"Curricular Operations Specialist, School of Medicine, Office of Medical Education"

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine is a premier academic medical center located in the heart of Richmond. Accounting for almost half of VCU’s sponsored research, the School of Medicine is internationally recognized for patient care and education.

Position Summary

The Curricular Operations Specialist is responsible for the oversight and execution of a variety of curricular functions. Housed within the Office of Medical Education (OME), the Curricular Operations Specialist is pivotal in the ongoing review and development of new curricular offerings, and ongoing evaluation and revision of curricular content, policies, and processes, to promote continuous quality improvement efforts for the school of medicine. This role will have primary management responsibility for a number of School of Medicine committees, providing administrative oversight for the operations of each group. In support of ongoing continuous quality improvement efforts, the Curricular Operations Specialist will also play a vital role in the successful completion of all scheduled curricular reviews. Participating as an active member of the review team, this individual will be responsible for scheduling reviews in accordance with established policy, leading review team meetings, collaborating with OME leadership to develop final reports, and assisting in monitoring and executing ongoing continuous quality improvement efforts related to the curriculum.

Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Assistant Dean of Educational Excellence, Quality & Accreditation (ADEEQA) to successfully plan and execute all aspects of the annual curricular review and evaluation process, including the development and scheduling of curricular review teams and meetings, lead review team meetings, generating initial drafts of final reports from the review process, and ensuring successful ongoing continuous quality improvement of the curriculum.
• Utilize educational principles to independently review and revise recommendations generated as part of curricular evaluation processes, ensuring the creation of specific, measurable, and timely recommendations for curricular revisions to be implemented by course and clerkship directors.
• Partner with the ADEEQUA to provide training to students, faculty, and staff participating in the curricular review process.
• Oversee quarterly recommendation tracking of outcomes from curricular reviews, creating, disseminating, and collecting completed tracking documents from CDs, and review results to identify areas where additional support may be needed to execute recommended actions.
• Act as a key contributor to the Office of Medical Education (OME) Evaluation Team, serving as a primary resource for the review and refinement of institutional evaluation tools.
• Leverage REDCap to design, deploy, and track non-recurring evaluation projects, ensuring accurate data collection and contributing to insightful analysis where appropriate.
• Collaborate with the OME Evaluation Team to document, oversee, and advance the continuous improvement of institutional evaluation instruments, fostering a culture of quality and excellence.
• Critically review and analyze institutional and national survey data to realize trends, identify opportunities, and collaborate with OME stakeholders to develop recommendations to address identified areas.
• Act as the primary point of contact for the submission and initial review of all new elective course requests from faculty.
• Support faculty in the development of course-level objectives for new courses, ensuring higher-order thinking and application are incorporated where possible.
• Demonstrate exceptional customer service skills through active communication with faculty who submit elective course requests.
• Ensure all curricular development for elective courses are in alignment with established policies.
• Collaborate with the Clinical Curriculum Manager to maintain the elective catalogue and ensuring the utilization of appropriate outcomes-based learning objectives.
• Assist the ADEEQA with Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accreditation-related initiatives.
• Maintain a repository of all LCME-related documents, ensuring accurate, up-to-date information, as well as historical documents are available for reference as needed.
• Ensure consistent, ongoing review of curricular-related policies to ensure these are reviewed on a cyclic basis, advancing any proposed policies or policy revisions through necessary approval channels, and ensuring the most current, approved version of policies are posted for viewing.
• Maintain oversight of the OME data review schedule, ensuring consistent, timely review of identified items, revising the data schedule as needed to remain current with institutional and programmatic needs.
• Collaborate with faculty leadership on a variety of high-stakes committees, providing administrative management to each identified committee. This includes actively engaging as a non-voting member of each committee, meeting regularly with committee leadership to plan and execute meetings in accordance with established data review calendars, and ensuring compliance with accreditation and regulatory standards to maintain official documentation for each committee meeting and ensure all approved procedures and policies are followed.
• Compile relevant data/documents for individual committee meetings, collaborating with individual committee leadership to develop meeting agendas, prepare pre-meeting information, distribute meeting materials, and retain meeting records as required by institutional processes and accreditation requirements.
• Demonstrate superior communication skills, including the creation and dissemination of written communications with both students and faculty/staff.
• Ensure robust tracking and reporting of students taking approved leaves of absence from the curriculum, incorporating anticipated return dates, and any related follow-up actions or committee decisions are documented, acting as a point of reference in the OME for requests regarding this information.
• Use independent judgement to anticipate needs for each committee and actively communicate with leadership for each committee to ensure these needs are addressed in a timely fashion and in compliance with established policies.
• Apply knowledge of institutional policies and external accreditation requirements to ensure adequate documentation of all supported committee meetings, creating a repository of documents and minutes to meet LCME accreditation requirements.
• Act as a point of contact for Course and Clerkship Directors (CDs) for curricular process and policy related questions.
• Support the deans in the OME with onboarding new CDs and course coordinators.
• Engage with faculty and curricular leaders to promote the success of newly developed programs and curricular redesign efforts.
• Maintain a repository of standardized and approved templates for CD use, ensuring documents are reviewed, updated, and new versions disseminated on an ongoing basis.
• Collaborate with the curricular deans in the OME to assist in planning and executing monthly CD meetings, as well as ad hoc, curricular-related meetings and workgroups.
• Partner with the Assistant Dean for Clinical Medical Education (ADCME) and the CBG Track Leader to provide administrative oversight to the CBG track, including: meeting regularly with track leadership to ensure successful track administration and ongoing monitoring of track students toward completion of track requirements.
• Collaborate with the ADCME, CBG Track Leader, and other curricular leadership to ensure consistent review and evaluation of the CBG Track curriculum, contributing to the revision of the track curriculum, as well as any associated policies, when needed.
• Ensure all track operations are in alignment with established policies.
• Display a team-oriented mindset, participating in events and other activities as requested by staff/faculty within the OME.
• Demonstrate a high-level of flexibility and understanding of how to prioritize tasks in a rapidly changing environment.
• Act as a member of the OME and represent the office as instructed by office leadership.
• Contribute to ongoing efforts to develop, execute, and refine the educational strategic plan for the MD program, collaborating with OME leadership to design and deliver retreats, and monitor progress toward achievement of identified strategic plan goals.
• Execute other duties as assigned by OME leadership.

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity employer. VCU is committed to hiring veterans! VCU will include a veteran’s period(s) of military service in the calculation of their annual leave accrual rate. This may provide veterans with an increased leave accrual!

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal, written and communication skills, with analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience, along with 3 to 5 years of relevant work experience.
• Strong skills in analyzing, researching and synthesizing data for preparation of proposals/analyses.
• Several years of progressively responsible experience in program development and/or project management.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.
• Proficiency with Google applications, including Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Drive.
• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from various backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or other advanced degree in an academic discipline.