Associate Director, Center for Innovation & Leadership
Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Posted in Education and Training


This job has expired.

Job Info


Job no: 495041
Work type: Full Time
Location: Swarthmore
Categories: Staff, Salary (Exempt)

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation's finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

Who We Are:

Created in 2013, the Center for Innovation and Leadership has as its mission, "to support the Swarthmore community to innovate, lead and create value." Reporting to the Division of Student Affairs and working collaboratively with several centers, departments, and functions at Swarthmore College, such as Career Services, the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, the Office of Student Engagement, and others, the CIL aims to assist the College towards its mission of providing "learners of diverse backgrounds a transformative liberal arts education grounded in rigorous intellectual inquiry and empowers all who share in our community to flourish and contribute to a better world."

Innovation, leadership, and value creation in the 21st-century demand vision, a sense of purpose, cross-cultural fluency, creative thinking, innovation, and flexibility. The CIL provides opportunities for Swarthmore students and our community to develop the abilities to lead and inspire, to listen and learn in ways that meet the challenges of our time, and to reflect the values of our community. To do this work, the CIL cultivates co-curricular opportunities focusing on education and skills development, advising and mentoring, and experiential learning opportunities in innovation and creativity, leadership, and entrepreneurship. The CIL supports the development of a creative, adaptable, ethical, and problem-solving-orientated community on campus.

The opportunity:

The primary role of the Associate Director of the Center for Innovation & Leadership (CIL) is to assist the Director of the CIL in delivering initiatives and programs that help achieve the CIL's mission. In addition, this position will focus on growing programs, initiatives, and partnerships that help the CIL support the College's exploration of the question, "what does it mean to lead at Swarthmore?"

Supporting CIL's Strategic Programs and Operations Leadership Programmatic Development

Creating a support program to explore and develop leadership that involves:

  • Researching and mapping leadership programs nationally and internationally in peer and innovative institutions in higher education and liberal arts, as a benchmark for program development.
  • Developing new programs and initiatives for the leadership base on campus amongst student groups and associations, those who support students and also the staff and faculty.
  • Facilitating the development and implementation of new leadership programs for affinity groups, for example, female, black, activist/organizing, employee, sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion leadership genres.
  • Scaling leadership mentorship opportunities with alumni and others that scales the education and capacity of campus leaders.
  • Exploring internal and external opportunities for leadership development, including clubs and associations, and external events, associations, or competitions that provide wider opportunities for learning, experience, engagement, networking, and recognition.

Creativity & Innovation Initiatives

The CIL values a human-centered approach to developing creativity and innovation skill sets and experiences. The Associate Director will:

  • Research, benchmark, and define current trends and methods of innovative and creative learning and leadership education.
  • Build knowledge and expertise in a human-centered approach and understanding of the design thinking process to foster inventive thinking and action across the CIL programs.
  • Serve as a college resource for innovative processes like idea generation, creativity research, rapid experimentation, and personal student and staff development.
  • Lead workshops and presentations for internal and external stakeholders about design, innovation, and leadership in higher education.

CIL Interns Program

The Associate Director is responsible for all aspects of the student intern program to foster strong student leadership development and professional capacities and which aids in the overarching operations of the CIL:

  • Oversee the CIL's student Intern program through hiring, training, running weekly meetings, and managing intern skill development.
  • Responsible for full oversight of the CIL Intern Program, which includes but is not limited to planning retreats, training, student professional development, and leadership development.
  • Schedule, plan, and facilitate regular student intern group meetings as well as individual check-ins to assess and coach interns on their roles and responsibilities.
  • Write and maintain all training materials, job descriptions, and ongoing intern documents.

Assessment & Evaluation

The Associate Director is responsible for all assessment-related tasks in the CIL to be used to support case making, learning outcomes, and future planning processes in the CIL:

  • Develop and manage comprehensive monitoring and evaluation tools and practices with a data-driven focus to inform program improvement and understanding of student engagement patterns.
  • Track and manage student attendance at all CIL events through dynamic processes fit for each program or event.
  • Create and distribute surveys and questionnaires to CIL stakeholders in a timely manner, including pre-and post-assessment when needed to understand growth over time.
  • Oversight of Institutional Effectiveness processes with the Office of Institutional Research.
  • Monitor and measure engagement with CIL programs for institutional research and report wiring purposes.

Marketing & Communication

In partnership with the Director of the CIL, the Associate Director will oversee the CIL's communication and brand strategy in line with the mission and vision of the CIL:

  • Develop and maintain communication strategies for all CIL programs and services that promote increased visibility of the Center.
  • Write and cultivate written and printed promotional materials such as: event and program promotion, advancement and assessment reports, and other documents as needed.
  • Manage and oversee the CIL web page content through overall design, layout, and content curation; update resources, events, and information on a regular basis.
  • Manage all CIL social media accounts, including but not limited to Instagram and Facebook, with a specific focus on best practices, upcoming trends, and clear sustained updates.
  • Create innovative pathways of information sharing for campus community through digital and print media.
  • Maintain regular communication with the campus community through weekly CIL newsletter.
  • Create semester and year-long calendars to share internally and externally.

College Services

The Associate Director will build strong relationships on campus and support a network of stakeholders by:

  • Creating strategic partnerships to foster awareness and practice of the CIL's mission.
  • Participate in campus committees and working groups on behalf of the CIL.
  • Build strategic relationships with offices and departments across campus to advance the CIL and College initiatives.
  • Attend all-campus celebrations and events as a representative of the CIL.

Who you are:

  • Ability to set strategic direction and design and implement effective institutional policies and programs. Skills in collaboration, managing change, and building consensus.
  • Vital research and analytical skills, interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; ability to work well with a broad range of constituents and successfully collaborate across organizational boundaries; attention to detail; and proven ability to independently lead groups to generate creative solutions.
  • A record of integrity and sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise discretion, and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
  • Mature judgment, strong interpersonal, organizational, and critical thinking skills; adaptability to meet changing demands.
  • Collegiality, approachability, and diplomacy at all levels of the organization.
  • Adapts to new work situations, people, ideas, procedures, and organizational structures, to accommodate an evolving work environment.
  • Able to navigate ambiguity.
  • Exhibits maturity, reliability, composure, and stability under pressure to handle on-the-job challenges.
  • Stellar professional reputation, personal integrity, and ability to maintain confidentiality.

What you bring:

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited university with three to five years of leadership programming management experience (nationally and internationally) in a higher education context (liberal arts preferable) or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Extensive and proven experience working with programs and services that help community members, particularly students, succeed in the university setting. Awareness of current trends in student learning, skill building, and communication around differences to enhance the experience of students on campus.
  • Experience facilitating educational training and mentoring sessions, ideally using a human-centered approach and methodology.
  • Proven experience building interdisciplinary, international partnerships across private and public sector stakeholders.
  • Experience working with alums and parents.
  • Demonstrate supervisory skills and the ability to motivate and engage others.

Physical Demands

  • Walking, standing, lifting, and carrying materials and small equipment for events and programs up to approximately 50 pounds. No excessive physical demands are required to perform the work.
  • May encounter 'emotionally charged' situations that could escalate.

Working Conditions

  • May work some nights and weekends depending on the semester calendar.
  • Work will be primarily self-driven and independent. Will require out-of-regular office hours engagement as necessary to ensure successful completion of the tasks.
  • The role may require travel periods to meet stakeholders and project partners locally, nationally, and internationally.

What You Will Get:

You'll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus and collaborative work environment. And you will join a team of passionate, creative, and supportive people who work hard and have fun supporting the College community.

Review the Swarthmore Benefits Guidebook, we offer benefit plans starting at $0 per month! Upon benefit eligibility, the College contributes 10% of an employee's salary to their retirement account. Employees are 100% vested in their accounts on the date participation begins.

Swarthmore Benefits Flyer

Paid Time Off (Staff)

Holiday Schedule

For full consideration, submit applications including resume and cover letter with pay expectations by January 9, 2023. If you are excited about this role, we want to hear from you!

Swarthmore College actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Advertised: Dec 12 2022 Eastern Standard Time
Applications close: Open until filled


This job has expired.

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