Executive Director Academic Operations Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Management_Executive 610
Pay Range: $130,600.00 - $235,100.00
Job Description
The Director, Academic Delivery is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing comprehensive strategies for both instructional delivery and evaluation, ensuring alignment with the university's mission, vision, and accreditation standards. The Director leads, develops, and supports people leaders and faculty committed to advancing student competency and workforce-relevant skills through personalized instruction and evaluation at scale. This position requires a data-driven, innovative, and collaborative leader who champions operational excellence, student-centered outcomes, and a culture of continuous improvement.
When applying, please include a cover page that identifies the position(s) of interest and related experience with the domain or function.
The Opportunity
WGU is redefining what it means to learn and demonstrate mastery. As a Director of Academic Delivery, you'll lead the people and systems responsible for instruction or evaluation within your school or domain, ensuring every learner experiences excellence from the moment they begin a course to the moment they demonstrate mastery. This is not a "keep the trains running" role. It's a rare opportunity to shape how WGU teaches and measures learning at scale. You are at the forefront of reshaping the higher education experience at one of the most innovative universities in the nation. Through data, empathy, and innovation, you'll help reimagine what learning looks like for modern students, leading a team of people leaders and faculty united by a shared mission: to help learners build workforce-relevant skills, earn degrees that align with their goals, and create clear, lasting pathways to upward mobility.
Reporting to a Vice President of Academic Delivery and serving on the Academic Delivery, school, and university leadership teams, you will be a highly influential executive leader driving academic excellence, operational efficiency, and student success. You'll oversee the hiring, development, and performance of a high-performing learning delivery team, ensuring personalized support at scale while maintaining a sharp focus on WGU's key results of completion, return for graduates, and equity. Ever vigilant to cost, quality, and culture, you'll use data to guide decision-making, foster innovation, and cultivate a diverse, psychologically safe workplace where faculty thrive, and students succeed.
WGU is looking for leadership in the following areas:

• School of Business (evaluation focus and instruction focus)
• School of Technology (evaluation focus and instruction focus)
• School of Education (evaluation focus)

What You'll Do
You'll lead through outcomes, not activity. In your first year, success will mean:
Deliver measurable student success.
Drive gains in WGU's key results. Completion, Return for Graduates, and Equity by aligning instructional and evaluation practices to ensure students are both supported and challenged to demonstrate true competency. Build and develop high-performing teams.
Hire, coach, and grow exceptional people leaders, faculty, and staff who embody WGU's mission. Create a culture of accountability, belonging, and continuous learning. Drive operational excellence at scale.
Manage resources wisely. Build systems that enable sustainable growth while improving student experience and reducing unit costs. Use data to drive better decisions.
Turn insights into action. Rely on data to identify opportunities, remove barriers, and continuously improve instruction, assessment, and learner outcomes. Advance innovation in teaching, learning, and evaluation.
Partner across the university to pilot and scale new instructional models, evaluation methods, and technologies that enhance student mastery and engagement. Champion WGU's mission and culture.
Lead with empathy and integrity. Model WGU's values and help create a psychologically safe, inclusive environment where faculty and staff can thrive.
The Work

• Translate academic strategy into operational execution within your domain/school and across Academic Delivery.
• Lead people managers responsible for instruction or evaluation functions.
• Partner with deans, program leads, and assessment designers to ensure alignment between the master curriculum, teaching and evaluation, through course resources and playbooks, calibration, and performance management.
• Establish and advance clear success metrics for high-quality student service across academic delivery.
• Manage and optimize budgets, staffing models, and workload distribution, including rapid adoption of new technologies
• Ensure quality, compliance, and innovation across courses and programs.
• Represent your domain/school in university-wide forums on academic delivery, culture, and student outcomes.

In your first six months, you will:

• Establish your leadership presence and empower your team.
  Clarify your vision for academic delivery within your school/domain and function, and communicate it consistently and purposefully. Build trust quickly, align your leaders around shared goals, and create an environment where faculty feel seen, supported, and motivated to innovate for students.
• Plan and execute annual faculty summit.

Collaborate with school/domain and event teams to create an annual faculty conference to foster collaboration, enhance engagement, and align academic strategies. Ensure actionable outcomes focused on improving course quality, student success, and faculty development through data-informed discussions and the sharing of best practices.

• Lead a smart, strategic budget process.
  Drive the Fiscal Year budget planning process from start to finish. Translate institutional priorities into actionable financial plans that balance student impact with operational efficiency, ensuring every dollar advances learning, equity, and completion.
• Launch the next generation of the student experience.
  Lead the rollout of Future Ready AI tools that help students navigate their learning journey with more clarity and connection. Partner with technology, operations, and other academic teams to design for modern learning. You will implement a plan to leverage AI to simplify processes, personalize support, and foster a culture that is both tech-enabled and human-focused, ultimately driving student success.
• Move the needle on student success.
  Set ambitious, data-backed targets to improve key success metrics such as completion rates, time-to-competency, and student satisfaction. Align your team's daily actions to these outcomes and celebrate early wins that show measurable progress.
• Increase student retention through meaningful connections.
  Implement practical, evidence-based strategies to improve course completion rates and student success by improving the quality and timing of support. Leverage systems that identify when learners need help and ensure faculty and staff can respond quickly and personally.

What You Bring

• Student-centered leadership. You keep learners at the heart of every decision.
• Strategic agility. You can connect big-picture vision with day-to-day execution.
• Operational excellence. You understand scale, systems, and stewardship.
• Data fluency. You're as comfortable with dashboards as you are with dialogue.
• Managerial courage. You say what needs to be said, with respect and resolve.
• Team development. You hire and grow leaders who build belonging and deliver results.
• Change leadership. You inspire confidence in times of uncertainty and growth.
• Excellent communication skills: You present information clearly and concisely.

Why It Matters
At WGU, we believe talent is universal, even if opportunity is not. The Director of Academic Delivery ensures that opportunity is not just promised but delivered by uniting instructional excellence and evaluation integrity into one seamless learning experience that helps every student succeed.
Qualifications
When applying, please include a cover page that identifies the position(s) of interest and related experience with the domain or function.

• Master's degree required; doctorate preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive leadership
• Proven track record leading teams with measurable improvement in student or institutional outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through others, manage budgets, and make data-informed decisions.
• Experience or familiarity with the domain is a plus.

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Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.