ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE PROGRAMS

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

The College of Engineering has an outstanding opportunity for a Associate Director of Engineering Excellence Programs

The purpose for this role is to deploy the College of Engineering’s (CoE) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy and implementation plan for the CoE and its business units/academic departments, ensuring a strategic, core and common approach to infusing DEI into the work of faculty and staff, and fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace that promotes a sense of belonging.

The Associate Director of Engineering Excellence Programs is a new role in the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIE), CoE at the University of Washington (UW). As part of the OIE team, the Associate Director will apply the DEI lens and is seen as a prominent thought leader and enterprise subject matter expert. This role reports to the Associate Dean for DEI (AD for DEI) and has a close relationship with leadership teams across the CoE, provides DEI support and guidance to find solutions that shape and drive cultural change across the entire ecosystem, and influences the buy-in and adoption of those solutions with regard to faculty and staff. They influence and consult leadership on best practices and emerging trends and provide consultation on highly complex or sensitive inquiries regarding diversity and inclusion needs or issues impacting the work of faculty and staff and the environment in which they function. Through the Office of Inclusive Excellence, they work across leadership teams and units, leading dialogues about diversity needs, priorities, and opportunities to drive clarity and ensure strong partnerships and the adoption of recommendations to promote an equitable and inclusive environment in which faculty and staff can thrive. Their strong network and partnerships across the CoE and the University are critical to ensuring a common understanding of DEI initiatives. They also collaborate with leadership teams to determine needs for readiness and efficiency and extract insights to inform DEI strategy design. As needed, they resolve critical diversity issues concerning faculty and staff.

The person in this role:
• Will centrally provide leadership, guidance, coaching, etc. to CoE staff and faculty with regard to four core DEI components:
o Strategic Implementation of the OIE Plan
o Training/Development
o College Culture
o Resource Matching
• Clients served by this position’s work include CoE Department Chairs, DEI Officers (DEIOs), CoE Unit Directors and Department Diversity Committees on the aforementioned core DEI components
• Will collaborate with leadership teams on DEI strategy and design
• Will resolve critical diversity issues concerning faculty/staff experience
• Will lead dialogues about diversity needs, priorities, and opportunities
• In addition to serving as a resource person for faculty/staff, this position will support the AD for DEI in a strategic planning capacity for the Office of Inclusive Excellence. This position will bear lead responsibilities for the OIE team in support of the AD for DEI.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Implementation, Training and Development of the OIE Plan

• Serve as the DEI thought leader supporting CoE faculty and staff experience.
• Deploy the CoE’s DEI strategy and implementation plan for the CoE and its business units/academic departments, ensuring a strategic, core and common approach to infusing DEI into the work of faculty and staff, and fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace that promotes a sense of belonging.
• Lead with data-based insights and recommendations; including sentiment analysis and poll/pulse related quantitative and qualitative input as available (through reporting and listening systems).
• Formalize faculty/staff training and professional development in support of inclusive and equitable departmental practices.
• Coach leaders and managers on DEI topics regarding the equitable and inclusive development of CoE faculty and staff, and fostering a sense of belonging and community among them
• Develop, plan, and deliver communication and training/education/workshops to faculty and staff around DEI and related subject matter to increase cultural competence and DEI fluency.
• Develop, plan, and deliver communication and training/education/workshops to the College community around DEI impacts to the experiences of faculty and staff in the CoE.
• Research and provide cutting edge recommendations to enhance faculty and staff experience based on external best practices and CoE diversity and inclusion focus areas
• Collaboratively work with OIE Student Experience Specialist on developing training module

Supervision
• Effectively and regularly sets goals and priorities for individual staff and the team, ensuring they work together to enhance and bolster student development and success, increase retention and minimize and manage crisis situations.
• Holds individual weekly or bi-weekly meetings with each staff member.
• Works with individuals and the team to set goals, providing feedback and coaching and fostering professional growth and development; conducts performance evaluations; and as needed, constructively addresses employee performance deficiencies on a timely basis consistent with applicable policies.
• Continuously evaluate services and re-assign duties or initiate new services as needed to meet organizational goals.

College Culture
• In conjunction with academic affairs and other appropriate leadership, support faculty and staff efforts to incorporate DEI into the academic experience and learning of students in the department.
• Support the AD in mentoring faculty in developing broadening participation plans and other faculty-led diversity funding possibilities.
• Provide guidance to CoE leaders and business units on fostering a sense of belonging and community for the CoE faculty and staff population.
• Support outreach and recruitment efforts to increase diversity of faculty and staff.
• Serve as a resource for Department chairs, DEIOs, CoE Unit Directors and Departmental Diversity Committees in fostering inclusion and equity among faculty and staff.

Resource Matching
• Collaborate proactively and strategically with other units and organizations on campus that support faculty and staff (e.g. UW Professional Staff Organization, affinity groups for faculty and staff, etc.).
• Ensure that the CoE engages in outreach that plugs traditionally underrepresented, and minoritized faculty and staff into resources and supports that will foster success.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's Degree in a DEI-related field such as HR, education, sociology, cultural anthropology or a related discipline and a minimum of four to five years of successful experience overseeing DEI activities and programming at a college or university.
• Demonstrated commitment to serving diverse populations/communities representing a range of social, economic, cultural, ideological, racial, and/or ethnic backgrounds.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting and speaking to groups.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the capability to work professionally, courteously, and effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators.
• Proficiency for being strategic, visionary, transformative, and tactical while delivering tangible results.
• Skills in program management, as illustrated by the ability to set priorities and manage multiple projects and competing deadlines.
• Experience with outreach activities geared toward faculty, staff and students.
• Problem-solver able to successfully navigate a complex organization and identify creative solutions.
• Experience exercising discretion with complex and sensitive issues.
• Experience with data collection and analyses using social science/humanities/education methodologies.
• Awareness of and ability to leverage group dynamics to facilitate group learning and individual engagement.
• Demonstrated ability to be a self-starter who takes initiative and follows through.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

DESIRED REQUIREMENTS:

• Advanced degree, preferably in education, sociology, cultural anthropology, related discipline or in STEM.
• Supervisory experience, preferably in a higher education setting.
• Demonstrated conflict management and facilitation skills.
• Five or more years of experience demonstrating success and knowledge in the administration of a variety of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, community outreach, government, or social justice programs, at least two years in a DEI-focused leadership role experience supervising staff.
• Demonstrated leadership role with subject matter expertise building equitable processes, working collaboratively with teams and developing and maintaining relationships among members of underrepresented communities externally and internally with employees from a wide variety of professions.
• Demonstrated substantive understanding of theories of DEI, as well as professional expertise gained through practice, advocacy, scholarship, teaching, and/or research.
• A strategic leader who can unify stakeholders within schools and colleges, and across campus, around a core DEI mission.

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.