Darden Dean’s Graduate Leadership Fellow

The Darden Dean’s Graduate Leadership Fellow is a one or two-year prestigious position for a recent Darden MBA or UVA advanced degree graduate supporting Darden and the dean’s office on the school’s current, highest priorities. The Dean’s Leadership Fellow will work on a variety of strategic, consulting enterprise projects that require cutting edge analytic and problem-solving skills. The Fellow will assist with critical research, coordinate outreach and communications, and manage special projects as assigned by the Dean, Chief of Staff, Sr. Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, and other members of the Dean’s Enterprise team. The Fellow reports to the Dean’s Chief of Staff. The Fellow provides leadership to internal strategy consulting at Darden, working with the Future Year Scholar Fellows team, the Chief Strategy Officer, and the Dean’s Office to advance priorities of the School. The Fellow may provide direct supervision to FYS Fellows and MBA student teams working on Darden innovation projects. The Fellow may spend dedicated time in specific Darden departments working to advance strategic initiatives as assigned by the Dean’s Office and Enterprise Team leaders.

The Fellow will be comfortable conducting sophisticated analysis, developing presentations for executive-level audiences, leading teams in a collaborative, matrix environment and managing others, and overseeing complex projects to deliver timely results against key priorities.  He or she will deal well with ambiguity, demonstrate flexibility with changing needs and exhibit grace under pressure.  The Fellow will be a team player, able to work within a matrixed and non-hierarchical structure and work independently using a high level of analytical and people skills.

This position has a 1-year or 2-year term limit, determined by candidate’s career goals and the business needs of the School. At the conclusion of the appointment, the Fellow will be required to submit a written summary report of accomplishments, including recommendations for current and future initiatives.  This is a competitively paid position, including a generous benefits. Each Fellow will receive personal coaching from the dean of Darden and other senior leaders.  Multiple Fellows may be appointed in any one year.

Support for the Dean’s Office Priorities:

• Conducts research and provides analysis related to the development and implementation of the Darden’s mission and strategic initiatives.

• Researches and analyzes issues in higher education for the Dean, Chief of Staff’s and Sr. Assistant Dean’s review and use. Develops appropriate external benchmarking analysis, conducts industry analysis, problem-solves, and makes recommendations based on best practices in higher education and management education trends befitting a top-10 global business school.

• Involving key stakeholders as appropriate, support the Dean’s projects including research, analysis, and soliciting, assimilating, and shaping recommendations.

• Identifies and supports opportunities for the Dean to engage with the University community, with a particular focus on opportunities for student interaction.

• Researches, coordinates, and drafts briefing and background materials for the Dean, Chief of Staff and Sr. Assistant Dean in advance of meetings and events.

• Prepares reports and recommendations for leadership that effectively communicate trends, patterns, and predictions using relevant data. Develops executive-level presentations and analyses for use by the senior leadership of the School, makes presentations and recommendations to internal stakeholders.

• Serves as a liaison between the Dean’s Office and other University/Darden departments for specific projects and assignments. May work within a given Darden department on a special assignment as required for a fixed period of time.

• Carries out other duties as assigned by the dean’s office.

• Assists with unforeseen priorities that emerge in the Office of the Dean.

• Leads internal consulting engagements in the Dean’s Office by the Future Year Scholars Fellows, ensuring high impact of these Fellowship teams. Manages student-led strategy projects for the Dean’s Office.

• Directly supervises the Darden Future Years Scholar (FYS) Fellowship team. The Graduate Fellow draws upon critical concepts learned through the MBA classroom experience to provide mentorship to this group of pre-MBA fellows. The Graduate Fellow offers guidance and direction on how to approach projects, engage with stakeholders, and present ideas and data in a concise and impactful manner.

• Determines and prioritizes enterprise-wide initiatives for FYS engagement. Manages the project workload to match initiatives/projects with the skills, interest and bandwidth of the FYS Fellows.

• Provides mentorship to the FYS Fellows by meeting regularly, both individually and as a team. Provides timely feedback and ensures their work is challenging and meaningful.  

• Engages with senior leadership on current FYS projects, determines future initiatives and gathers feedback on the impact of the FYS team across the Enterprise.

Required Education:

• Advanced degree from UVA required. Preference for Darden MBA degree. Three to five years of relevant experience is required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills; proven ability to clearly articulate information in multiple forums to a broad array of stakeholders.

• Attention to detail and ability to juggle multiple projects big and small; organized. 

• Excellent operational and project management skills, including the ability to prioritize and multi-task.

• Strong professional work ethic; willing to go the extra mile with a ‘can do’ attitude

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to utilize data for effective analysis.

• Technical skills include strong knowledge of spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets; and data visualization software such as PowerPoint.  Knowledge of database languages such as SQL, R, or Python and other software such as Tableau or Qlik a plus (otherwise, willingness and ability to quickly learn them).

• Strong mathematical and statistical skills to gather, measure, organize, and analyze data.  Understanding of business fundamentals (e.g., accounting, finance, business language)

• Ability to designing and maintain data systems and databases.

• Ability to mine data from primary and secondary sources, then reorganize data in a format that can be easily manipulated.

• Ability to use statistical tools to interpret data sets, paying particular attention to trends and patterns that could be valuable for diagnostic and predictive analytics efforts.

• High level of emotional intelligence, empathy, and collaboration that allows the incumbent to achieve results through informal authority.

• Trustworthy and demonstrates strong integrity and sound judgment about how to represent the Dean and his office in a variety of settings - including ability to exercise appropriate discretion when dealing with sensitive or confidential issues.

• Technical skills in working with spreadsheet and presentation software.

• Ability to interact with executive level administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders in a productive, positive and professional manner.

• Flexibility and capability to deal with ambiguity and shared governance.

• Ability to handle sensitive issues while maintaining complete confidentiality.

• Ability to exercise discretion in prioritizing tasks, sharing information, and using independent judgment.

• Ability to work independently as well as in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

• Ability to exercise a high degree of initiative and to execute actions using judgment and discretion.

• Impact and end product orientation; gets things done both individually and through others.  Believes in and is motivated by Darden’s mission.

Salary is competitive with experience, with a generous benefits package.  

This position will remain open until filled.  This is an Exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.  For questions about the position or the application process, please contact Ashley Cochran, Senior Recruiter at [email protected].  

Please apply through Workday, and search for "Darden Dean’s Graduate Leadership Fellow". Complete an application online and attach a cover letter and CV/resume all into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.  We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences.  We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.

The Darden Dean’s Graduate Leadership Fellow is a one or two-year prestigious position for a recent Darden MBA or UVA advanced degree graduate supporting Darden and the dean’s office on the school’s current, highest priorities. The Dean’s Leadership Fellow will work on a variety of strategic, consulting enterprise projects that require cutting edge analytic and problem-solving skills. The Fellow will assist with critical research, coordinate outreach and communications, and manage special projects as assigned by the Dean, Chief of Staff, Sr. Assistant Dean for Student Engagement, and other members of the Dean’s Enterprise team. The Fellow reports to the Dean’s Chief of Staff. The Fellow provides leadership to internal strategy consulting at Darden, working with the Future Year Scholar Fellows team, the Chief Strategy Officer, and the Dean’s Office to advance priorities of the School. The Fellow may provide direct supervision to FYS Fellows and MBA student teams working on Darden innovation projects. The Fellow may spend dedicated time in specific Darden departments working to advance strategic initiatives as assigned by the Dean’s Office and Enterprise Team leaders.

The Fellow will be comfortable conducting sophisticated analysis, developing presentations for executive-level audiences, leading teams in a collaborative, matrix environment and managing others, and overseeing complex projects to deliver timely results against key priorities.  He or she will deal well with ambiguity, demonstrate flexibility with changing needs and exhibit grace under pressure.  The Fellow will be a team player, able to work within a matrixed and non-hierarchical structure and work independently using a high level of analytical and people skills.

This position has a 1-year or 2-year term limit, determined by candidate’s career goals and the business needs of the School. At the conclusion of the appointment, the Fellow will be required to submit a written summary report of accomplishments, including recommendations for current and future initiatives.  This is a competitively paid position, including a generous benefits. Each Fellow will receive personal coaching from the dean of Darden and other senior leaders.  Multiple Fellows may be appointed in any one year.

Support for the Dean’s Office Priorities:

• Conducts research and provides analysis related to the development and implementation of the Darden’s mission and strategic initiatives.

• Researches and analyzes issues in higher education for the Dean, Chief of Staff’s and Sr. Assistant Dean’s review and use. Develops appropriate external benchmarking analysis, conducts industry analysis, problem-solves, and makes recommendations based on best practices in higher education and management education trends befitting a top-10 global business school.

• Involving key stakeholders as appropriate, support the Dean’s projects including research, analysis, and soliciting, assimilating, and shaping recommendations.

• Identifies and supports opportunities for the Dean to engage with the University community, with a particular focus on opportunities for student interaction.

• Researches, coordinates, and drafts briefing and background materials for the Dean, Chief of Staff and Sr. Assistant Dean in advance of meetings and events.

• Prepares reports and recommendations for leadership that effectively communicate trends, patterns, and predictions using relevant data. Develops executive-level presentations and analyses for use by the senior leadership of the School, makes presentations and recommendations to internal stakeholders.

• Serves as a liaison between the Dean’s Office and other University/Darden departments for specific projects and assignments. May work within a given Darden department on a special assignment as required for a fixed period of time.

• Carries out other duties as assigned by the dean’s office.

• Assists with unforeseen priorities that emerge in the Office of the Dean.

• Leads internal consulting engagements in the Dean’s Office by the Future Year Scholars Fellows, ensuring high impact of these Fellowship teams. Manages student-led strategy projects for the Dean’s Office.

• Directly supervises the Darden Future Years Scholar (FYS) Fellowship team. The Graduate Fellow draws upon critical concepts learned through the MBA classroom experience to provide mentorship to this group of pre-MBA fellows. The Graduate Fellow offers guidance and direction on how to approach projects, engage with stakeholders, and present ideas and data in a concise and impactful manner.

• Determines and prioritizes enterprise-wide initiatives for FYS engagement. Manages the project workload to match initiatives/projects with the skills, interest and bandwidth of the FYS Fellows.

• Provides mentorship to the FYS Fellows by meeting regularly, both individually and as a team. Provides timely feedback and ensures their work is challenging and meaningful.  

• Engages with senior leadership on current FYS projects, determines future initiatives and gathers feedback on the impact of the FYS team across the Enterprise.

Required Education:

• Advanced degree from UVA required. Preference for Darden MBA degree. Three to five years of relevant experience is required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent oral and written communication skills; proven ability to clearly articulate information in multiple forums to a broad array of stakeholders.

• Attention to detail and ability to juggle multiple projects big and small; organized. 

• Excellent operational and project management skills, including the ability to prioritize and multi-task.

• Strong professional work ethic; willing to go the extra mile with a ‘can do’ attitude

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to utilize data for effective analysis.

• Technical skills include strong knowledge of spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets; and data visualization software such as PowerPoint.  Knowledge of database languages such as SQL, R, or Python and other software such as Tableau or Qlik a plus (otherwise, willingness and ability to quickly learn them).

• Strong mathematical and statistical skills to gather, measure, organize, and analyze data.  Understanding of business fundamentals (e.g., accounting, finance, business language)

• Ability to designing and maintain data systems and databases.

• Ability to mine data from primary and secondary sources, then reorganize data in a format that can be easily manipulated.

• Ability to use statistical tools to interpret data sets, paying particular attention to trends and patterns that could be valuable for diagnostic and predictive analytics efforts.

• High level of emotional intelligence, empathy, and collaboration that allows the incumbent to achieve results through informal authority.

• Trustworthy and demonstrates strong integrity and sound judgment about how to represent the Dean and his office in a variety of settings - including ability to exercise appropriate discretion when dealing with sensitive or confidential issues.

• Technical skills in working with spreadsheet and presentation software.

• Ability to interact with executive level administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders in a productive, positive and professional manner.

• Flexibility and capability to deal with ambiguity and shared governance.

• Ability to handle sensitive issues while maintaining complete confidentiality.

• Ability to exercise discretion in prioritizing tasks, sharing information, and using independent judgment.

• Ability to work independently as well as in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

• Ability to exercise a high degree of initiative and to execute actions using judgment and discretion.

• Impact and end product orientation; gets things done both individually and through others.  Believes in and is motivated by Darden’s mission.

Salary is competitive with experience, with a generous benefits package.  

This position will remain open until filled.  This is an Exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.  For questions about the position or the application process, please contact Ashley Cochran, Senior Recruiter at [email protected].  

Please apply through Workday, and search for "Darden Dean’s Graduate Leadership Fellow". Complete an application online and attach a cover letter and CV/resume all into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff.  We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences.  We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran status, and family medical or genetic information.