POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Executive Director will provide regional, national, and international leadership in the formation of strategic partnerships and alliances with companies, organizations and governments to advance Weatherhead School of Management Executive Education. The executive director serves as the champion of Weatherhead executive education and will create and execute a strategy to grow the business. They will broaden management school’s executive offerings to all functional areas, identify new areas of programming, seek new relationships for custom programs, and create new partnerships that leverage the school’s academic programs, themes, faculty, and corporate relationships. The executive director will aggressively pursue new delivery learning solutions to expand audience and learner experience domestically and internationally. The executive director will help the school fully realize its commitment to delivering unparalleled educational experiences that result in superior performance and mutually beneficial relationships in executive education. Additional responsibilities include the development of a long-term strategic plan for Weatherhead executive education, development of appropriate profitability metrics for all programs, and management of the department’s budget in a transparent and fiscally responsible manner.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Grow the business regionally, national and internationally through new and expanded client relationships. Work with the school and university marketing and communications staff to effectively promote the school’s programs. Participate in the creation of new marketing materials and advertisements. Solicit the input of corporate and community leaders, identifying critical needs and seeking their involvement and participation. Benchmark against competing schools to determine competitive positioning. Consider issues and trends in management and executive education and adapt the organization as needed to stay relevant. Identify offerings that will maintain a national and international reputation, be financially viable, and promote lifelong learning. Innovate the existing executive education curriculum. Improve the financial success of programs through increased revenue and careful cost management. Lead efforts to broaden the portfolio of executive programs. Negotiate complex purchase arrangements with corporate and government clients. (60%)
2. Provide leadership for planning, implementing, and evaluating executive education’s programs and services. Develop and implement a plan which incorporates the strategic direction of Executive Education and metrics to measure its success including expanding the enrollment, prestige and profitability. Meet frequently with clients to discuss program success and create opportunities for further engagement with each organization. Conduct ongoing research to understand the needs in the market and expanding the reach of Weatherhead executive education geographically across multiple dimensions. (20%)
3. Develop and motivate the executive education staff to high levels of performance while building a spirit of teamwork and collaboration, to engage faculty, manage programs, and serve clients. Engage the best thinking of faculty, building an academic environment that motivates and generates new ideas. Increase faculty participation in executive education offerings across all disciplines (both internal and external to the management school). Identify new faculty external to Case Western Reserve for custom and open enrollment programs. Represent the school’s executive education to audiences worldwide. (20%)

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Perform other duties as assigned. (<1%)

CONTACTS

Department: Regular contact with the staff and faculty of Weatherhead executive education to develop and implement strategic plans, anticipate opportunities, and manage responses to organizational inquiries. Regular contact with Weatherhead faculty to disseminate information, design new program offerings, and facilitate interactions with key clientele. Regular contact with the co-deans and associate deans to report on strategic initiatives, program status and financials.

University: Work closely with the senior management of the university to establish and maintain partnerships with the corporate and not-for-profit communities and to address the continuing education needs of the University staff as appropriate. Partner with deans and senior management of other CWRU schools/college to extend executive education offerings of both schools.

External: Daily contact with C-suite executives to establish new partnerships, to develop new custom and open enrollment programs and to leverage new opportunities. New relationships will be regional, national, and international in nature. Daily contact with program participants – both at the Executive Education facility and at the participating organizations.

Students: Routine contact with students enrolled in executive education programs.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Oversees a team of around 13 people focused on executive education.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience: A minimum of 15 years of executive management experience including experience in, and understanding of, the corporate and leadership communities served by executive education. Demonstrated performance/potential for entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative leadership. Experience with, and knowledge of, profit and loss management and financial and budgetary processes. Experience with and knowledge of the role of technology and strategic planning in organizations. Full time corporate work experience strongly preferred.

Education/Licensing: Master’s degree required. Higher degree strongly preferred. Valid driver’s license required.

REQUIRED SKILLS

1. Outstanding business development, marketing and sales skills and experience.
2. Excellent speaking and written communication skills; capacity to communicate effectively with diverse groups and audiences.
3. Demonstrated capacity to inspire and to move diverse interests or perspectives toward consensus and action.
4. Proven managerial expertise and success; Corporate experience is strongly desired.
5. Capacity to effectively represent Weatherhead’s mission, programs, and other interests with external groups and audiences.
6. Flexibility, perseverance, and a sense of urgency.
7. Ability and experience in managing budgets.
8. Strong familiarity with standard desktop software applications (i.e. Microsoft Office).
9. Ability to think big and “outside of the box” to develop new ideas and create faculty support.
10. Demonstrated ability to sell and to manage a complex sales process in a corporate environment.
11. Ability to effectively navigate through the complexities of the school and university environment to effectively manage the organization
12. Ability to meet consistent attendance. Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face to face.

WORKING CONDITIONS

General office working environment. Must have reliable form of transportation. Valid driver’s license required. Will be required to travel domestically and internationally.

In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity.  Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Case Western Reserve University provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.  Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Equity at 216-368-3066 to request a reasonable accommodation.  Determinations as to granting reasonable accommodations for any applicant will be made on a case-by-case basis.