Lead Academic Program Manager (Graduate Educator Programs)

Western Governors University•Salt Lake City, UT

4d•Onsite

About The Position

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Professional 313 Pay Range: $119,400.00 - $185,100.00 As Lead Academic Program Manager of academic programs in Graduate Educator Programs you will be the overall end-to-end owner of that program through its entire lifecycle. This will include (a) all the pre-definition research (market-segment selection, targeted skills, market demand for graduates, student demand, competitive analysis, portfolio strategy, pricing, program requirements, and program level P&L), (b) building and launching the program by working with the academic program directors and other subject matter experts across different departments to define the curriculum, and working with the program development team to build and launch the program (with the right quality, on-time and in budget), and (c) tracking the post-launch adoption of the program by working with the marketing and partnership teams to drive the adoption of the program with students, monitoring and tracking the success of students within the program, working with other stakeholders to make on-going adjustments to the program to improve student success and market relevance, and managing the program-level P&L. Your success will be measured in terms of planning, building, delivering and scaling the right programs profitably that cater to our underserved student population with a high-level of retention and ROI for the students. In this role, you will report to the Associate Dean and Academic Program Director and/or the Vice President, Dean of the department. Location: Millcreek, UT Work Arrangement: On-site (In-Office) Academic Unit: School of Education, Western Governors University Application Note: Please ensure your resume clearly reflects the required minimum qualifications listed in the job description. Include start and end month/year dates for all positions held.

Requirements

Master's degree in education or a related area from an accredited institution.
4+ years of related experience to include a combination of: program P&L responsibility, able to effectively plan and operate degree-granting educational programs with the goal of driving student outcomes, student satisfaction, and profitability.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience in K-12 system in a leadership role.
Minimum of 3 years’ experience in K-12 system teaching in core subject areas (Math, Science, Social Studies, etc.).
Strong analytical skills and experience with accreditation.
In lieu of a master’s degree a bachelor's degree + 7 years relevant experience may be considered if candidates possess the necessary skills and knowledge required for the position.
Deep understanding of how students learn and combining innovative curriculum and student support strategies to drive student success.
Customer or student obsession with a focus on driving successful outcomes for them.
Industry or academic leader in the discipline.
Understanding of the industry trends, job opportunities, local student needs, and educational market trends in the discipline.
Credible voice of the department in external partnerships and presentation opportunities.
Strong people leader to directly or indirectly lead a diverse team of 25+ people including other academic program and department leaders, instructional faculty, and student coaches/mentors.
Execution focus with the ability to dive-deep and live in the details with a fast-paced weekly execution cadence.
Ability to organize and coordinate activities and results across cross-functional teams.
Ability to coach and develop direct reports.
Ability to collaborate with and lead teams, including those in a remote environment, while demonstrating excellence, integrity, and respect.
Ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed organization.
Ability to build relationships and influence at all levels, both internally and externally.
Ability to be an agent of change in a rapidly changing environment.
Proven ability to analyze data to identify trends and drive innovation.
Sound judgement and decision-making skills.
Strong oral and written communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Doctorate degree in education or a relevant area from an accredited institution.
Experience in higher education.
Experience in developing online education programs and/or developing and scaling rapidly changing organizations/programs.
Experience in developing curriculum and/or high-stakes assessments.
Demonstrated success in change management, and bringing order and structure to complex situations.

Responsibilities

Overall end-to-end ownership of the Graduate Educator Programs through its entire lifecycle.
Conduct pre-definition research including market-segment selection, targeted skills, market demand for graduates, student demand, competitive analysis, portfolio strategy, pricing, program requirements, and program level P&L.
Build and launch programs by defining curriculum with academic program directors and subject matter experts, and working with the program development team to build and launch the program.
Track post-launch adoption by working with marketing and partnership teams to drive student adoption.
Monitor and track student success within the program.
Make ongoing adjustments to the program to improve student success and market relevance.
Manage the program-level P&L.
Drive a culture of continuous experimentation, measurement, and learning from data to rapidly improve the quality and delivery to students.
Influence others and communicate effectively to improve and promote teamwork, decision making, and problem solving.
Collaborate with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives.
Deal comfortably with the uncertainty of change and effectively handle risk.
Have a strong outcomes-based orientation and persist in accomplishing objectives despite obstacles and setbacks.
Build effective teams with appropriate and diverse mixes of styles, perspectives, and experience.
Learn quickly when facing new situations and experiment to find new solutions.
Perform other related duties as assigned.