Associate Dean & Director, Business Administration

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

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: $126,800.00 - $228,300.00

Job Description

The Associate Dean and Program Director in WGU’s School of Business is a respected academic leader and subject matter expert, dedicated to student success outcomes. Working closely with school and university leadership, cross-functional departments, and WGU’s broader community, this leader is responsible for the holistic success of programs, including program outcomes, relevance, and quality for continuous improvement.

Success in this role is measured by the ability to strategically plan, build, deliver, scale, and improve programs that provide pathways to opportunities for diverse student populations. The Associate Dean and Program Director reports to the Vice President and Dean of Business Programs.

Core responsibilities include:

• Student Success & Community of Care: Ensuring exceptional student success outcomes through leveraging WGU’s community of care while offering world-class courses and high-quality learning experiences

• Program Growth & Innovation: Expanding and developing both existing and new, market-relevant, competency-based programs that meet evolving industry needs.

• Strategic Partnerships & Go-to-Market Strategy: Building and implementing industry partnerships and go-to-market strategies that attract both students and employer partners.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• P&L Ownership & Growth: Manages P&L with a focus on achieving contribution margins and driving student growth. Makes smart financial decisions that protect student tuition dollars and produce high factored graduation returns.

• Program Design, Management & Marketing: Leads the design, launch, and marketing of new and revised business programs. Leverages data-driven insights to ensure programs are in high demand and aligned with industry needs, while continuously improving portfolio performance.

• Data-Driven Improvement & Execution: Cultivates a culture of continuous experimentation, measurement, and learning from data to enhance program quality and delivery. Maintains a strong focus on execution, diving deep into details and operating with a fast-paced weekly cadence to meet objectives.

• Leadership by Influence, Collaboration & Team Building: Leverages influence, rather than title, to guide cross-functional and cross-organizational teams toward shared goals. Fosters collaboration across WGU’s shared service teams with a shared sense of purpose and belonging. Encourages open dialogue and promotes organizational learning through curiosity, experimentation, and learning from both successes and failures.

• Strategic Problem Solving & Risk Management: Confidently navigates uncertainty and change, making informed decisions based on available data and insights. Approaches challenges with a clear plan, adapting strategies as needed to resolve complex issues and drive successful outcomes.

• Results-Oriented Mindset: Demonstrates a focus on outcomes, achieving objectives despite challenges, and encouraging a continuous improvement mindset across teams.

• Storytelling & Presentation: Communicates ideas in a clear, concise, and captivating way to diverse audiences. Utilizes storytelling to engage, inform, and inspire, adapting presentations to resonate with multiple stakeholders.

• Industry and Higher Education Thought Leadership