Director of Education & Academy Strategy

Job Description

The Director of Education & Academic Strategy serves as the chief academic and learning officer for the Acquisition Talent Base and all future iterations of the ATB curriculum for varied audiences, providing vision, leadership, and strategic direction for the program’s educational ecosystem. This role is responsible for establishing and advancing academic strategies, curriculum architectures, assessment frameworks, stakeholder engagement models, and learner experiences across a multi-university and multi-organizational consortium.

As a key member of the leadership team, the Director reports to the Program Director and partners with content SMEs, federal government leaders, stakeholders, and workforce development partners to ensure programs deliver rigorous, innovative, and mission-aligned educational experiences that develop the next generation of the civilian workforce in public service and industry partners.

The Director oversees the design and continuous improvement of multidisciplinary learning experiences that integrate national security, defense acquisition, digital transformation, leadership, workforce readiness, and employability skills. This leader drives educational excellence while ensuring program scalability, stakeholder alignment, and measurable impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute long-term academic vision, educational strategy, and learning innovation roadmap.
• Create and develop a centralized library of content for all educational needs.
• Serve as the senior educational advisor to program leadership, and federal government stakeholders.
• Establish academic priorities that align with evolving defense workforce needs, federal talent development initiatives, and national security priorities.
• Lead educational transformation efforts that position the team as a premier civilian defense talent development program.
• Translate strategic workforce requirements into scalable educational solutions and learning pathways.
• Identify emerging trends in higher education, workforce talent development, defense education, learning science, and educational technology to inform program direction.
• Participate in conferences, advisory boards, academic forums, and strategic stakeholder engagements.

Academic Governance & Consortium Leadership

Key Responsibilities

• Lead academic governance across participating universities and partner institutions.
• Establish standards, policies, and quality assurance processes that ensure consistency while supporting flexibility.
• Facilitate collaboration among military stakeholders, content SMEs, and program administrators.
• Chair curriculum councils, academic advisory groups, and educational working groups.
• Build alignment among diverse stakeholders with varying missions, priorities, and operational requirements.
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with universities, government agencies, organizations, and industry leaders.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement across the consortium.

Curriculum Strategy & Learning Architecture

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the design, implementation, and evolution of educational framework and curriculum architecture.
• Ensure alignment between program outcomes, competencies, courses, assessments, internships, and experiential learning opportunities.
• Lead the development of multidisciplinary learning experiences focused on national security, federal government operations, systems thinking, defense acquisition, digital transformation, leadership development, workforce readiness, and employability skills.
• Guide the integration of active learning, project-based learning, experiential education, simulations, and technology-enhanced instruction.
• Establish competency frameworks and learning progression models that support learner growth across the program lifecycle.
• Ensure curriculum remains current, relevant, and responsive to changing workforce needs.

Stakeholder Strategy & Development

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a comprehensive stakeholder engagement and development strategy.
• Onboard and support stakeholders across participating institutions.
• Establish stakeholder standards and instructional expectations.
• Promote innovative teaching practices and evidence-based instructional methods.
• Support communities of practice focused on continuous learning and educational excellence.

Assessment, Research & Continuous Improvement

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and oversee a comprehensive assessment and evaluation framework.
• Define key performance indicators and success metrics aligned to program goals and stakeholder expectations.
• Lead the collection, analysis, and interpretation of educational data, learner outcomes, and workforce readiness indicators.
• Evaluate curriculum effectiveness and learner achievement to inform strategic decision-making.
• Oversee educational research initiatives that demonstrate program impact and support continuous improvement.
• Develop executive-level reports and recommendations for senior leaders and federal government stakeholders.
• Drive evidence-based decision-making across all educational initiatives.

Student Experience & Workforce Readiness

Key Responsibilities

• Champion a learner-centered experience that promotes engagement, belonging, and success.
• Ensure students develop the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for future civilian defense careers.
• Integrate leadership development, self-leadership, collaboration, adaptability, communication, and complex problem-solving throughout the curriculum.
• Partner with internship and workforce stakeholders to strengthen connections between academic learning and real-world application.
• Use student feedback, performance data, and workforce outcomes to enhance program effectiveness.

Educational Technology & Innovation

Key Responsibilities

• Establish strategy for learning technologies, digital learning environments, and educational innovation.
• Evaluate and implement tools that enhance learner engagement, accessibility, and instructional effectiveness.
• Lead the development of scalable online, hybrid, and blended learning models.
• Ensure technology investments support educational goals and improve learner outcomes.
• Promote experimentation and innovation through pilot programs and emerging technologies.

Organizational Leadership

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop teams responsible for curriculum development, instructional design, assessment, educational technology, faculty support, and learner success.
• Build organizational capability through coaching, mentoring, and talent development.
• Establish operational priorities, resource plans, and performance expectations.
• Manage budgets, contracts, timelines, and strategic initiatives.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and operational excellence.

Qualifications

Required

• Master’s degree in Education, Learning Sciences, Instructional Design, or Organizational Development.
• 12+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education, workforce development, talent development, instructional design, or educational strategy.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex educational programs, teams, or organizations.
• Demonstrated experience developing educational strategy and managing large-scale curriculum initiatives.
• Experience leading cross-functional and multi-stakeholder partnerships.
• Strong understanding of assessment, evaluation, and learning analytics.
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and executive-level presentation skills.

Preferred

• Doctorate (Ed.D., Ph.D., or equivalent).
• Experience working with federal government, federal agencies, military organizations, or national security partners.
• Experience building competency-based and workforce-aligned education programs.
• Knowledge of defense workforce development priorities and talent pipeline initiatives.

Department

Defense Civilian Training Corps

Compensation Range

In compliance with the New Jersey Wage Transparency Act, the annual base range for this position is $175,000 -$205,000. This range represents the University’s good faith estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Stevens Institute of Technology determines compensation based on factors including the position’s scope and responsibilities, the candidate’s experience, education, skills, internal equity, market data, and organizational considerations. The final salary will be set considering departmental budget, qualifications, and relevant credentials. This pay range represents base pay only and excludes additional forms of compensation, such as incentives, stipends, or other applicable pay components. For a full overview of our benefits offerings, please refer to the Stevens Institute of Technology Benefits Guidebook, available at:

Benefits Guidebook

EEO Statement:

Stevens Institute of Technology is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Accordingly, Stevens adheres to an employment policy that prohibits discriminatory practices or harassment against candidates or employees based on legally impermissible factor(s) including, but not necessarily limited to, race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, nationality, citizenship status, age, ancestry, marital or domestic partnership or civil union status, familial status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, atypical cellular or blood trait, genetic information, pregnancy or pregnancy-related medical conditions, disability, or any protected military or veteran status. 

Stevens is building a diverse faculty, staff, and student body and strongly encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. Stevens is a federal contractor under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as other federal statutes. Stevens seeks candidates who will contribute to a welcoming and inclusive environment for all students, faculty and staff.