Department Chair, Occupational Therapy, Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Thomas Jefferson University

The Chair will serve as the chief academic and administrative leader of the Department and will report to the Dean of the Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences. Consistent with University governance, the Chair is responsible for the development, management, and evaluation of the Department’s academic programs, administrative affairs, faculty, staff, students, resources, and strategic priorities.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative, forward-thinking academic leader with a demonstrated commitment to excellence in occupational therapy education, scholarship, clinical practice, faculty development, and service. The Chair will guide a large and diverse academic department offering occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant education across multiple degree levels and locations.

The Chair will work closely with program directors, faculty, staff, students, College leadership, clinical and community partners, alumni, and University colleagues to advance the Department’s academic mission, strengthen its national reputation, support innovation, and ensure sustained compliance with accreditation and institutional expectations.

The position includes a full-time faculty appointment at a rank and on a faculty track commensurate with the successful candidate’s academic preparation, accomplishments, and experience.

Leadership Responsibilities:

Academic and Strategic Leadership

Provide visionary, collaborative, and inclusive leadership for the Department of Occupational Therapy.

Develop and implement a compelling strategic direction aligned with the missions and priorities of the Department, College, and University.

Promote excellence and innovation in occupational therapy education across multiple entry points (ASOT, MSOT, OTD, and post-professional/advanced practice)

Support the development, implementation, assessment, and continuous improvement of academic programs and curricula.

Advance educational models that respond to developments in practice, workforce needs, technology, interprofessional education, and the evolving healthcare environment.

Foster integration and collaboration across programs, colleges, campuses, disciplines, professions, and clinical environments.

Represent the Department within the College and University and to external academic, professional, clinical, regulatory, and community constituencies.

Strengthen the Department’s visibility, reputation, and national leadership within occupational therapy and health professions education.

Partner with the Jefferson Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (JCIPE) to advance innovative interprofessional education, collaborative practice initiatives, and research that strengthen student learning, faculty engagement, and team-based care across the University and its clinical partners.

Faculty and Staff Leadership

Recruit, retain, develop, mentor, and evaluate a highly qualified and diverse faculty and staff.

Cultivate a collegial, respectful, inclusive, and accountable departmental culture.

Support faculty advancement across applicable faculty tracks and areas of teaching, scholarship, clinical practice, and service.

Promote effective succession planning and leadership development among faculty and program leaders.

Establish clear expectations and equitable workload assignments aligned with faculty roles, program needs, and College policies.

Encourage collaboration, shared governance, innovation, and professional development.

Address performance concerns in a timely, constructive, and equitable manner.

Recommend faculty and staff appointments, reappointments, promotions, recognition, and other personnel actions in accordance with University policies.

Program Quality, Assessment, and Accreditation

Ensure that all academic programs maintain high standards of educational quality and effectiveness.

Provide departmental oversight of accreditation and regulatory compliance, including compliance with the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education and applicable state and institutional authorities.

Support program directors and faculty in preparing accreditation reports, self-studies, substantive-change documentation, annual reports, and other required submissions.

Promote a culture of assessment in which student learning, program outcomes, stakeholder feedback, and operational data inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

Monitor student achievement, retention, graduation, certification-examination performance, employment outcomes, and other indicators of program effectiveness.

Ensure that curricula remain current, coherent, evidence-informed, and responsive to professional standards and societal needs.

Maintain continuous readiness for institutional and specialized accreditation review.

Student Success and Educational Environment

Promote an educational environment that supports student learning, belonging, professional formation, well-being, and success.

Collaborate with program leaders and University offices to strengthen student recruitment, admissions, onboarding, retention, advising, progression, and graduation.

Monitor student concerns and ensure that academic policies and procedures are applied consistently and fairly.

Support access to high-quality fieldwork, clinical, community, research, and experiential learning opportunities.

Strengthen communication and engagement among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and departmental leadership.

Promote educational practices that prepare graduates to provide ethical, evidence-informed, person-centered, and culturally responsive care.

Scholarship, Research, and Innovation

Advance a departmental culture that values scholarship, inquiry, innovation, and dissemination.

Support faculty in developing productive and sustainable programs of scholarship.

Facilitate interdisciplinary and interprofessional research and scholarly collaboration.

Encourage pursuit of external funding, industry partnerships, community-engaged scholarship, and translational research.

Advocate for the infrastructure, protected time, mentorship, and resources necessary to support scholarly productivity.

Promote opportunities for student participation in research, quality improvement, innovation, and scholarly dissemination.

Strengthen the visibility and impact of the Department’s scholarly contributions.

Clinical, Community, and Professional Engagement

Build and sustain relationships with health systems, community organizations, schools, employers, professional associations, and other external partners.

Support the development and maintenance of high-quality fieldwork and experiential education partnerships.

Expand opportunities for community engagement, clinical innovation, consultation, continuing professional education, and workforce development.

Maintain active engagement with the occupational therapy profession and promote faculty leadership in professional and scholarly organizations.

Foster partnerships that enhance education, research, clinical practice, community impact, and the Department’s national reputation.

Administration and Resource Management

Oversee the Department’s academic, operational, personnel, and financial affairs.

Develop and manage the departmental budget in alignment with strategic priorities and available resources.

Advocate for faculty, staff, facilities, technology, equipment, and operational support necessary to sustain program quality and planned growth.

Use enrollment, financial, workforce, outcomes, and operational data to inform planning and resource allocation.

Collaborate with College leadership on enrollment management, program development, facilities planning, and financial sustainability.

Ensure effective and transparent communication regarding departmental decisions, priorities, resources, and expectations.

Promote efficient, consistent, and equitable administrative processes across programs and locations.

Identify opportunities for responsible program growth, innovation, partnerships, philanthropy, and revenue diversification.

Ensure compliance with University policies, faculty governance expectations, legal requirements, and ethical standards.

Required Qualifications

Candidates must possess:

An earned doctoral degree from an accredited institution.

Eligibility for faculty appointment at the rank of associate professor or professor at Thomas Jefferson University.

Initial professional preparation in occupational therapy.

Current certification as an occupational therapist through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy.

Eligibility for occupational therapy licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

A record of progressive academic leadership in occupational therapy, health professions education, higher education, or a closely related environment.

Demonstrated experience with academic program administration, curriculum development, educational assessment, and continuous quality improvement.

Knowledge of specialized accreditation and experience supporting or leading accreditation processes.

A record of effective teaching, scholarship, clinical contribution, or professional service appropriate to faculty rank and track.

Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor, develop, and evaluate faculty and staff.

Experience managing personnel, budgets, resources, and competing organizational priorities.

Evidence of collaborative leadership, sound judgment, integrity, and effective decision-making.

Strong written, oral, interpersonal, and organizational skills.

A demonstrated commitment to educational excellence, student success, collegiality, and inclusive academic environments.

Preferred Qualifications

The strongest candidates will demonstrate several of the following:

Prior service as a department chair, program director, associate dean, division leader, or comparable academic administrator.

Experience leading a department or academic unit with multiple programs, degree levels, campuses, or delivery formats.

Significant knowledge of ACOTE standards, policies, and accreditation processes.

Experience overseeing entry-level doctoral, master’s, baccalaureate, associate’s, post-professional, or advanced-practice education.

A sustained record of scholarship and professional recognition appropriate for appointment at the rank of professor.

Experience supporting faculty across multiple appointment tracks and areas of academic contribution.

Demonstrated success in strategic planning, organizational change, and implementation of new academic initiatives.

Experience developing interdisciplinary, interprofessional, clinical, community, or industry partnerships.

Evidence of successful resource development, external funding, philanthropy, or revenue-generating initiatives.

Experience using assessment, enrollment, financial, and performance data to guide decision-making.

A record of leadership in state or national professional, educational, accreditation, or regulatory organizations.

Experience promoting innovation in teaching, simulation, digital learning, clinical education, research, or emerging areas of occupational therapy practice.

Demonstrated success strengthening organizational culture, communication, faculty engagement, and shared governance.

Familiarity with the opportunities and complexities of academic health systems and comprehensive research universities.

Leadership Attributes

The successful candidate will be:

A strategic and systems-oriented thinker who can translate vision into action.

An accessible, transparent, and collaborative leader.

A strong advocate for students, faculty, staff, and academic quality.

An effective listener who values differing perspectives and builds consensus.

A decisive administrator who is willing to address complex issues directly and fairly.

A mentor who develops people, strengthens teams, and supports emerging leaders.

A responsible steward of financial, physical, human, and technological resources.

A leader who balances innovation and growth with quality, sustainability, and accreditation requirements.

A visible and credible representative of the Department within the University and the occupational therapy profession.

Department and Institutional Context

The Department of Occupational Therapy is housed within the Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences, which brings together occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, athletic training, and exercise science. The College advances education, research, clinical practice, and community engagement through an interdisciplinary rehabilitation sciences environment.

The Department offers occupational therapy education across multiple levels, including associate’s, master’s, and doctoral pathways, and has a longstanding national reputation for excellence in occupational therapy education. The Chair will have the opportunity to lead a broad academic enterprise, strengthen collaboration across programs and campuses, and shape the Department’s next phase of educational, scholarly, and professional impact.

Appointment

This is a full-time, 12-month academic and administrative appointment. Faculty rank and track will be determined based on the successful candidate’s qualifications, academic record, and alignment with Thomas Jefferson University appointment criteria.

Interested candidates should submit on-line application/CV/Cover Letter and separate Leadership Statement; http://hr.jefferson.edu/human-resources.html then enter in search box Job ID # REQ-0036373

About Jefferson

Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the greater Philadelphia region, Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 65,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 32 hospitals campuses and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.