Executive Director, Center for Professional Readiness

General Summary

The Executive Director for the Center for Professional Readiness provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for a centralized university-wide function dedicated to advancing student success, clinical education quality, and licensure outcomes across all academic programs and campuses. Within the Center, the role also oversees clinical site development and career services, ensuring strong clinical partnerships and effective pathways from education to employment.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Center for Professional Readiness as a high-impact, institution-wide function
• Partner with academic leaders to align operational processes with student outcomes
• Collaborate with faculty to ensure clinical preparation through effective teaching, advising, and clinical practices
• Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Academic Officer on strategies to improve student success and program performance as students approach graduation, with a focus on clinical readiness, licensure success, and successful program completion.
• Develop and implement comprehensive, program-integrated licensure preparation strategies
• Establish early identification systems for students at risk of licensure failure and implement targeted intervention strategies
• Monitor and analyze licensure performance data across programs and campuses
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives to increase first-time pass rates and overall outcomes
• Partner with Program Directors to ensure accountability for licensure performance
• Provide university-level leadership and accountability for the quality and performance of clinical education and placement processes across programs, by partnering with program leaders to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement
• Ensure efficiency, timeliness, and scalability of clinical placements
• Establish standards to ensure placements are appropriate, high-quality, and aligned with student learning needs
• Monitor and improve student satisfaction and experience in clinical environments
• Build, expand, and sustain high-quality clinical partnerships and site relationships
• Promote consistency and excellence in clinical education across campuses
• Design and implement systems to monitor student progression and readiness for clinical and licensure milestones
• Develop standardized approaches to student intervention, remediation, and academic support
• Collaborate with faculty and academic leadership to address student performance gaps
• Ensure alignment between academic preparation, clinical performance, career development, and licensure readiness
• Establish dashboards and reporting structures to track key performance indicators, including licensure pass rates, clinical performance, and student success metrics
• Conduct root cause analyses to identify trends and performance gaps
• Translate data insights into actionable strategies and measurable improvement plans
• Ensure transparency and accountability for outcomes across programs and campuses
• Develop and implement standardized processes for clinical education, student support, and licensure preparation
• Reduce variability in student experience and outcomes across campuses and programs
• Identify, scale, and sustain best practices across the institution

Key Outcomes and Performance Metrics

• Improved licensure pass rates across all programs
• High-quality, consistent clinical education experiences
• Increased student satisfaction and preparedness for practice
• Reduced variability in outcomes across campuses
• Scalable, efficient clinical placement processes
• Strong, sustainable clinical partnerships

Supervisory Responsibility

• Provides direct leadership and oversight for the Clinical Education Central Functions, Site Development, Career Services, and Licensure Success teams
• Holds indirect accountability for overall clinical education performance and licensure outcomes across programs

Technical, Managerial & People Skills Required

• Entry level degree in a clinical discipline
• Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, health sciences education, or a related field
• Demonstrated experience improving licensure/certification pass rates, progression, retention, and/or employment outcomes
• Experience overseeing or partnering with clinical education functions, including placements, site relationships, and experiential learning
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive initiatives across multiple programs and/or campuses
• Strong experience using data and analytics to inform decision-making, assess performance, and drive continuous improvement
• Experience developing and implementing scalable processes and systems in a complex organization

Education and/or Experience Preferred

• Terminal degree in a health sciences discipline or closely related field (e.g., PhD, EdD)
• Experience in a multi-campus, distributed, or systems-based academic environment
• Prior experience in an academic leadership role, such as a Director, Program Director, Associate Dean, or comparable position
• Familiarity with accreditation standards and regulatory requirements in health sciences education (e.g., CAPTE, ACOTE, CCNE, or other health sciences programmatic accreditors)
• Experience with clinical site development, partnership management, and workforce alignment
• Experience overseeing or collaborating with career services and employer engagement initiatives
• Demonstrated success leading student success, clinical education, or professional readiness initiatives at scale

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic and systems-level thinker with the ability to operationalize vision
• Outcomes-driven with a strong focus on accountability and measurable impact
• Collaborative and influential leader with the ability to partner effectively with faculty and academic leadership
• Change agent with experience leading transformation and reducing variability across programs
• Strong communicator with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders