Director Academic Operations Jobs in Seattle, WA

Job Description

The School of Medicine Dean's Office of Academic Appointments and Compensation, Integrated Resources, Academic HR, has an outstanding opportunity for an Associate Director, Academic Hiring Experience, to join their team.

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Academic and Medical Staff Affairs, the Associate Director, Academic Hiring Experience (Associate Director) serves as a strategic leader responsible for the delivery, oversight, and continuous advancement of academic hiring experience services across the SoM including the SoM academic departments who participate in the SoM Integrated Resources, Academic HR.

The Office of Academic Appointments and Compensation (AAC) supports 31 academic departments and Dean's Office units. This position is a trusted advisor to and key liaison between SoM departments, central offices, and affiliate institutions. The Associate Director translates complex institutional, regulatory, and policy requirements into actionable guidance; resolves sensitive and ambiguous hiring matters; and ensures that candidate, department, and faculty experiences are consistent, compliant, timely, and aligned with UW values.

• Provide strategic direction and operational oversight for the Hiring Experience team delivering academic hiring and onboarding services across the School of Medicine.

• Cultivate team expertise in the complexities of clinical and biomedical department hiring, academic appointment types, chair and executive-level hiring workflows, and School-wide compliance requirements.

• Lead team meetings to share policy changes, operational updates, process improvements, and collaborative initiatives.

• Build and sustain a culture of excellence, adaptability, accountability, inclusion, and shared learning that advances the academic hiring experience.

• Establish clear expectations, service standards, performance goals, and accountability structures to ensure consistent, timely, high-quality, and customer-focused support for faculty and academic hires and departments.

• Direct the effective and compliant execution of academic hiring experience services across recruitment, selection support, offer development, appointment processing, onboarding, offboarding, and transition activities.

• Provide School-wide strategy and oversight for hiring plans, RFA processes, and JRRs, ensuring alignment with institutional expectations, operational timelines, and department needs.

• Oversee chair and executive recruitment processes, creation and coordination of offer letters, remote work requests, onboarding and offboarding activities, post-offer compliance, and visa coordination.

• Interpret and apply relevant academic personnel policies, procedures, collective bargaining agreements, University Faculty Code provisions, SoM guidelines, affiliate requirements, and regulatory mandates related to academic hiring and onboarding.

• Develop and implement SoM hiring procedures and policies, with input from SoM executive leadership when applicable.

• Ensure hiring experience processes adhere to applicable laws, regulations, institutional requirements, and School-wide expectations.

• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex or sensitive matters related to academic recruitment, chair and executive recruitments, post-offer compliance, visas, hiring plans, RFAs, JRRs, offer letters, remote work requests, onboarding, and offboarding.

• Partner strategically with department chairs, division heads, vice chairs, administrators, AAC leaders, AHR partners, Integrated Resources AHR team, OFA, OHCE, central offices, and affiliate institutions to design practical solutions to highly complex academic hiring matters.

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives, develop and maintain standard operations procedures, monitor performance metrics and represent AAC and SoM in committees, workgroups, and project teams.

To be considered for this opportunity your application must demonstrate you meet both the minimum qualifications and additional qualifications listed below. Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, Health Administration, Public Administration, or related field.

• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in academic or faculty human resources, academic recruitment, academic hiring operations, onboarding, compliance, or a related area, with at least two of those years in a supervisory or leadership role.

Applicants who do not meet these qualifications WILL NOT be forwarded to the Hiring Manager.

• Strong knowledge of academic personnel operations, employment laws, compliance obligations, and immigration/visa processes related to academic hiring.

• Supervisory or leadership experience in a complex organizational environment.

• Proven expertise in academic personnel lifecycle management, faculty recruitment operations, policy interpretation, and compliance oversight.

• Experience managing or overseeing high-visibility hiring processes, including chair, executive, senior faculty, or other complex academic recruitments.

• Experience with offer letter coordination, hiring plans, RFA processes, job requisition requests, remote work requests, onboarding/offboarding workflows, and academic HR systems.

• Exceptional communication, organizational, project management, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience in a university, academic healthcare organization, medical school, or medical administrative setting.

Compensation, Benefits and Position Details

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About the UW

Working at the University of Washington provides a unique opportunity to change lives - on our campuses, in our state and around the world.

UW employees bring their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to building stronger minds and a healthier world. In return, they enjoy outstanding benefits, opportunities for professional growth and the chance to work in an environment known for its diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Our Commitment

The University of Washington is committed to fostering an inclusive, respectful and welcoming community for all. As an equal opportunity employer, the University considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, pregnancy, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, or veteran status consistent with UW Executive Order No. 81.

To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu.

Applicants considered for this position will be required to disclose if they are the subject of any substantiated findings or current investigations related to sexual misconduct at their current employment and past employment. Disclosure is required under Washington state law.