Assistant Vice Chancellor/Executive Director, San Francisco

Vanderbilt University • San Francisco, CA

3d • $282,000 - $345,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Vice Chancellor and Executive Director, Vanderbilt University–San Francisco (“Executive Director”) serves as Vanderbilt University’s senior operations and engagement leader for its San Francisco campus. This role is crucial for Vanderbilt’s strategic growth initiatives and its expanding national campus network. The San Francisco campus aims to establish a transformative opportunity to position Vanderbilt within a leading center for creativity and innovation, educating artists, architects, and designers for the age of technology. The campus will foster a new intellectual environment where artistic imagination, spatial reasoning, material experimentation, and design practice are central to discovery, public engagement, and institutional innovation. The campus is envisioned to support a dynamic mix of academic programming, experiential learning, art exhibitions, research, executive and technology education, industry partnerships, and convenings. It will serve as a strategic platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, connecting Vanderbilt's community with the Bay Area's arts and innovation ecosystem. The Executive Director will operate at the intersection of strategy, operations, external engagement, academic enablement, and campus leadership, providing local coordination and leadership for campus activation, operational implementation, partnership development, and long-term campus growth. This role acts as a primary Vanderbilt University representative in the Bay Area, supervising a team and collaborating with university leadership, academic partners, civic and arts leaders, industry executives, entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, and community stakeholders. While core academic functions are led by the Office of Academic Affairs, this role provides essential on-the-ground leadership, integration, and operational execution for a highly visible and rapidly evolving campus. The role reports to the Vice Chancellor for Administration and partners closely with Academic Affairs and other university leaders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (preferably in business administration, higher education administration, public administration, or a related field) is required.
• Minimum of 10 to 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience, including experience in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategy, operations, program development, or institutional initiatives in higher education, art and design, technology, healthcare, government, nonprofit, or similarly complex environments.
• Proven ability to establish and grow strategic partnerships with external stakeholders including industry, government, research organizations, venture capital, and community leaders.
• Experience representing an organization in highly visible, relationship-driven environments.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategic priorities into operational execution, including development of systems, processes, and scalable operating models.
• Strong leadership experience with organizational design, culture building, and team development.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across senior leadership, faculty, external partners, and community stakeholders.
• Strong judgment and decision-making skills in dynamic and evolving environments.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and lead effectively through early-stage growth and organizational transformation initiatives.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s or doctoral degree in business administration, higher education, law, public policy, or a related discipline is strongly preferred.
• Additional executive or leadership development training is preferred.
• Familiarity with San Francisco, the Bay Area, or comparable innovation-driven urban markets is strongly preferred.
• Experience operating within innovation-driven or entrepreneurial ecosystems is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting or partnering with academic programs, research initiatives, executive education, or experiential learning models is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic development and long-term evolution of Vanderbilt’s San Francisco campus in alignment with institutional priorities.
• Partner with the academic lead to ensure world-class educational offerings, research and creative output, and industry collaborations.
• Translate university vision into scalable operational, academic, partnership, and engagement models.
• Identify opportunities to expand Vanderbilt’s impact through arts and design education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, executive education, and experiential learning initiatives.
• Partner with Real Estate, Facilities, and Development (REFD) and other university leaders to support campus planning, renovation, activation, and long-term infrastructure strategy.
• Help ensure the legacy of the California College of the Arts is recognized and honored, through the California College of the Arts Institute at Vanderbilt University and otherwise.
• Serve as a senior representative for Vanderbilt throughout the Bay Area and broader West Coast region.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with civic and arts leaders and practitioners, industry executives, entrepreneurs, philanthropic organizations, community stakeholders, government officials, other nonprofit organizations, and peer institutions.
• Advance Vanderbilt’s visibility and reputation as a leading academic, research, and innovation partner.
• Represent Vanderbilt in complex, high-profile external discussions and strategic partnerships.
• Facilitate partnerships that connect Vanderbilt faculty, students, and academic programs with the Bay Area creativity and innovation ecosystem.
• Support Academic Affairs in the development of collaborative initiatives involving art, architecture, design, artificial intelligence, healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, engineering, technology, and emerging industries.
• In collaboration with Academic Affairs, identify opportunities for research partnerships, corporate engagement, sponsored initiatives, and innovation-focused programming.
• Support Academic Affairs in the expansion of applied experiential learning opportunities, internships, and fellowships, within the region.
• Partner with academic leadership to support successful launch and growth of educational and research programs.
• Ensure campus infrastructure, services, partnerships, and operational models align with evolving academic needs.
• Support Academic Affairs in the interdisciplinary collaborations across Vanderbilt schools, institutes, and centers.
• Facilitate engagement opportunities for faculty, visiting scholars and practicing artists, executive learners, and research partners.
• Oversee local implementation of operational systems, campus services, and administrative processes supporting daily campus activity.
• Partner with central university teams including Facilities, Finance, Information Technology, Public Safety, Human Resources, and Student Affairs to ensure effective service delivery.
• Support operational readiness for academic programs, events, convenings, and executive education activities.
• Ensure campus operations align with broader multi-campus governance models and institutional standards.
• Position the campus as a convening space for academic, art and design, civic, entrepreneurial, healthcare, and industry dialogue.
• Support and lead high-profile conferences, exhibitions, events, innovation summits, executive education programs, and collaborative initiatives.
• Expand Vanderbilt’s role as a connector across sectors and disciplines.
• Enhance Vanderbilt’s institutional presence throughout the Bay Area creative and innovation community.
• Build and lead a high-performing, cross-functional campus team.
• Establish a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and service excellence.
• Scale organizational structure and staffing models in alignment with campus growth and operational complexity.
• Foster an inclusive and mission driven environment.
• Partner with Vanderbilt Public Safety, legal counsel, and local agencies to maintain a safe and compliant campus environment.
• Ensure adherence to university policies, regulatory requirements, California employment and operational standards, and local ordinances.
• Support emergency preparedness, business continuity planning, and risk mitigation efforts.
• Coordinate with university leaders on evolving compliance and operational considerations associated with operating in California.
• Partner with Development and Alumni Relations to support fundraising, donor engagement, and alumni connectivity throughout the region.
• Strengthen Vanderbilt’s relationships with West Coast alumni and philanthropic communities.
• Support community engagement, pre-collegiate and lifelong learning initiatives and strategic regional partnerships.
• Advance Vanderbilt’s role as an active contributor to the Bay Area community and innovation ecosystem.

Benefits

• The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.
• This range will be for employees who primarily perform work in the State of California

What This Job Offers

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