Executive Director, Center for Professional Readiness

University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences Career Center•Austin, TX

5d•$126,000 - $180,600•Onsite

About The Position

The Executive Director for the Center for Professional Readiness provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for a centralized university-wide function dedicated to advancing student success, clinical education quality, and licensure outcomes across all academic programs and campuses. Within the Center, the role also oversees clinical site development and career services, ensuring strong clinical partnerships and effective pathways from education to employment. This role is responsible for developing and implementing institution-wide strategies that ensure students are clinically prepared, academically supported, and fully ready for professional licensure and practice. The incumbent partners closely with academic leadership, program directors, and faculty to drive measurable improvements in student outcomes and ensure a consistent, high-quality student experience. This is a fully on-campus role (not hybrid or remote). As a key university leader, the incumbent is expected to maintain a consistent and visible presence on a USAHS campus.

Requirements

Entry level degree in a clinical discipline
Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, health sciences education, or a related field
Demonstrated experience improving licensure/certification pass rates, progression, retention, and/or employment outcomes
Experience overseeing or partnering with clinical education functions, including placements, site relationships, and experiential learning
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive initiatives across multiple programs and/or campuses
Strong experience using data and analytics to inform decision-making, assess performance, and drive continuous improvement
Experience developing and implementing scalable processes and systems in a complex organization

Nice To Haves

Terminal degree in a health sciences discipline or closely related field (e.g., PhD, EdD)
Experience in a multi-campus, distributed, or systems-based academic environment
Prior experience in an academic leadership role, such as a Director, Program Director, Associate Dean, or comparable position
Familiarity with accreditation standards and regulatory requirements in health sciences education (e.g., CAPTE, ACOTE, CCNE, or other health sciences programmatic accreditors)
Experience with clinical site development, partnership management, and workforce alignment
Experience overseeing or collaborating with career services and employer engagement initiatives
Demonstrated success leading student success, clinical education, or professional readiness initiatives at scale

Responsibilities

Lead and grow the Center for Professional Readiness as a high-impact, institution-wide function
Partner with academic leaders to align operational processes with student outcomes
Collaborate with faculty to ensure clinical preparation through effective teaching, advising, and clinical practices
Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Academic Officer on strategies to improve student success and program performance as students approach graduation, with a focus on clinical readiness, licensure success, and successful program completion.
Develop and implement comprehensive, program-integrated licensure preparation strategies
Establish early identification systems for students at risk of licensure failure and implement targeted intervention strategies
Monitor and analyze licensure performance data across programs and campuses
Lead continuous improvement initiatives to increase first-time pass rates and overall outcomes
Partner with Program Directors to ensure accountability for licensure performance
Provide university-level leadership and accountability for the quality and performance of clinical education and placement processes across programs, by partnering with program leaders to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement
Ensure efficiency, timeliness, and scalability of clinical placements
Establish standards to ensure placements are appropriate, high-quality, and aligned with student learning needs
Monitor and improve student satisfaction and experience in clinical environments
Build, expand, and sustain high-quality clinical partnerships and site relationships
Promote consistency and excellence in clinical education across campuses
Design and implement systems to monitor student progression and readiness for clinical and licensure milestones
Develop standardized approaches to student intervention, remediation, and academic support
Collaborate with faculty and academic leadership to address student performance gaps
Ensure alignment between academic preparation, clinical performance, career development, and licensure readiness
Establish dashboards and reporting structures to track key performance indicators, including licensure pass rates, clinical performance, and student success metrics
Conduct root cause analyses to identify trends and performance gaps
Translate data insights into actionable strategies and measurable improvement plans
Ensure transparency and accountability for outcomes across programs and campuses
Develop and implement standardized processes for clinical education, student support, and licensure preparation
Reduce variability in student experience and outcomes across campuses and programs
Identify, scale, and sustain best practices across the institution
Provides direct leadership and oversight for the Clinical Education Central Functions, Site Development, Career Services, and Licensure Success teams
Holds indirect accountability for overall clinical education performance and licensure outcomes across programs
May perform other duties and responsibilities that management may deem necessary from time to time.