Academic Dean, Languages, Arts and Social Sciences

The academic dean provides strategic leadership for academic programming, faculty and staff supervision and development, enrollment and course scheduling, budget and resource management, and continuous improvement to advance student success and institutional excellence. Working collaboratively across campuses, academic pathways and college divisions, the dean helps ensure that academic offerings are innovative, responsive to student and workforce needs and aligned with the college’s mission, strategic priorities and commitment to academic excellence.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative and visionary leader who demonstrates integrity, intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, innovation and a deep commitment to student success. The dean must be an exceptional communicator, strategic thinker and relationship builder who inspires faculty and staff, fosters a culture of collaboration and accountability, contributes as a member of the college’s administrative leadership team and effectively represents the college with students, employees, community partners and external stakeholders.

The academic dean reports to the Woodbridge Campus provost and regularly coordinates with the vice president of Academic Affairs and chief academic officer (VPAA/CAO), other academic deans, and college leaders to advance institutional priorities and support student success.

Description of Duties and Tasks:
Academic and Pathway Leadership

• Provides leadership for assigned academic disciplines, programs and pathways, including the development, implementation, evaluation and continuous improvement of courses and programs that support transfer, workforce and student success goals
• Engages faculty and other stakeholders in using data to evaluate program effectiveness, enrollment, student outcomes and opportunities for program development and improvement.
• Leads program and discipline reviews and works with faculty and Academic Affairs to implement appropriate curriculum and program changes.
• Promotes innovation and academic growth aligned with the college’s mission and strategic priorities.
• Leads and participates in discipline and pathway meetings and works with faculty leaders to assess progress on academic goals, initiatives and student outcomes.
• Provides leadership for the development, implementation and evaluation of faculty advising plans.
• Collaborates with academic affairs, student affairs, other academic deans, provosts and faculty to improve student success outcomes across disciplines and pathways.
• Supports faculty participation in grants, research and other college initiatives.
• Partners with educational institutions, community organizations, employers and other external stakeholders to support and promote NOVA programs.

Faculty and Staff Leadership

• Leads the recruitment, selection, onboarding, supervision, mentoring, development and evaluation of faculty and staff in accordance with NOVA and VCCS policies and practices.
• Supervises and evaluates assigned associate deans, department chairs, faculty and staff, as applicable.
• Provides regular performance feedback and supports professional development that strengthens individual and organizational effectiveness.
• Creates an environment that promotes excellence, collaboration, accountability, innovation and employee engagement.
• Addresses faculty and staff performance or behavioral concerns appropriately and in a timely manner, in consultation with the campus provost and human resources.
• Communicates and consistently applies college and VCCS policies, procedures and expectations.
• Ensures that faculty fulfill instructional and administrative responsibilities, including attendance, workload, advising and other applicable requirements.

Enrollment, Scheduling, and Faculty Workload

• Provides leadership for the development of efficient, responsive and student-centered class schedules using enrollment and other institutional data.
• Collaborates with Academic Affairs, other academic deans, enrollment coordinators/ schedulers, and provosts to support coordinated collegewide scheduling and pathway completion.
• Reviews enrollment trends and identifies opportunities to improve enrollment, program viability, efficiency and collegewide coverage.
• Verifies and approves full-time faculty workloads in accordance with college and VCCS policies.
• Coordinates requests for reassigned time, supplemental assignments and other faculty workload activities, as appropriate.
• Promotes efficient utilization of classrooms, laboratories and other academic spaces and resources.

Student Success and Academic Support

• Provides leadership for initiatives designed to improve student learning, retention, progression and completion.
• Works collaboratively with students, faculty, Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to address academic concerns, appeals, grievances and complaints in accordance with college policies and procedures.
• Ensures appropriate documentation of student interactions and decisions in college systems.
• Supports instructional program marketing, academic support activities, advising and targeted student success initiatives.
• Oversees or supports academic processes associated with course substitutions, prerequisite waivers, Credit for Prior Learning, curriculum updates and other academic matters within assigned areas.
• Collaborates with Dual Enrollment and other college offices to support academic quality and faculty credentialing requirements.

Budget, Resources, and Operations

• Prepares, manages and administers the division budget and makes resource recommendations based on institutional priorities, data and student needs.
• Oversees the effective use of fiscal, personnel, instructional and physical resources within the division.
• Monitors classrooms, laboratories and other facilities associated with assigned programs and identifies resource and facility needs.
• Ensures compliance with applicable college and VCCS policies and procedures and federal and state requirements.
• Represents the college with external agencies, community organizations, educational partners and other constituencies.
• Serves on college committees, councils and workgroups as assigned.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Essential Functions

• Provides leadership and management for academic disciplines, programs, pathways and other areas of academic responsibility.
• Provides effective personnel management and leadership for faculty and staff within an academic division.
• Provides responsible budget, resource and facilities management.
• Uses institutional data to inform academic, enrollment, scheduling and resource decisions.
• Collaborates across college units and campuses to advance student learning, retention, progression, completion and overall student success.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships with faculty, staff, students, community partners and other stakeholders.

KSA’s:

• Knowledge of effective supervision, personnel management and employee development principles and practices.
• Knowledge of budget planning and fiscal management practices.
• Knowledge of academic program evaluation, curriculum development and continuous improvement.
• Knowledge of leadership and strategic planning principles.
• Knowledge of higher education policies, procedures and accreditation processes.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise discretion, sound judgment and effective decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Demonstrated skill in supervising, mentoring, developing and evaluating employees.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret and use data to inform decisions and improve outcomes.
• Demonstrated skill in problem-solving, conflict resolution and mediation.
• Ability to develop, implement, communicate and consistently apply policies and procedures.
• Ability to use technology and college systems effectively in support of academic and administrative operations.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree awarded by a regionally accredited institution in a discipline represented within the Languages, Arts and Social Sciences division.
• Full-time faculty teaching experience at a postsecondary institution.
• Administrative experience at a postsecondary institution.

Additional Qualifications:

• Terminal degree from a regionally accredited institution in a discipline represented within the Languages, Arts and Social Sciences division.
• Three or more years of full-time teaching experience at a two-year postsecondary institution.
• Five or more years of administrative experience at a postsecondary institution.
• Experience leading multiple academic disciplines, departments or programs.
• Experience with enrollment management, academic scheduling, curriculum development, program review and/or student success initiatives.
• Experience supervising and developing faculty and staff in a higher education environment.

For further information and to Apply: https://jobs.vccs.edu/postings/100724

VCCS is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.