Acad. Job: Texas Global Director for Education Abroad, University of Texas at Austin

Deadline: April 25, 2022

https://utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/UTstaff/job/Director–Education-Abroad_R_00019277

Job Description:The Texas Global Director for Education Abroad will be a seasoned, visionary, creative, entrepreneurial and collaborative leader who will be eager to build on the successes of The University of Texas at Austin’s learning abroad programs. The incumbent will have experience leading teams of professionals that develop, implement, manage, and market a broad range of highly innovative experiential programs. Additionally, the director is expected to have demonstrated experience in the management of a comprehensive learning abroad office in the areas of strategic planning; budget management; contract negotiations/compliance; international partnership development; student advising practices; and risk and safety management response. The incumbent is also expected to have in-depth knowledge of the field, scholarship and trends of study abroad, with a proven track record of successfully implementing best practices. This position reports to the senior vice provost for global engagement.

—-

Job Details:

General Notes

The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) is one of the largest public universities in the United States and is the flagship of The University of Texas System. UT Austin enrolls more than 51,000 students studying in almost 120 bachelor’s degree programs and more than 220 graduate programs across 18 colleges and schools. UT Austin is steadfastly committed to global engagement and is home to more than 5,600 international students and 1,500 international scholars from more than 130 countries, with more than 530,000 living alumni in 176 counties around the world.

Texas Global  advances UT Austin’s academic mission by leading, supporting, and coordinating the university’s international engagement efforts, fostering strategic partnerships on campus and abroad, welcoming a cadre of impressive international students and scholars to campus, and creating opportunities for students and faculty to engage with peers and institutions around the world. Texas Global is comprised of nine units, home to over 140 staff members, and continued growth of the organization is expected.

Your skills will make a difference.

You’ll be working for a university that is internationally recognized for our academic programs and research. Your work will make a difference in the lives of faculty and staff, thereby enhancing the student experience. If you’re the type of person that wants to know your work has meaning and impact, you’ll like working in our department and for UT Austin.

UT Austin provides an outstanding benefits package including but not limited to:

  • Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
  • Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
  • Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays
  • Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with 7.75% employer matching funds
  • Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
  • Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
  • Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities
  • Tuition assistance
  • Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets
  • Free access to UT Austin’s libraries and museums with staff ID card
  • Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card

Priority will be given to candidates who submit complete application materials prior to April 25, 2022.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Administrative Management 

  • Advance the university’s global engagement efforts by creating programs that complement current Texas Global education abroad opportunities in collaboration with the Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Texas Global leadership.
  • Engage with the Global Alumni Relations team to expand alumni engagement and donor relations. Partner with internal communications team to contribute to marketing strategy; ensuring consistency of branding across all media.
  • Provide leadership, strategic vision, and oversight for the management and direction of education abroad programs and operations including: student advising; credit review and transfer; student billing; financial aid; scholarship administration; health, safety, liability, and crisis intervention; program development and implementation; policies and procedures; marketing and promotion; and use of data and technology to support operations and decision making.
  • Lead UT’s education abroad professionals’ network, providing guidance and direction to align strategic decisions and administrative processes across campus. Represent the University in state and national membership groups, sharing experiences and best practices to advance education abroad. 
  • Collaborate closely and effectively with faculty, senior administrators, and campus partners to develop and advance education abroad goals and initiatives for the institution. Provide trend reports to Texas Global senior leadership and prepare data for annual reporting. Synthesize and summarize complex information in formats appropriate to distinct audiences including correspondence, analytical reports, proposals, and briefing documents.
  • Cultivate relationships with domestic and international partners to develop, maintain international partnerships, and ensure that academic and experiential activities are aligned. Conduct international site visits, when necessary, to evaluate operations and academic programming.

Outreach

  • Advance diversity and inclusion by increasing education abroad access and affordability for all. Develop innovative recruitment and outreach strategies to student groups traditionally underrepresented in education abroad, and partner with key offices and academic departments to amplify global learning opportunities.
  • Identify, engage, and recruit faculty to lead and promote international opportunities. Collaborate with the Texas Global Special Initiatives team to increase and diversify faculty participation in research and learning abroad activities. Actively engage with department chairs and senior college/school leadership related to strategic vision and administrative processes.

Budgeting and Program Management

  • Oversee, in collaboration with the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, the financial management of education abroad activities, including operational budgets, and developing and approving all program budgets. Work with the Texas Global scholarship coordinator to implement strategic objectives and support the administrative processes associated with awarding scholarships.
  • Oversee the development and compliance of agreements and contracts to support bilateral exchange agreements, affiliation agreements, consortia, and faculty-led programs in coordination with the Office of Global Engagement and Strategy, the Business Contracts Office and Vice President for Legal Affairs.

Crisis Management

  • Partner with Global Risk and Safety to oversee health and safety resources provided to students and faculty-led groups abroad; manage/support crisis/emergency incidents abroad and enact emergency action plans as needed.
  • Serve on the International Oversight Committee Restricted Regions Review team(s) and other committees, as assigned

Supervision

  • Lead a team of professional staff, foster collaboration, and provide direction to the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision and evaluation of professional staff, graduate students and undergraduate student employees. Cultivate professional and career growth of Education Abroad team members by encouraging and providing professional development opportunities.

Required Qualifications

Master’s degree in international education, higher education/education abroad administration, or related field with at least eight years of supervisory experience in international higher education/education abroad. Excellent written, oral, interpersonal and intercultural communication skills with a strong attention to detail. Experience working in a large complex organization, leading, supervising, and developing professional staff. Knowledge of best practices in education abroad programming, including support services for students and faculty, marketing education abroad, and program assessment. Experience in program development with a variety of international program and partnership models. A demonstrated track record of innovation and creativity in streamlining administrative processes and programming. In-depth understanding of the scholarship and practice of education abroad. Ability to identify, understand, and mitigate cultural risks. Proven ability to interact effectively with students, parents/guardians, faculty, learning abroad program providers, and overseas partners. Excellent record with multi-task and problem solving in a fast-paced environment. Proven ability to foster positive, collaborative working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.  Knowledge of education abroad programming technology software.

Equivalent combination or substitution of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

Ph.D. in international education or related field. Experience working in education abroad at large comprehensive research university or comparable organization. Experience living or working abroad. Fluency in a language other than English is highly desired.

Salary Range

$108,000+ depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

  • Work in a shared office environment
  • Work around standard office conditions
  • This position is based in Austin, Texas
  • This position is eligible for a flexible working arrangement, upon management approval

Required Materials

  • Resume/CV
  • 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
  • Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.