertation or doctoral research processes.
Experience working with international students and global academic partnerships.
Knowledge of scholarly and applied practical research, publication processes, and business plan development.
Proficiency in AI tools.

Responsibilities

Provide bilingual English and Mandarin Chinese academic feedback during doctoral dissertation topic presentations, research proposal defenses, and final dissertation defenses.
Support review and evaluation of doctoral research proposals, dissertations, and scholarly presentations.
Participate in doctoral research symposiums, dissertation workshops, scholarly events, immersion workshops, and local and international academic activities.
Assist with peer reviews for the Journal of International DBA Studies and other scholarly publications.
Collaborate with academic leadership to identify, evaluate, and recommend qualified dissertation chairs, readers, and committee members.
Coordinate and oversee dissertation committee formation and administration, supporting timely progress from topic proposal through final dissertation approval.
Monitor doctoral student research progress and provide operational support for dissertation completion.
Serve on the GGU Worldwide Institutional Review Board committee to help protect the rights, welfare, privacy, and safety of human research participants.
Recommend process improvements for doctoral research administration.
Lead and support advising for prospective, new, transfer, and continuing students.
Advise students on degree requirements, academic planning, course selection, transfer pathways, and graduation requirements.
Guide semester-by-semester course registration to align enrollment with degree requirements, academic plans, and program sequencing.
Monitor academic progress through degree audits and recommend interventions supporting student success, retention, and timely completion.
Develop, implement, and improve advising resources, policies, procedures, and practices.
Collaborate with faculty and academic departments to promote student success, achievement, and persistence.
Help evaluate and process transfer credit, prior learning assessments, and articulation agreements in accordance with university policies and accreditation standards.
Assist with registration, enrollment support, course-scheduling coordination, and academic-records management.
Coordinate graduation reviews, degree clearance, transcript services, enrollment verification, and academic certification while protecting the accuracy, integrity, and confidentiality of student records.
Develop and recommend improvements to academic-records processes.
Collaborate with Academic Affairs, Admissions, the Registrar, Financial Aid, Student Success, faculty, and other university offices to provide seamless academic support.
Support the Vice President for International Affairs with China initiatives and partnerships.
Analyze advising, enrollment, retention, graduation, and student-success data and recommend operational and strategic improvements.
Develop and implement initiatives to improve advising, doctoral program administration, and student outcomes.
Ensure compliance with university policies, accreditation requirements, and applicable federal and state regulations.
Represent GGU Worldwide on university committees, cross-functional initiatives, student-success programs, and institutional projects.
Foster collaborative relationships with faculty, university departments, and international partners.
Perform other duties as assigned.