Program Portfolio Innovation, Program Director- Special Education (On-site SLC, UT)

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Job Profile Summary:

The Program Portfolio Innovation, Program Director, is a key leadership role in the School of Education (SOE) that defines programs and offerings that create pathways to opportunity for rising talent at scale, achieving impactful target enrollments, closing the gap in equity and attainment, and providing significant ROI for student tuition investment. Leads innovation and strategy in three distinct areas: academic product development, research and insights, and partnership expansion. The SOE needs focused leadership on refining, repositioning, and innovating its current products, services, and strategic insights. This role requires strong entrepreneurial drive, flexibility, creativity, a high tolerance for ambiguity and change, and the ability to build excellent working relationships with leaders across multiple working groups and university practices. It also requires a unique blend of operational skills, academic credibility, and creativity.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Defines programs and offerings that create pathways to opportunity for rising talent at scale, achieving impactful target enrolments (i.e. 1,000 student/year enrolment); closing the gap in equity and attainment, and providing significant ROI for student tuition investment.
• Constructs the business case for new program and product offerings, including defining the program requirements, market viability, priority, and student success outcomes that guides the drafting of the program concept and proposal.
• Maintains strategic oversight of academic program roadmap.
• Analyses the competitive landscape (including institutions, programs, credentials, cost, enrollment/market share, and positioning) for current and emerging competitors.
• Conducts ongoing research and data analysis to anticipate and adapt current programs and portfolios to compete with current and future emerging academic trends.
• Analyzes and reports on internal and external factors that impact portfolio and/or program scalability to align and drive marketplace appeal.
• Provides ongoing market analysis for assigned programs and portfolios.
• Conducts ongoing research and student outcomes data analysis to determine if a program should be launched, updated, maintained, or retired.
• Leverages program and portfolio strengths and opportunities and institutes strategies to remain competitive in the market.
• Identifies and develops internal and external partnership opportunities that would further the portfolio development.
• Identify local/state/national initiatives that would enable greater scale of the programs (ex: apprenticeships)
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• Proven ability to conceive, build and launch programs.
• Experience presenting program/product vision and roadmaps to senior leadership, faculty, staff and partners.
• Experience working in an extremely fast-paced organization and iteratively creating solutions for complex challenges/issues.
• Ability to work in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment and across multiple stakeholders to ensure effective communication and collaboration across the college and/or organization.
• Student Obsession - Keeps our mission core to all decisions, doesn't lose sight of our end goal. Strives to live up to our WGU promise.
• Business Alignment - Aligns the direction, products, services, and performance of a portfolio and programs with the supporting leaders, faculty, staff and college(s).
• Innovation - Develops new insights into situations and applies different solutions to make improvements. Expects fresh, big, bold thinking and looks for new ideas everywhere.
• Judgement - Makes sound decisions; bases decisions on fact rather than emotion; analyzes problems skillfully; uses logic to reach solutions.
• Ability to deal with ambiguity - Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
• Earn Trust - Earns trust and respect through consistent honesty and professionalism in all interactions. Listens genuinely, speaks directly, treats others with respect.
• Cross-department Collaboration - Works cooperatively with multiple departments, to accomplish objectives to build and maintain mutually-beneficial partnerships, leverage information, and achieve results.
• Urgency/Deliver Results - Responds to and acts on all challenges in a timely manner. Focuses on desired outcomes, sets and achieves challenging goals.

Job Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Terminal Degree (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) from an accredited institution. The degree should be specifically related to the content area of the Program Portfolio (Special Education); like Special Education, Special Education Leadership, but could also be in a related field, if there is a Master's Degree in Special Education or Special Education Leadership.
• 10+ years of experience working in Special Education, including 3+ years in the public schools or comparable experience.
• 3+ years of experience in the content area of the Program Portfolio (Special Education).
• Demonstrated experience in designing and/or leading competency-based programs that cater to underserved adult learners in online environments.
• Experience contributing to an institution's accreditation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience participating in state-based committees.
• Experience as an accreditation site visit team member.
• Reading specialist background

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

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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:

How to apply: apply online

Full-time Regular Positions(FT classification, standard working hours = 40)

This is a full-time, regular position 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.

The University is an equal opportunity employer.All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.