Director of Academic Engagement and Experiences

Division Overview

The mission of the ACS Education Division is to provide contemporary chemistry education through resources, programs, and professional development that support excellence in teaching and learning and build informed communities. The strategic objectives of the ACS Education Division reflect the responsiveness of the Division in fulfilling the vision, mission, and values of ACS and meeting the needs of the changing chemistry enterprise.

Position Summary

This position serves as the Director of the Academic Engagement and Experiences (AEE) Unit within the ACS Education Division. Programming withing the AEE Unit primarily focuses on engagement with postsecondary institutions (community and technical colleges and four-year institutions) to promote and support academic excellence, faculty support and development, and workforce preparation.

The position directs and is accountable for results achieved through multiple work teams: the Office of Higher Education, the Student Experiences Office, and the strategic initiative on Fostering the Skilled Technical Workforce. The portfolio includes ACS Scholars, Project SEED, the ACS Approval Program, faculty development programming, and the strategic initiative on Fostering the Skilled Technical workforce. The position serves in a leadership role in the development, implementation, and evaluation of programming and strategy – prioritizing operational excellence, impact, and engagement. As a people leader for multiple work teams, the position is responsible for identifying and supporting synergies – both between these work teams and others – that promote optimized operational excellence, impact, and engagement.

The Director of Academic Engagement and Experiences is accountable for budget development and oversight for the unit. The position directs and provides support for the unit’s people management actions including hiring, performance management, coaching, and development.

The position provides leadership within the Education Division on divisional initiatives; this includes Society and Education Division priorities, Education Division goal/objective setting, reporting, program evaluation, employee engagement activities, and technology prioritization activities. A priority area for this role is operational planning for the Education Division. The Director of Academic Engagement and Experiences will serve as lead facilitator of the development, implementation, communication, and monitoring of the Education Division’s operational plan.

The position interacts and effectively collaborates with stakeholders internal and external to ACS on projects and partnerships that advance the unit’s strategies, the Education Division’s objectives, and ACS Strategic Goals.

The position reports directly to the Vice President, Education.

This role is based in our Washington, D.C. office. A reasonable rate of compensation for this position is between $160,000-$180,000 per year.

Key Position Accountabilities Include The Following

- Directs the activities of the Academic Engagement and Experiences (AEE) Unit and provides direct programmatic and strategic support for the development, implementation, and evaluation of programming. This includes accountability for budget development, oversight, and monitoring.

- Leads and provides support for Academic Engagement and Experiences (AEE) Unit’s people management actions including hiring, performance management, coaching, and development.

- Works collaboratively with a variety of internal units and external entities to support the planning and execution of programs and, as appropriate, new initiatives related to the programming conducted and audiences served by the Academic Engagement and Experiences Unit.

- Provides leadership within the Education Division on divisional initiatives, operational planning, goal/objective setting, reporting, program evaluation, employee engagement activities, and technology prioritization activities.

- Serves as lead facilitator for the development, implementation, communication, and monitoring of the Education Division’s operational plan.

- Serves as a leader for and contributes to Society-wide initiatives. Represents the Division externally on matters related to the programming conducted and audiences served by the Academic Engagement and Experiences Unit.

- Supports relevant governance groups, serving as a liaison and resource as needed.

Qualifications

- B.S. degree in the chemical sciences or STEM discipline

- Advanced degree in professional learning and development, physical sciences, or education sectors preferred; management experience in the postsecondary education, higher education, business and/or non-profit sectors may be substituted for an advanced degree.

- Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience including 6+ years of management experience; experience in higher education or higher education administration settings is preferred.

- Demonstrated ability to successfully lead, develop, and manage people, processes, cross-functional teams, programs, and projects across a large organization.

- Demonstrated ability to foster a culture of data-informed decision-making and customer-centered programming.

- Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategy and to evaluate programmatic performance.

- Skilled and effective cross-functional collaborator and communicator.

- Expertise in strategic planning