Temporary Department Manager, Phrcr

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Department:

School of International Service

Time Type:

Full time

Job Type:

Temporary (Fixed Term)

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Work Modality:

Hybrid 01 (On Campus 3-4 Days/Week)

Union:

Job Description:

Summary:

Departments within the School of International Service (SIS) serve as academic, organizational and community homes for our faculty, department staff, and students (undergraduate and graduate), while also facilitating interdisciplinary work within and across the school's programs and initiatives. These are 'non-traditional' departments: they fill core traditional departmental functions for faculty affairs and curricular development and delivery, but they are also specifically designed to be 'incubators' of SIS innovation: developing new 'thought leadership' initiatives, driving more outwardly-facing engagement on translational work and issues; strengthening engagement with alumni and donors; and investing in pilots and partnerships that ensure SIS remains a Top 10 school of international studies and is viewed as cutting-edge on interdisciplinary approaches to solving challenges at the intersection of key global issues. The Department Manager creates and leverages opportunities to enable departments to serve as incubators for strategic innovation, brings expertise in the business and operational requirements and trade-offs of specific investments and priorities, and serves as a strategic partner alongside other department leadership positions. The Department Manager is the key staff member responsible for the department's thriving, and as part of that collaborates with the other members of the department leadership team to create, cultivate, and ensure a community within the department for students, faculty, and staff.

Under the supervision of the Department Chair, the Department Manager is an experienced manager who is responsible for developing, managing, and implementing the administration and operational policies, guidance, and processes of the department and contributes to long-term planning, the development of strategy, and the process of assessment/improvement for the department. The Department Manager must bring strong diplomatic and relationship-building skills to manage productive relationships with other leaders across SIS and AU.

The department manager is comfortable with data collection and analysis and has experience with developing processes for data-driven decision making. The Department Manager supervises one Academic Program Coordinator and may also supervise part-time or student employees. The Department Manager models and promotes inclusive excellence. Together with the Department Chair, the Department Manager develops actionable diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, helps advance progress on these goals, and reports outcomes as they relate to SIS and AU diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy.

This position is responsible for administering the department's course offerings and designated faculty affairs processes and has financial oversight of the department's $50K operational budget in addition to other budget streams such as IRCs and endowments where applicable. The Department Manager ensures effective graduate admissions processes, standards and engagement, oversees the delivery of high impact student experiences to support graduate and undergraduate retention, and designs the department's knowledge management systems. The Department Manager also liaises and collaborates with other SIS departments and offices to identify, coordinate and implement strategic systems, processes, and procedures. The Department Manager establishes a plan, gathers resources, mobilizes and carries out actual delivery of the department's day-to-day and strategic objectives.

Essential Functions:

1.) Strategic Management of Department Budget, Operations, and Administration

• The Department Manager shapes and executes a set of annual goals to guide priorities and decision-making and assesses progress throughout the year. They provide and share knowledge and continuity across department chairs (which rotate on a regular basis) and develop and maintain departmental-level procedures and systems related to course planning, faculty and student affairs, and other department activities. The Department Manager designs, implements, and periodically reviews department administrative and operational policies, procedures, and guidance, and designs and executes systems to make department decision making more data-driven.

• This position works with the Chair to establish annual budget needs and oversees the department's budgets, totaling at least $50K. This includes both strategic and administrative elements. Strategically, this position brings the business acumen, financial and human resource analysis of needs and opportunity costs to the co-design and prioritization of new and evolving initiatives. Administratively, they are also responsible for booking travel and managing the logistics of department-level activities. In collaboration with the Office of Financial Operations, they advise faculty and other members of the department on applicable financial policies and procedures and perform select human resources functions, budget review and forecasting, reimbursement processing, credit card expenditure reconciliation, and vendor maintenance. They also work with department staff and faculty to generate Professional Services Agreements and process department payments, honoraria and all other payment requests. They oversee daily administrative operations, including coordinating department meetings, and ensuring office coverage. The Department Manager manages project/initiative budgets, including billing and collections, and has financial oversight for the department's budget.

2.) Curriculum Management and Student Affairs

• The Department Manager manages the process for the preparation, submission, review, and adjustment of the department's annual course offerings and course schedule. With the support of the Academic Program Coordinator, they oversee the planning and execution of student-facing programming as well as provide graduate program support and backstopping support as necessary. This position participates in and provides support for major SIS graduate recruitment operations and also assists with department activities related to undergraduate student recruitment, retention and belonging.

3.) Faculty Affairs

• The Department Manager executes department-led processes for faculty affairs, including the collection of merit scores, the appointment and reappointment of term and adjunct faculty, processes related to faculty searches, and onboarding of new faculty. The Department Manager develops and executes processes to support data-driven decision making and to align faculty resources with department needs.

4.) Material Development and Communications, Website, and Events Management

• The Department Manager manages the generation of content creation for the department websites and disseminates department activities, achievements, and information across SIS, AU, and externally as appropriate, to create an accessible, differentiated "identity" that amplifies the Departmental contributions to the overall SIS/AU brand In collaboration with the Department Chair, the Department Manager develops and implements a strategy, based on department goals, for determining what faculty-initiated events will be supported by department resources, including funding and staffing. This position develops department strategy on communications and events to connect and expand internal and external audiences and manages the content creation and distribution.

5.) Staff Supervision Training and Guidance

• The Department Manager hires, onboards/trains, and supervises the Academic Program Coordinator and other student or part-time staff (if relevant). They complete the annual Performance Management Plan process with staff in the department, ensure staff meet performance expectations, and provide coaching or supervisory directives when needed. This position is responsible for hiring, orienting and training colleagues to maintain the office's workforce. They are key members of departmental search committees, responsible for ensuring DEI metrics are monitored and proper search guidelines are followed. The Department Manager, guides department staff to reach their objectives by maintaining the team focuses on important priorities.

6.) Special Project and Other Duties

• The Department Manager conducts additional projects as assigned by the Department Chair. The Department Manager also represents the department or its programs on SIS, AU or departmental committees or task forces, as necessary. The position serves as a backstop for other Department Managers or Academic Program Coordinators as necessary.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Supervise Academic Program Coordinator, full-time staff, and part-time or student employees.

Competencies:

• Championing Customer Needs.

• Evaluating and Implementing Ideas.

• Developing Plans.

• Making Accurate Judgments and Decisions.

• Building and Supporting Teams.

• Managing Talent.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:

• Full-time.

• 35 hours per week.

• This is a one-year temporary position ending on or before 02/26/27.

• This position is on a hybrid 1 work arrangement (on campus 3 - 4 days per week).

Salary Range:

• $70,000.00 - $75,000.00 annually.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree.

• 3 - 5 years of relevant experience.

Preferred Education and Experience:

• Master's degree.

• 5 - 7 years of relevant experience.

• Experience working with senior leaders to develop and operationalize strategic priorities.

Additional Eligibility Qualifications:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Experience with financial administration, Experience with data analysis, business intelligence and other data system and data-driven decision making.

• Office management skills.

• Strong interpersonal skills.

• Must be dependable and exhibit sound judgment and professionalism.

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, especially Microsoft Outlook; facility with technology and familiarity with email distribution lists.

• Organizational skills.

• Experience in event management.

• Strong interpersonal skills.

• Must be dependable and exhibit sound judgment and professionalism.

• Must be able to function independently with attention to detail and minimal supervision.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefit options.

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successful completion of a background check.

• Employees in staff positions at American University must deliver their services to the university from either the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at the university.

• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

• American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

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Contact Us

For more information or assistance with the American University careers site, email theworkline@american.edu.

American University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution that operates in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The university does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, personal appearance, gender identity and expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income, veteran status, an individual's genetic information or any other bases under federal or local laws (collectively "Protected Bases") in its programs and activities.