Assistant Director of Office of Faculty Development

General Summary: 

The mission of the Office for Faculty Development (OFD) is to advance the university mission by supporting faculty excellence in research and scholarship, teaching and learning, and community engaged scholarship by providing opportunities for professional development at all stages of faculty careers (tenure- and non-tenure-track, from new faculty to emeritus faculty). The OFD seeks to create a culture of caring for all faculty so that they may thrive in their endeavors, and it enables active inter-disciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration of faculty.

The Assistant Director contributes to the mission of OFD by assisting the planning and implementation of a program of faculty development and support to promote faculty equity and well-being at UMass Boston. Under the supervision of the Dean of Faculty and the Principal Investigator of UMass Boston’s NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant, responsibilities include reviewing and gathering information related to campus policies and practices regarding faculty personnel matters at the levels of the university, colleges, and departments; benchmarking faculty personnel policies with other urban public universities; maintaining regular communication with faculty affinity groups across the university; recruiting and supporting participants for faculty development opportunities; assisting in the development and implementation of a gender and racial equity-focused theater-based bystander/upstander (allyship) training program; facilitating faculty trainings related to university personnel guidelines for tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members; maintaining accurate records of participation in faculty development programs and trainings; assisting in OFD research and assessment efforts related to the effectiveness of faculty development programs and trainings; coordinating leadership team meetings; maintaining/organizing minutes of leadership team, internal advisory board, external advisory board, and policy core advisory committee meetings; communicating with faculty members across the university in relation to faculty teaching, research, and service responsibilities and experiences; overseeing the planning, execution, and evaluation of OFD events. After the NSF grant period has ended, the Assistant Director of the OFD will transition to the Dean of Faculty’s sole supervision.

Examples of Duties: 

• Create recruitment materials to invite faculty participation in OFD faculty development programs, trainings, and events.
• Secure venues, track RSVPs, and coordinate invitation lists, and maintain communication with participants in programs, trainings, and events.
• Plan on-site logistics relative to events, including securing appropriate venues, coordinating audio/visual equipment and support and furniture rentals, and securing setup needs for special accommodations for participants.
• Maintain secure records of participation in programs, trainings, and events.
• Assist in the evaluation of faculty development programs, trainings, and events by developing and administering assessment tools with participants.
• Provide weekly status updates of event timelines and progress when necessary.
• Develop curriculum for gender and racial equity-focused theater-based faculty development program in collaboration with theater group and the NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant team.
• Coordinate communication with faculty affinity groups and internal and external advisory board related to the NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant.
• Communicate with and gather information from university, college, and department leaders in relation to personnel guidelines for tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty members.
• Gather and organize information related to the faculty personnel policies and practices of other urban public universities and other NSF ADVANCE grantee higher education institutions.
• Review literature related to advances in gender and racial equity-focused personnel policies at higher education institutions.
• Coordinate activities of the Community-Engaged Research, Service, and Caring Work (CERSCW) working group, maintain and organize minutes of meetings.
• Coordinate and maintain/organize minutes of meetings of the NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant leadership team, as well as internal and external advisory group meetings.
• Work closely with the Principal Investigator of the NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant in the preparation of annual report, identify and collect data and information for reporting purposes.
• Assist Principal Investigator of the NSF ADVANCE Adaptation grant in budget activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications: 

Master’s Degree in higher education or related field, and a minimum of three to five (3-5) years of experience working as a faculty member (either tenure-track or non-tenure-track) and/or working with faculty members in an administrative role and working with project teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with curriculum development and implementation; experience with development and implementation of professional development and/or learning communities for higher education faculty and administrators; experience leading trainings; experience with negotiating environments in which both policies and collective bargaining agreements are relevant.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of and commitment to gender and racial equity in higher education.
• Strong commitment to faculty success.
• Knowledge of a variety of approaches to faculty development.
• Training facilitation skills.
• Ability to work with diverse faculty populations.
• Ability to evaluate program and collect and analyze data.
• Ability to manage multi-phase projects from inception to completion, including the ability to manage multiple concurrent priorities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, as well as part of a team to complete projects by enlisting the cooperation of others.
• Ability to exercise a high degree of sound judgment and diplomacy, with a commitment to confidentiality.
• Ability to identify operational and financial issues, recommend solutions and/or actions and be proactive in the resolution of such issues.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently in a team capacity with a broad range of staff to accomplish program goals.
• Ability to work under pressure and under timeframes.
• Dedication and interest in the OFD’s mission.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the capacity to work cooperatively with a wide range of individuals.

Application Instructions: 

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date. 

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting.  All other candidates will be considered after that period. 

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link: 

Grade: 31              

This is an exempt union position.

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.

UMass Boston is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations for the hiring process. If reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact .