Senior Director, Continuing and Professional Education

Department: Continuing & Professional Education
Appointment Type and Duration: Regular, Ongoing
Salary: $135,000 - $150,000/year
Compensation Band: OS-OA12-Fiscal Year 2025-2026
FTE: 1.0

Application Review Begins

April 26, 2026; Position open until filled

Special Instructions to Applicants

To ensure consideration, a complete application must include:
1. A current resume/CV.
2. A cover letter demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the minimum and preferred qualifications for the position.

Department Summary

University of Oregon’s Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) unit expands the university's reach by designing, supporting, and delivering learning opportunities beyond traditional degree pathways. In partnership with schools, colleges, external organizations, employers, and selected vendors, CPE develops and administers professional education, academic noncredit, lifelong learning, and community-facing offerings for learners across a lifetime of learning.

CPE is a self-supporting, market-responsive unit focused on extending access, relevance, and institutional impact. Its work requires strong academic partnership, sound business-line management, effective marketing and enrollment practices, and modern learner and operational systems that enable sustainable growth.

CPE reports to the Office of the Provost. Its main office is in Eugene, Oregon, with operations in Bend and Portland, Oregon. The Senior Director is expected to be in-person in Eugene, Oregon.

Position Summary

The Senior Director of Continuing and Professional Education provides strategic and operational leadership for the university's continuing and professional education portfolio, with direct responsibility for academic noncredit support, professional education, lifelong learning and personal enrichment (including OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), and conference services. This position leads a complex, evolving unit to strengthen program performance, modernize systems, and build sustainable growth across multiple business lines and in concert with academic partners.

Reporting to the Associate Vice Provost for UO Online and Continuing and Professional Education, the Senior Director partners closely with academic leaders, faculty, enrollment and marketing teams, information services, finance, and external organizations to develop, launch, and scale high-quality offerings that meet workforce, learner, and community needs. The Senior Director is responsible for translating divisional strategy into execution by aligning people, processes, technology, and market-facing activity to improve performance across the portfolio.

This role requires a leader who can guide organizational change, inspire and develop staff, and drive measurable results. The Senior Director oversees program-line budgeting and performance, advances new revenue generation, supports the creation of new courses, programs, and credentials, and leads implementation of critical infrastructure such as a modern registration ecosystem, CRM, digital badging, and AI-enabled workflows. The position directly supervises a leadership team and has authority to redesign roles, recruit key talent, and establish a scalable and accountable operating model.

The Senior Director is expected to pursue ongoing professional growth and visible field leadership, strengthening both personal expertise and UO’s national reputation in continuing, professional, and online education. The Senior Director will actively experiment with and responsibly infuse AI into workflows, service delivery, and decision-making to improve quality, increase speed, and achieve meaningful operational efficiencies.

Minimum Requirements

• Master's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education.
• Experience with budget and profit and loss responsibility in educational environments.
• Experience leading program growth, launching new educational offerings, and/or generating new revenue.
• Experience in developing and supervising professional staff.

Professional Competencies

• Strategic and entrepreneurial leadership with the ability to grow a unit in a deliberate, coordinated fashion.
• Demonstrated ability to build credibility with faculty and academic leaders while also influencing operational partners across functions.
• Strong business-line management skills, including pricing, budgeting, performance analysis, and portfolio decision making.
• Knowledge of adult learner markets, workforce-aligne