Director, Learning Programs

Posting Number: req22640 

Department: Online Initiatives 

Department Website Link: https://azonline.arizona.edu/ 

Location: Main Campus

Address: Tucson, AZ USA 

Position Highlights

The Director of Learning Programs provides strategic leadership and cross-functional oversight of credit and non-credit offerings within the Academic Innovation. This position leads a portfolio that includes professional and continuing education, custom workforce training, and academic programs, including Arizona Online and location-based programs. 

The Director supervises assistant directors responsible for non-credit programs, educational pathway partnerships, and for-credit learning initiatives, guiding the lifecycle of program development from ideation through execution and ongoing improvement. This role works collaboratively with faculty, colleges, departments, and external stakeholders to ensure that all programs align with institutional goals related to innovation, access, and learner success across multiple educational contexts. 

Arizona Online is the online campus of the University of Arizona. We offer undergraduate and graduate level degrees and certificates 100% online. We are dedicated to providing online courses that are just as rigorous and challenging as our on-campus classes. 

The team at Arizona Online provides full-service support to students, staff and faculty at all phases of a degree program’s evolution. We work closely with colleges and faculty to develop, onboard and market degree programs. Arizona Online will also support our students every step of the way through their academic journey with resources for enrollment and advising.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

The University of Arizona has been recognized for our innovative work-life programs. For more information about working at the University of Arizona and relocations services, please click here.

Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Portfolio Oversight

• Provide vision, direction, and oversight for a comprehensive portfolio of learning programs, including non-credit continuing and professional education, custom training, for-credit offerings through Arizona Online and location-based programs.
• Use market research and workforce data, make recommendations to the Vice Provost about strategic investments for development and growth.
• Align all programming with institutional priorities for access, innovation, and learner impact.

Supervision and Team Development

• Directly supervise Assistant Directors responsible for non-credit program development, academic pathway partnerships, and for-credit learning programs.
• Guide goal-setting, professional development, and cross-functional collaboration among teams to ensure high performance and shared outcomes.

Program Lifecycle and Innovation Management

• Oversee the full lifecycle of learning programs—from ideation and development to launch and long-term maintenance and champion innovative approaches to delivery, credentialing, and learner engagement across formats and modalities.

Stakeholder Engagement and Governance

• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with colleges, departments, faculty, staff, and external partners to co-create relevant, mission-aligned learning programs.
• Represent the unit in committee meetings and governance forums to support academic planning and policy discussions.

Evaluation and Continuous Improvement

• Lead assessment and evaluation efforts across the learning program portfolio.
• Track key performance indicators, synthesizes findings, and delivers insights to support continuous programmatic improvement.
• Prepare periodic reports and presentations for the Vice Provost, university leadership, and shared governance bodies. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively with different groups/individuals. 
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information. 
• Ability to build strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to co-create mission-aligned learning programs.
• Ability to guide program development through agile, learner-centered, and data-informed processes.
• Ability to communicate effectively with academic leaders, faculty, staff, and industry partners.
• Ability to think strategically while managing multiple projects with competing timelines and priorities.
• Knowledge of non-credit continuing and professional education.
• Knowledge of academic and workforce needs. 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Minimum of 7 years of related work experience, including 3 years of managerial experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree preferred.
• Experience with leading teams and managing complex educational program portfolios across credit and non-credit domains.

FLSA: Exempt 

Full Time/Part Time: Full Time

Number of Hours Worked per Week: 40.00 

Job FTE: 1.00

Work Calendar: Fiscal

Job Category: Academic Administration

Benefits Eligible: Yes – Full Benefits 

Rate of Pay: $99,901-$129,871

Compensation Type: salary at 1.0 full-time equivalency (FTE) 

Grade: 12

Compensation Guidance

The Rate of Pay Field represents the University of Arizona’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting. The University considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, and internal equity. 

The Grade Range represent a full range of career compensation growth over time. The university offers compensation growth opportunities within its career architecture. To learn more about compensation, please review our Applicant Compensation Guide and our Total Rewards Calculator. 

Career Stream and Level: M3

Job Family: Academic Program Mgmt 

Job Function: Academic Administration 

Type of criminal background check required: Name-based criminal background check (non-security sensitive) 

Number of Vacancies: 1 

Target Hire Date: 7/7/2025 

Expected End Date

Contact Information for Candidates: Bonnie Taylor, Director, Outreach and Business Affairs bonnie@arizona.edu  

Open Date: 4/29/2025

Open Until Filled: Yes

Documents Needed to Apply: Resume and Cover Letter

Special Instructions to Applicant

Notice of Availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report

In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act), each year the University of Arizona releases an Annual Security Report (ASR) for each of the University’s campuses. These reports disclose information including Clery crime statistics for the previous three calendar years and policies, procedures, and programs the University uses to keep students and employees safe, including how to report crimes or other emergencies and resources for crime victims. As a campus with residential housing facilities, the Main Campus ASR also includes a combined Annual Fire Safety report with information on fire statistics and fire safety systems, policies, and procedures. 

Paper copies of the Reports can be obtained by contacting the University Compliance Office at cleryact@arizona.edu.