Associate Director – FAS Office for Academic Culture and Community
Job Summary:
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences Office for Academic Culture and Community (FAS OACC) was formally launched in Summer 2025 to drive and strengthen engagement across the FAS’s dynamic community of students, faculty, staff, researchers, and affiliates. To advance the FAS’s commitment to: “foster[ing] an environment of ambition, curiosity, and a shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience,” the OACC will envision, plan, consult, implement, and curate a suite of cross-cutting initiatives, programs, workshops, placemaking experiences, and visual culture renewal projects that foster connections, deepens engagement and dialogue, stewards cross-institutional partnerships, and employs collaborative, creative, and responsive approaches to enhance academic culture, community dynamics, and the overarching campus ethos.
Reporting to the Executive Director in the FAS Office for Academic Culture and Community, the Associate Director will support cross-divisional planning and implementation of community building and engagement efforts within and across the FAS’s three academic divisions (Arts and Humanities, Sciences and Social Sciences) and their aligned units, departments and centers. Through responsive and community-centered consultation, program development and facilitation, and strategic engagement with faculty, students, and staff, the Associate Director will serve as a critical liaison between OACC and the academic divisions. In addition to stewarding and enhancing cross-divisional community dynamics, the Associate Director will work collaboratively with the broader OACC team to develop and implement community-wide programs, workshops, symposia, colloquia, and other co-sponsored and special events.
Job-Specific Responsibilities:
Strategic Support & Engagement with Academic Divisions
- Act as a primary liaison to Department leadership, Division leadership, and the FAS OACC leadership team, regarding organizational (department/center level) community obstacles/challenges
- Support unit/department-level interventions via attendance of various meetings, regular email communications, documentation of efforts, consultation with Divisional/FAS OACC leadership, and partnership with Divisions/Departments/Centers
- Provide direct support to academic divisions: Meet regularly with the Academic Divisions to understand and support academic culture and community-building goals and activities, data evaluation and assessment strategies, support related programming/efforts, and recommend new or modified programming/efforts as needed.
- Based on input from Division/Department/Unit/Center leaders and climate survey results, assist the academic leadership and FAS OACC with identifying opportunities/gaps and setting long term vision and goals for the department designed to foster engagement and deepen academic culture and community dynamics.
- Assist FAS OACC leadership in developing SMART goals (strategic, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) for the academic year to reach longer term vision.
- Identify, coordinate, and implement appropriate training and resources developed by the FAS OACC and divisional leadership teams to help units work strategically and efficiently in reaching community goals, and act as a point of contact for units seeking guidance or consultation to address questions and/or triage emerging issues and referring to others as appropriate.
Portfolio Management & Advisor to OACC Leadership Team
- Serve as a thought-partner to OACC Executive Director—advising on divisional and cross-divisional matters and other academic culture and community deliverables and/or priorities
- Regularly consult with Executive Director, Director, and divisional academic and administrative leaders proactively to address to address unit, department, and divisional community challenges and opportunities
Program Development & Cross-Function Team Collaboration
- Work collaboratively with broader OACC team and cross-institutional partners to ideate, develop, and support implementation of mission-critical activities, including but not limited to FAS-wide academic culture and community priorities, programs, curatorial initiatives, and special and co-sponsored events, etc.
- Actively participate in and/or co-facilitate quarterly and annual programmatic and other strategic planning exercises convened for and by OACC staff.
- Engagement with and support of FAS Culture and Community offices and other aligned University offices, networks, and initiatives.
Qualifications
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required
- Minimum of 5 years’ relevant work experience in academic-settings, community-engagement, and/or arts and culture sectors
Additional Qualifications and Skills:
- Expertise and/or professional experience in employing theories and praxis that support community-facing event /programmatic planning, curriculum and resource development, and facilitation experience
- Experience with stakeholder management, particularly working with faculty and staff in a higher education setting, project management, conflict resolution, and problem solving, among others.
- Master’s degree in relevant field preferred
- Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, advanced Excel skills
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Strong commitment to continuous process improvement
- Demonstrated ability to work across disciplines and influence change without formal purview
- Ability to develop and conduct trainings
- Ability to analyze data and make determinations based upon data
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