Associate Director, Mid-Career Doctoral Program (Student Experience, Academic Engagement & Strategic Partnerships)

Job Description Summary

The Associate Director provides strategic leadership for student progression, admissions, alumni engagement, faculty-facing academic systems, and milestone events including dissertation defenses and graduation. This role serves as the primary student-facing administrator and strategic liaison to Admissions, Alumni Relations, Marketing, and key GSE partners. Working in tandem with the Associate Director for Operations & Academic Systems, this position ensures cohesive student experience, strong academic quality, structured Leave of Absence and re-entry systems, and seamless execution of key academic milestones from enrollment through commencement.

The successful candidate must be available for in-person cohort weekends.

Job Description

Key Duties

• Student Experience, Advising & Progression: Oversee advising systems and student support programs; Manage student progression tracking and milestone monitoring; Oversee Leave of Absence (LOA) processes and structured re-entry plans; Serve as escalation point for complex student matters.
• Recruitment and Admissions Strategy & Enrollment Management: Partner with Admissions on recruitment and yield management; Manage admissions review process and enrollment tracking.
• Academic Milestones: Defenses, Graduation & Commencement: Lead coordination and execution of dissertation defenses; Oversee defense scheduling and faculty coordination; Manage graduation clearance processes in partnership with Registrar; Lead commencement planning and graduation-related communications and activities.
• Alumni & Strategic Engagement: Work in coordination with GSE Development & Alumni Relations in leading alumni engagement strategy and donor collaboration.
• Faculty Academic Support & Canvas Oversight: Ensure faculty access to Canvas courses; Coordinate course setup and reviews with Program Director.
• Marketing & Communications Stakeholder & Partner Engagement: Collaborate on messaging; Liaise with MarComm, OSS, IT, SRO, and the Business Office.
• Strategic planning collaboration
• Additional duties as assigned

Qualifications

ESSENTIAL:

• A Master's degree and 2-3 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education & experience.
• Demonstrated experience working with executive or doctoral-level students
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and conflict resolution skills

PREFERRED:

• A Doctorate (EdD, PhD) and 5-7 years of experience in academic program leadership.
• Experience coordinating academic milestone events

All applicants must submit a cover letter detailing their interest in the position. The cover letter may be uploaded in the same section as the resume/CV section.

Job Location - City, State

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School

Graduate School of Education