Director, National Defense Education Initiatives

workforce needs of the DoD, military services, graduate and undergraduate PME institutions, and returning veterans; translates those needs into partnership and program opportunities; and convenes academic units and university partners to act on them. The Director builds education partnerships, leads development of defense- and national-security-aligned pathways, connects students and veterans to career-relevant opportunities, and manages assigned grants and projects. The Director works across academic units, the Military-Affiliated Student Center, the Office of Research, enrollment and advising offices, and external partners. The Director represents KU in assigned education-facing partnerships; may act for the Assistant Vice Chancellor for National Defense Initiatives on delegated matters; supervises assigned staff; and manages assigned project resources. The Director, National Defense Education Initiatives is a 1.0 FTE Unclassified Professional Staff position within the Office of Academic Affairs. The position reports to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for National Defense Initiatives and serves at the pleasure of the Provost and the Chancellor. Job Description 60 % - External Education Strategy, Partnerships, and Program Development Monitor DoD, military-service, national-security, and returning-veteran education needs; use partner engagement, market signals, and outcome data to recommend priorities for NDI's education portfolio. Serve as KU's education liaison to assigned DoD organizations, military services, undergraduate PME institutions, service universities, military education centers, Geographic Combatant Command Academic Alliance partners, and other government or national-security partners. Develop and steward education-facing partnership agreements, partner visits, briefings, convenings, and communications that strengthen KU's role as a trusted academic partner. Convene academic units and university services to assess partner needs, identify KU capabilities, and develop responsive education, credential, and learning-pathway concepts. Work with undergraduate PME institutions, service universities, military education centers, and KU academic units to develop or improve undergraduate education programs, stackable credentials, and learning pathways aligned with mission needs and KU strengths. Facilitate appropriate recognition of military education, training, and experience through established KU transfer-credit and prior-learning processes; preserve academic-unit and faculty-governance authority for curricular decisions. Coordinate education planning for approved military or partner locations, including instructional support, faculty orientation, student access, and academic-calendar alignment. 20% - Defense Workforce Development, Industry Engagement, and Returning-Veteran Pathways Build partnerships with defense-industry employers, government organizations, alumni, and workforce intermediaries to identify priority talent needs and expand internships, applied-learning projects, fellowships, mentoring, and career pathways. Connect students and returning veterans with education and career opportunities in public service, federal employment, and defense-industry fields; coordinate with the Military-Affiliated Student Center and other campus units for advising, benefits, and case-management services. Convene employers, academic units, and public partners to align program concepts and experiential learning with validated defense-workforce demand. 10% - Education Grant and Project Portfolio Management Develop education and workforce-development proposals and partnership concepts with academic units, sponsors, and research-development colleagues; serve as principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or project director when assigned. Direct assigned externally funded projects, including scope, work plan, staffing, budget monitoring, deliverables, data collection, partner communication, and required reporting. Maintain a portfolio view of partnership activity, program development, learner and workforce outcomes, and project performance; use results to recommend investment, renewal, improvement, or discontinuation. 10% - Office Leadership, Collaboration, and External Representation Advise the Assistant Vice Chancellor on emerging partner needs, program performance, policy or process improvements, and budget considerations; represent NDI and KU in assigned meetings and professional forums. Supervise assigned staff and student employees; establish goals, evaluate performance. Maintain a data-informed portfolio view of enrollments, student outcomes, partner activity, programs, grants, and workforce-development results; use this information to recommend priorities and demonstrate impact. Contribute to NDI strategic planning, communications, fiscal planning, website and outreach content, and other office-wide initiatives; perform related duties as assigned. Required Qualifications Master's degree from an accredited college or university and five (5) years of progressively responsible professional experience, or a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and seven (7) years of progressively responsible professional experience. Three (3) years of progressively responsible experience developing, delivering, or managing education, training, credential, academic-program, or workforce-development initiatives in collaboration with government, military, higher-education, industry, or other institutional partners. Two (2) years of experience managing complex projects or programs with responsibility for scope, schedules, budget monitoring, stakeholder communication, deliverables, data collection, and/or required reporting. Preferred Qualifications Completion of intermediate-level or senior-level professional military education (PME) offered by a U.S. military service, joint institution, or comparable accredited military-education program. Experience serving on a headquarters, general or flag officer, senior executive, joint, combatant-command, service, major-command, or comparable senior-leadership staff within the DoD, a military service, a federal national-security agency, or a military-education institution. Two (2) years of experience in a higher-education setting working with academic units, academic affairs, professional or online education, continuing education, military-affiliated education, enrollment services, or student-success functions. Experience working with a service university, undergraduate or graduate PME institution, military education center, or other military-education partner to develop, revise, deliver, or evaluate education programs, credentials, or learning pathways. Experience developing grant proposals or managing externally funded projects, including sponsor requirements, proposal or project budgets, performance measures, deliverables, and reports. Experience contributing to strategic planning, fiscal planning or budget development, strategic communications, website or digital-content management, outreach, or other organization-wide initiatives. Contact Information to Applicants Mike Denning gmjdenning@ku.edu Additional Candidate Instruction To apply for this position please fill out the online application form and including the following materials. Only complete applications will be considered. A letter of application addressing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications. A resume; and A list of 3 professional references. The first review date for applications will be Monday, October 12th and will remain open until a pool of applicants has been obtained. Advertised Salary Range starts at $96,100 - commensurate with experience Application Review Begins 12-Oct-2026 Anticipated Start Date 30-Nov-2026 Primary Campus University of Kansas Lawrence Campus FTE 1.0 Reg/Temp Regular FLSA Status Executive Employee Class U-Unclassified Professional Staff Work Location Assignment Hybrid Disclaimer The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY.