Associate Dean of Operations & External Relations

University of Wisconsin Madison • Madison, WI

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Dean of Operations & External Relations is a senior level administrator providing overall management and direction across Extension's internal operations, policy development, and external relations, including both elected and nonelected county, state, federal, and tribal partners. This role will collaborate with and report to the Dean of UW-Madison's Division of Extension. The Associate Dean will supervise two Assistant Deans responsible for oversight of Extension’s partnerships and program delivery across all 72 counties in Wisconsin. The Associate Dean also supervises the Directors of units providing division-wide services including human resources, communications, information technology, access and inclusion, and finance, as well as specialists responsible for facilities, planning, policy and administrative management. Successful applicants will need to have significant work experience as an organizational leader as they step into working as part of leadership within Extension to create the conditions that facilitate effective delivery of Extension education across Wisconsin.

Requirements

• At least five years of management experience within a complex organization.
• Demonstrated record as a proven leader and manager of employees.
• Demonstrated record of building effective working relationships with internal and external entities.
• Experience developing and implementing organizational policies.
• Master's degree required.
• A valid drivers license and a reliable source of independent transportation for periodic in-state work travel, and/or comply with requirements for UW-Madison vehicle use authorization.

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing a physically distributed workforce.
• Experience and understanding of the Extension mission.
• Experience working within a Land Grant University or large public institution.
• Experience working with local, state and/or federal elected officials.
• Experience and understanding of how to engage and support fundraising and philanthropic approaches to diversify funding.
• Understanding of Native Nations Governance and Sovereignty and ability to work with diverse tribes.
• Earned terminal degree preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic insight and direction for operations, policy development, and external relations.
• Assess how to efficiently and effectively support the delivery of Extension programming across Wisconsin.
• Maintain policies and procedures, and develop systems to support overall Extension operations including strategic planning, division-wide policy development and management, personnel management, technology, budget, facilities, and internal and external communications.
• Work in partnership with the Academic Associate Deans in providing critical support for their programming priorities.
• Work with the Assistant Deans to engage external partners to solicit their needs and priorities, and align them with Extension capacity and expertise.
• Work with the operations units and specialists to streamline services and align work to address customer needs and priorities in the areas of budget, human resources, communications, information technology, access and inclusion, facilities, planning, and policy.
• Serve as a core member of the Deans Executive Team by contributing to and developing policies and strategies to advance Extension’s work.
• Align annual strategic initiatives in coordination with Assistant Deans and Operational units.
• Regularly engage with administrative leadership at UW-Madison, including the Offices of: Legal Affairs, University Relations, the Provost, the Chancellor, Risk Management, the Comptroller, and others as needed to address issues and ensure alignment between Extension and campus.
• Engage with administrative leaders in other Schools, Colleges and Divisions on campus to work on issues of share interest and/or impact.
• Manage overall budget for Operations and the Dean’s Office.
• Develop strategies to diversify funding sources for Extension’s priorities.
• Supervise Operation Directors, Assistant Deans for Geographies, and operations specialists.
• Build relationships with federal, state, local and tribal officials to address mutual priorities and secure external funding.
• Engage with administrative leadership of other Extension organizations, particularly those in the North Central region.
• Develop new and strengthen existing key strategic partnerships with nonprofit and nongovernment organizations.
• Builds consensus and develops collegial, collaborative working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, partners with administrative and academic departments to support initiatives, and gathers input from key stakeholders to support recommendations.
• May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees.
• Serves on various university review committees, working with a wide range of constituencies including the Faculty Senate, Deans and Associate Deans, General Counsel, and University Leadership.
• Provides leadership for one or more academic programs by establishing strategic direction and setting priorities that align with the academic directives of the Dean, and ensures units effectively carry out duties in a way that best supports the university's initiatives, strategic direction, and academic mission; provides direct supervision of department/program leadership and monitors compliance with laws, regulations, university policies and procedures, and relevant contractual obligations.
• Advises and collaborates with the Dean, Assistant Deans, and/or Office of the Provost on critical issues, represents the functional area of supervision at appropriate meetings and events as requested; and serves on and/or leads various program and/or university committees as directed to address issues.
• Directs on-going assessment and continuous improvement of academic programs and services by guiding the establishment of annual goals, ensuring progress towards goals is met, articulating challenges, and reporting on annual outcomes and achievements for programs/services.
• Ensures initiatives are effectively using program assessment and data analysis to improve initiatives and strategies, identifies opportunities for improvement, and makes recommendations to the Dean for approval.
• Leads special initiatives and/or academic programs that require senior leadership attention with respect to program design, planning, coordination, and interaction with internal and external stakeholders.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off
• Competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance
• Tax-advantaged savings accounts
• Participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund.

What This Job Offers

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