Executive Director, Health Professions Education

Position Summary

The Executive Director, Health Professions Education is part of the Office of the Vice Dean for Education at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and leads the Division of Health Professions Education. This division provides shared administrative and operational infrastructure to support master’s degree and related professional programs, enhancing their quality, sustainability, and coordinated growth.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Establish and lead the Division of Health Professions Education. Stand up and operationalize the division, including mission, scope of services, staffing model, governance, and multi-year road map. Define the shared services operating model and service philosophy, ensuring equitable support across programs of varying size, scope, and complexity. Lead alignment with program directors and faculty leadership to set shared priorities and decision-making. Lead annual/biannual program planning, including program review cycles, continuous improvement planning, and risk management. Develop and expand academic programs, including feasibility analysis, business case development, and identification of new offerings aligned with institutional priorities. Cultivate strategic partnerships with industry and health system partners to enhance program growth and long-term sustainability. Strengthen VP&S’s positioning as a leader in health professions, education, and workforce development.

• Operations: Design and phase-in administrative structures and shared service models to reduce faculty burden and support the student experience. Partner with program leadership to strengthen consistency in key aspects of the student experience where centralized functions intersect (e.g., onboarding, communications, coordination of services) while maintaining program-level ownership. Establish clear workflows, service level expectations, and well-defined reporting lines for program operations and create supporting documentation including standard operating procedures (SOPs) and related materials. Oversee development of operational dashboards and reporting tools to monitor service delivery and inform continuous improvement. Identify opportunities for shared infrastructure across programs (e.g., financial planning, admissions and evaluation systems, space allocation). Formalize service agreements to clarify scope, accountability, and cost allocation across shared services.

• Finance and Budgeting: Partner with CUIMC Finance to develop and maintain financial models for each program to assess program sustainability, inform decision making, and portfolio level planning. Establish transparent cost allocation frameworks, program analyses, and risk mitigation strategies. Align tuition models, enrollment strategy, cohort sizing, and resource allocation with institutional capacity. Conduct enrollment forecasting and scenario planning (cohort sizing, market shifts, expansion/contraction options) in close partnership with program directors. Recommend budget reallocations and resource optimization strategies.

• People: Support execution of people strategies, including performance management, employee engagement, workforce and succession planning, and staff development. Provide oversight of staff performance and development, including coaching, training, feedback, and support for onboarding efforts. Establish and promote a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and professional development to ensure highest levels of staff satisfaction and performance. Collaborate with leadership to define and align roles, responsibilities, and expectations, supporting clarity, team effectiveness, and evolving operational needs. Serve as a key liaison across stakeholders, fostering strong relationships and ensuring clear communication and alignment across the medical education mission and the organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10 years related experience.
• Bachelor's degree required or equivalent in education and experience.
• Master's degree or terminal degree preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience within an academic medical center or research-intensive institution.
• Familiarity with accreditation and compliance environments relevant to graduate and health professions programs.