Chief of Staff - Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

University of Arkansas • Fayetteville, AR

2d • Onsite

About The Position

The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences invites applications for the Fulbright Chief of Staff. The Chief of Staff to the Dean serves as the Dean’s principal strategic partner, advisor, and integrator, helping advance the academic, operational, reputational, and external priorities of Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. This highly visible role supports the Dean in leading the university’s largest college by coordinating strategic initiatives, managing executive office operations, supporting governance and institutional accountability, preparing executive communications, and ensuring disciplined follow-through across a complex academic environment. The Chief of Staff works closely with associate and assistant deans, department chairs, school directors, administrative unit leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, university leaders, and external partners. The role requires exceptional attention to detail, judgment, discretion, communication skills, organizational leadership, and the ability to manage competing priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education
• At least three years of progressively responsible experience in executive administration, strategic operations, project management, communications, advancement, higher education administration, public administration, or a related field
• Experience managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders, deadlines, and deliverables

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree from an accredited institution of higher education
• Experience working in higher education, preferably in a large, complex academic unit or public research university
• Experience supervising staff or coordinating cross-functional teams
• Experience supporting a senior executive (e.g., dean, vice chancellor, provost, president, CEO, board, or comparable senior leader)
• Experience preparing executive communications, briefing materials, presentations, reports, or governance materials
• Experience supporting strategic planning, implementation, governance, institutional reporting, compliance, or accreditation-related work
• Experience with executive searches, leadership onboarding, donor relations, advancement events, external partnerships, advisory boards, and/or constituent engagement
• Experience managing sensitive policy, personnel, crisis communication, reputational, or institutional matters

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior advisor to the Dean on college priorities, emerging issues, stakeholder concerns, and strategic opportunities.
• Translate the Dean’s goals into actionable plans, timelines, ownership structures, and follow-up systems.
• Coordinate strategic planning, implementation tracking, leadership retreats, stakeholder engagement, and progress reporting.
• Lead or support high-priority projects related to planning, organizational effectiveness, external partnerships, advancement, facilities, and college operations.
• Help align work in Fulbright College across academic affairs, finance, HR, IT, advancement, communications and marketing, student success, advising, and other college partners.
• Oversee the operating rhythm of the Dean’s Office, including leadership, chairs’, directors’, advisory groups, retreats, and other convenings.
• Manage the Dean’s calendar, priorities, briefing materials, correspondence, travel, and follow-up in partnership with administrative staff.
• Triage incoming requests, determine appropriate next steps, and protect the Dean’s time for highest-priority work.
• Prepare and staff the Dean for meetings, events, donor engagements, governance discussions, and public-facing activities.
• Handle confidential personnel, budgetary, reputational, compliance, and institutional matters with discretion.
• Supervise, coach, and support Dean’s Office administrative staff and other assigned staff, interns, or project teams.
• Provide strategic oversight or coordination for major college-wide, employee-facing events (e.g., faculty convocation, end-of-year event, holiday party).
• Lead or support executive searches, leadership transitions, onboarding plans, and other special projects requiring confidentiality, coordination, and executive-level follow-through.
• Build clear systems for accountability, communication, delegation, and follow-through within the Dean’s Office.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reduce administrative burden, strengthen coordination, and enhance service to internal and external stakeholders.
• Support the Dean’s engagement with university leadership, governance bodies, advisory councils, and other senior stakeholders.
• Prepare agendas, reports, presentations, decision memos, briefing papers, and follow-up materials for executive and advisory audiences.
• Coordinate college-level responses to policy changes, legislative requirements, compliance reviews, accreditation-related needs, federal or state inquiries, and other sensitive matters.
• Support crisis response and issues management through accurate information flow, stakeholder coordination, documentation, and communication planning.
• Serve on college and university committees, councils, and working groups as needed.
• Draft or coordinate executive communications for the Dean, including internal messages, speeches, reports, donor correspondence, presentations, policy communications, and crisis communications.
• Work closely with communications and marketing colleagues to ensure Dean’s Office communications are timely, accurate, clear, consistent, and mission-aligned.
• Partner with communications, advancement, university relations, and other units to support major initiatives, events, publications, constituent engagement, and reputation-building efforts.
• Partner with development and advancement colleagues to support donor strategy, stewardship, campaign planning, reports, proposals, presentations, and events.
• Support engagement with alumni, donors, advisory boards, government officials, philanthropic partners, civic leaders, and other high-priority constituents.
• Coordinate constituent relations systems and identify opportunities for strategic outreach from the Dean or college leadership.

Benefits

• university contributions to health, dental, life and disability insurance
• tuition waivers for employees and their families
• 12 official holidays
• immediate leave accrual
• a choice of retirement programs with university contributions ranging from 5 to 10% of employee salary

What This Job Offers

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