Associate Dean for the School of Health Sciences

Faculty are essential to Liberty University’s mission of Training Champions for Christ. It is expected that ‎‎‎‎‎a faculty member model a personal commitment to the goals and values of Liberty University, engage ‎‎‎‎‎in an active commitment to, and experience of, personal spiritual formation within a biblically informed ‎‎‎‎‎Christian worldview. Faculty should view their teaching, engagement with students, and scholarship as a ‎‎‎means to a significant educational ‎‎end. They should strive to employ a variety of techniques for the ‎‎‎development of good learning ‎‎conditions, view each student as a unique individual, and insofar as it is ‎‎‎possible, provide for individual ‎‎differences, abilities, and interests. ‎

The Associate Dean is a full time, 12 month contracted position within the designated college or school. This position is an academic administrator, as well as a member of the faculty, whose primary role is to support the Dean of the College/School in providing exceptional leadership for curricular initiatives, strategic planning, program evaluation and development, and the management of administrative and financial affairs. Duties include coordinating the daily operations of the College/School and all matters necessary for the progress and management of the College/School. Other duties may be required, as determined by University and/or College/School leadership, per the Liberty University Faculty Handbook.

The Associate Dean, School of Health Sciences is a key strategic leadership position within the Liberty University Health Sciences administration. Reporting directly to the Dean and working collaboratively with chairs, Dean's Office staff, and faculty, the Associate Dean plays an integral support role in leading School of Health Sciences projects and initiatives. The Associate Dean aligns projects with business goals, constructs detailed work plans, and communicates results across a stakeholder audience. The Associate Dean is responsible for oversight and coordination of programs and activities that support research and operations for the school. The successful candidate will serve as a trusted advisor to the Dean, providing proactive, comprehensive support and forecasting to the strategic administrative and operational priorities, including partnering closely with administrative partners and leaders of the School of Health Sciences. The successful candidate will maximize people and projects. He/she will work with key university constituencies including IT, marketing, institutional effectiveness, and research. He/she will lead the team to keep projects or programs on schedule and within scope and budget, working toward high efficiencies and flawless execution.

Objectives of the Role

• In collaboration with the dean, build and develop the project teams to ensure maximum performance, providing purpose, direction, and motivation.
• Lead projects from inception through successful deployment, identifying schedules, scopes, budget estimations, and project implementation plans, including risk mitigation.
• To coordinate internal and external resources, ensuring projects remain within scope, schedule, and defined budgets, in collaboration with project staff from various functional departments.
• Analyze project progress and, when necessary, adapt scope, timelines, and costs to ensure that the project team adheres to project requirements.
• Establish and maintain relationships with appropriate stakeholders.
• Develop and support mechanisms that promote research/scholarship of faculty and graduate/undergraduate students.
• Promote, develop opportunities for, and support interdisciplinary research/scholarship and/or clusters.

Essential Functions

• Oversight of operational activities to facilitate effective project management across teams.
• Determines and prioritizes which matters need the dean’s attention and works with appropriate leadership to resolve complex operational matters.
• Works closely with the dean on projects and issues of significant impact to the school.
• Works closely with the dean to lead projects and initiatives that support the priorities and mission of both Liberty University and the School of Health Sciences.
• Provides operational oversight for the internal strategic planning processes and internal priorities for growing the School of Health Sciences.
• Develops and implements the organizational systems that support the goals necessary to enable the dean to lead comprehensive strategy of all constituents (faculty, staff, students, researchers, etc.).
• Collaborating with administrative and faculty leaders, helps identify and resolve issues of substantial significance that affect the overall functioning of the school. Collaborating with administrative, staff and faculty leaders, helps move forward institutional priorities.
• Assists with various communique documentation. Ensures effective communication across the team; identifies and helps resolve team issues or concerns; all to drive the effectiveness of the team.
• Conducts research on education, pedagogy practice, and related issues at the direction of the dean. Serve as an expert resource on current education and pedagogy trends
• Collaborates with other leaders and communicates with Institutional Effectiveness and Research and external accreditors on matters affecting the School of Health Sciences.

Daily/Monthly Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain processes to manage scope over the project lifecycle, setting project quality and performance standards, and assessing and managing risk within, and across, multiple projects.
• Structure and manage integrated, multi-track project performance databases for multiple digital, print, social, broadcast, and experiential projects, with an eye on overall progress.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with outside resources—including third-party vendors and researchers
• Monitor and assign resources appropriately to streamline project efficiency and maximize deliverable outputs.
• Report project outcomes and/or risks to the appropriate management channels as needed—escalating issues as necessary based on project work plans.
• Assists with budget planning and management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional certification PMP or similar
• Previous success in producing deliverable software platforms
• Management of deadlines and budgetary guidelines
• Experience developing in-house platforms for internal processes
• Experience coaching and educating project teams to strengthen team members’ capabilities and skill sets.

Specific areas of responsibility include but are not limited to stewardship of:

• Enrollment management
• Liaison with various academic support and business operations offices
• Academic Facilities
• Assessment, Accreditation
• Oversee Catalog/Curriculum Review Process
• Oversee Program Review
• Data analysis, reports, planning
• Policy and process development
• Administration of summer research program initiative
• Facilitation of New Academic Program Development collaboratively with faculty
• Facilitation of Faculty Development program(s)
• Participates with the leadership team with the recruitment, appointment, orientation, promotion, and dismissal of faculty for the college.
• Shares the evaluation of all faculty with the leadership team.
• Promotes research strategies and implementation plans, ensuring alignment to program outcomes and strategy.
• Participates in the preparation, administration, and monitoring of the program budget.
• Maintains and builds relationships with the University Alumni Association.
• Engages and builds relationships with Donors when requested.
• Collaborate closely with a variety of stakeholders, both internal and external, on all aspects of projects, including planning, content, layout and publication of marketing materials, turnaround time, etc.
• Assist and support the Dean in all administrative functions.
• Supervise and guide the activities of the Dean’ Office staff as assigned.
• Assist in supervising and supporting the work of our department chairs.
• Work closely with curriculum and faculty governance committees to support their work and help set direction for the School of Health Sciences.
• Assist in the management of course offerings and teaching assignments.
• Play a leading role in provision of student services and enforcement of academic policies.
• Facilitate program assessment activities.
• Play a leading role in processes related to the maintenance and renewal of accreditations.
• Assist with development and management of budgets.
• Maintain documentation related to School of Health Sciences processes, committee assignments, governance, etc.
• Other responsibilities as assigned.

Target Hire Date

2025-07-01

Time Type

Full time

Location

Lynchburg - In Office

The University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe it is our moral and legal obligation to meet the responsibility of ensuring that all management practices regarding employees are conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner. In compliance with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and other applicable federal and state statutes, all recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting for all job classifications will be administered without regard to race, color, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability, military veteran status or other applicable status protected by law, including state of employment protected classes. It is, therefore, our policy and intention to evaluate all employees and prospective employees strictly according to the requirements of the job. All personnel related activities such as compensation, benefits, transfers, job classification, assignments, working conditions, educational assistance, terminations, layoffs, and return from layoffs, and all other terms, conditions and privileges of employment will be administered without regard to race, color, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, pregnancy or childbirth, disability, military veteran status or other applicable status protected by law, including all applicable state of employment protected classes. The University is a Christian religious-affiliated organization; and as such, is not subject to religious discrimination requirements. The University’s hiring practices and EEO discrimination practices are in full compliance with both federal and state law. Federal law creates an exception to the “religion” component of the employment discrimination laws for religious organizations (including educational institutions), and permits them to give employment practice preference to members of their own religious beliefs.