Manager, Student Affairs

Sophia Learning is seeking a highly organized, ethically grounded, and operationally rigorous Manager of Student Affairs to lead core student affairs operations within our educational technology environment. This leader will oversee a team of Student Affairs Analysts while designing, improving, and managing scalable end-to-end processes that ensure consistency, fairness, compliance, and an exceptional student experience.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity and transforms complex or unclear situations into structured, repeatable systems. The Manager of Student Affairs will partner cross-functionally with Product, Engineering, Operations, and Support teams to improve workflows, implement preventative academic integrity tools, and operationalize policies across a growing online learning ecosystem.
The ideal candidate combines strong people leadership with exceptional process management capabilities, sound judgment, technical collaboration skills, and a commitment to equitable and ethical decision-making.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Operational Excellence & Process Management

• Lead and manage end-to-end student affairs operations with a focus on consistency, scalability, operational rigor, and continuous improvement.
• Design, implement, document, and maintain airtight operational systems and workflows that support efficient and compliant student affairs processes.
• Establish operational standards, quality assurance processes, escalation procedures, and service expectations across the function.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and implement structured process improvements to increase effectiveness and reduce risk.
• Create clarity and structure within ambiguous or evolving operational situations by developing repeatable frameworks and standardized procedures.

Academic Integrity & Policy Administration

• Oversee student affairs processes related to academic integrity, student conduct, appeals, and policy enforcement.
• In collaboration with Product and Engineering teams, implement and leverage preventative academic integrity tools, technologies, and monitoring systems to proactively reduce integrity risks.
• Apply policies consistently, ethically, and fairly across complex or nuanced student situations.
• Ensure operational alignment with institutional standards, compliance requirements, and organizational values.
• Recommend policy iteration based on ground truth to push the organization forward in a world of rapidly evolving technology.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Manage, coach, and develop a team of Student Affairs Analysts.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, operational excellence, and continuous learning.
• Support team members in resolving complex student cases and operational challenges.
• Set team goals, monitor performance, and provide ongoing feedback and professional development.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner effectively with Product and Engineering teams to communicate operational needs, define technical specifications, and improve internal systems and tooling.
• Collaborate with Support, Success, Grading Ops, Partnerships and other stakeholders to streamline workflows and enhance the student experience.

Reporting & Continuous Improvement

• Monitor operational metrics and trends to identify risks, process gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop operational reporting and insights to support decision-making and strategic initiatives.
• Drive initiatives that improve operational efficiency, consistency, and student outcomes.

Job Skills:

Operational & Process Management

• Strong process management and systems-thinking capabilities with the ability to design scalable, repeatable workflows.
• Ability to manage complex operational functions with high levels of accuracy, organization, and accountability.
• Skilled at bringing structure and clarity to ambiguous situations and evolving operational challenges.

Academic Integrity & Ethical Judgment

• Experience implementing and leveraging preventative academic integrity tools and systems.
• Strong ethical standards and sound judgment with the ability to apply policies consistently and fairly across unique student situations.
• Knowledge of academic integrity and student affairs best practices within online learning or higher education environments.

Leadership & Communication

• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to collabo