Director, Faculty Affairs & Administration - The Wharton School

The Wharton School

1d•$80,891 - $129,690•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of Faculty Affairs provides functional leadership for faculty affairs across Wharton, coordinating and supporting departmental staff responsible for this work and promoting consistent, responsive, and effective practices across the School. Reporting to the Senior Director, Deputy Dean’s Office and working closely with the Deputy Dean, the Director leads and coordinates complex faculty appointments and personnel processes; provides expert guidance on School and University policies and practices; and serves as a trusted resource to faculty, department chairs, senior leadership, and departmental staff. The Director provides functional leadership to Wharton’s faculty affairs community and promotes a consistent, responsive, and high-quality experience throughout the faculty lifecycle. The role oversees interconnected administrative cycles, faculty governance and recognition activities, faculty systems and records, and related policies and practices, with an ongoing focus on ensuring highly effective faculty affairs operations and services. Working across academic departments and School and University partners, the Director identifies opportunities to strengthen processes, practices, and tools, balancing consistency and administrative effectiveness with the needs of individual faculty and the complexities of the academic environment.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree and 5-7 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience in faculty affairs, academic personnel administration, academic administration, or a closely related area is strongly preferred.
Experience within a complex research university or similarly decentralized academic environment is preferred.
Experience at Penn strongly preferred.
Substantial knowledge of faculty affairs and academic personnel processes, including experience administering or advising on faculty appointments, reappointments, promotions, tenure, leaves, retirements, and other faculty personnel actions.
Demonstrated experience interpreting and applying complex institutional policies and procedures and translating them into clear, practical guidance for faculty, academic leaders, and administrators is essential.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills are required, including the professional presence, polish, diplomacy, and discretion necessary to work effectively with faculty, department chairs, senior academic leadership, and University partners on highly sensitive and consequential matters.
The successful candidate must be able to establish credibility and trust with senior stakeholders, communicate difficult or nuanced information with tact and clarity, and represent leadership decisions appropriately and effectively.
Exceptional judgment and organizational acumen, including the ability to navigate sensitive faculty matters, recognize institutional and reputational implications, balance multiple perspectives, and determine when issues require consultation or escalation.
Demonstrated ability to maintain strict confidentiality and exercise discretion in handling sensitive personnel and institutional information is essential.
Must possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills and demonstrated ability to independently evaluate complex cases, identify policy or procedural issues, develop thoughtful recommendations, and anticipate potential challenges before they arise.
Demonstrated success leading complex, deadline-driven processes involving multiple stakeholders and levels of review is required.
The successful candidate must be highly organized and detail-oriented, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent faculty actions, governance processes, projects, and annual cycles while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and compliance.
Strong leadership and collaborative skills are required, including the demonstrated ability to serve as a senior and trusted member of the team, provide guidance and expertise to colleagues, foster effective working relationships, and coordinate complex work across multiple stakeholders.
Demonstrated ability to effectively leverage systems, technology, and available tools to support administrative processes, information management, and continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing and improving administrative processes, guidance, communications, documentation, or training is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Provide functional leadership for faculty affairs activities across the school, serving as a dotted-line manager to departmental staff with faculty affairs responsibilities.
Coordinate the collective work of faculty affairs and administration across Wharton, delegating and assigning work to relevant colleagues where appropriate and providing guidance, direction, and support.
Coordinate work across the Dean’s Office, academic departments, and University offices to ensure effective and consistent administration of faculty affairs activities.
Foster collaboration, communication, and shared practices across departments, and serve as a key liaison between the School and University offices on faculty affairs priorities, processes, and initiatives.
Lead the planning and administration of a complex portfolio of faculty affairs activities and personnel actions supporting approximately 250 standing and 250+ non-standing faculty across the School.
Oversee the full range of faculty appointments and personnel actions, including recruitment and hiring, reappointments, tenure and promotion, leaves, tenure-clock extensions, retirements, and related actions.
Establish and oversee annual and long-range plans, interconnected administrative cycles, processes, and communications.
Develop shared tracking and reporting systems, identifying opportunities to improve workflows and strengthen consistency, and anticipating dependencies and competing priorities to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant execution.
Anticipate complex cases and processes across multiple stakeholders and through appropriate School and University review and approval channels, resolving issues as they arise.
Represent Wharton on relevant University working groups and committees and translate University-wide initiatives and requirements into effective School-level practices.
In collaboration with the Deputy Dean and Senior Director, provide thoughtful, high-touch support throughout the faculty lifecycle, anticipating faculty needs and promoting a consistent and responsive experience.
Develop and execute strategies and programs to educate and support faculty across key career stages and transitions, collaborating with the Events team where appropriate.
Identify and lead opportunities to improve and innovate around delivery of faculty affairs services and administrative processes in partnership with academic departments and Wharton colleagues.
Leverage existing tools, emerging technologies, and new approaches to improve consistency and effectiveness, streamline work, and reduce administrative burden and risk for the School and University while preserving appropriate flexibility for complex faculty circumstances.
Under the direction of the Deputy Dean and Senior Director, serve as the principal resource on School and University policies and procedures related to faculty affairs, applying sound judgment to complex, nuanced, and sensitive matters where policies, practices, or precedents may require interpretation.
Advise senior School leadership, department chairs, faculty, and administrators on policy interpretation and application.
Evaluate complex issues and develop options for senior leadership consideration, assessing relevant policy, precedent, risks, advantages, and drawbacks and providing recommendations to support informed decision-making.
Communicate and implement senior leaders’ decisions with relevant constituents.
Monitor changes in University policy and contribute feedback and suggestions to University-level policy development.
Regularly review School-level policies and practices, identify opportunities to clarify, strengthen, and modernize approaches, and oversee implementation across departments.
Develop guidance, documentation, communications, and training for senior leadership, department chairs, and departmental staff to promote consistent, effective, and compliant practices across the School.
Manage School and University faculty governance and faculty recognition activities for the Wharton School.
Direct Wharton Personnel Committee activities and related review processes, and prepare materials and communications for School leadership to represent cases at the Provost’s Staff Conference.
Oversee the administration of endowed chairs, partnering with relevant Dean’s office, advancement and financial colleagues to maintain accurate information on chair terms, funding, and availability, and providing analysis and recommendations to support the Deputy Dean’s decisions regarding chair assignments.
Oversee faculty awards, honors, nominations, and other recognition activities, collaborating with relevant colleagues in Marketing and Communications to develop and execute strategies for publicizing faculty achievements.
Coordinate faculty committee appointments and other service activities, maintain records of School-level faculty service, and advise the Deputy Dean on annual service and committee appointments.
Serve as the School’s faculty affairs lead for University HR and faculty systems such as Workday and Interfolio.
Ensure faculty affairs records and administrative processes support accurate and timely personnel actions, compliance with School and University requirements, and effective leadership decision-making.
Identify opportunities to better leverage systems, technology, and available tools to improve faculty affairs processes and information management.
Partner with the School’s institutional research team to identify and address faculty affairs reporting and information needs and ensure the accuracy, integrity, and effective stewardship of faculty data.
Other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Benefits

excellent healthcare
tuition benefits for employees and their families
generous retirement benefits
a wide variety of professional development opportunities
supportive work and family benefits
a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources
Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts
Tuition assistance for employees, spouses, and dependent children
Retirement plans (Basic, Matching, and Supplemental)
Time Away from Work
Long-Term Care Insurance
Wellness and Work-life Resources
Professional and Personal Development resources
Access to University resources, libraries, athletic facilities, arboretum, and art galleries
Discounts on arts and entertainment, transportation, and mortgages
Flexible Work Hours
Penn Home Ownership Services
Adoption Assistance