Director of Academic Affairs Operations

Job Description

The Opportunity

The Director of Academic Affairs Operations provides leadership, coordination, and accountability for the operational functions supporting the Worldwide Academic Affairs Department. This position directly supervises three Faculty Credentialing Managers and provides oversight of faculty credentialing, course clearances, faculty records, data systems, accreditation-related documentation, and process improvement initiatives.

The Director manages a portfolio of academic operations projects that support Academic Affairs and the academic colleges. This includes developing project plans and timelines, coordinating cross-functional teams, managing resources and risks, monitoring progress, resolving operational challenges, and communicating outcomes and recommendations to academic leadership.

The Director also works collaboratively with deans, department and program chairs, HR, scheduling, payroll, technology, faculty, and other University stakeholders to ensure academic operations are accurate, timely, consistent, and aligned with university policies, academic requirements, and accreditation expectations. This role offers the opportunity to strengthen systems, improve workflows, and build effective partnerships across the University in support of faculty success.

About us

For over 100 years, Embry-Riddle has been the world's leading aviation and aerospace university, educating more than 30,000 students across residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, as well as through a global network of Worldwide locations and online programs. With more than 165,000 alumni around the world, our impact reaches every corner of the aerospace, aviation, defense and technology industries.

Today, our faculty, researchers and professional staff are advancing innovation across aviation, space, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, autonomous systems and next-generation engineering. Working alongside industry leaders, government agencies and innovators, they are solving real-world challenges and shaping the technologies that will define tomorrow.

Whether you are an educator, researcher, administrator, technologist or industry professional, your work at Embry-Riddle will contribute to something bigger than a job. Join a community driven by discovery, purpose and excellence—and help shape the future of aerospace.

- Generous Time Off: Enjoy up to 18 days of paid leave in your first year, including 3 days granted upon hire and 15 days accrued throughout the year. You'll also receive 9+ paid holidays, including the day after Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day.
- Tuition Coverage: Get 100% tuition coverage for yourself for one undergraduate and one graduate degree, and discounted rates for your spouse and dependent children up to age 26.
- Retirement Contributions: ERAU contributes 6% of your base salary to your retirement plan and offers a 4% matching contribution – with no vesting period.
- Personal Leave: Relax with 15 days of personal leave for non-exempt employees or 18 days for exempt full-time employees in your first year.

Qualifications

Required:

- Master’s degree in Business Administration, Higher Education, Project Management, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
- Three or more years of progressively responsible experience in academic operations, project management, or a related area, including experience leading projects or supervising professional staff.
- Demonstrated leadership and supervisory skills, including the ability to coach and develop staff, assign work, establish priorities, and monitor performance.
- Experience with project planning, coordination, risk management, and managing multiple priorities or interdependent projects.
- Knowledge of faculty credentialing, academic records, accreditation, compliance, or related academic operations.
- Strong analytical, organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to analyze complex or incomplete information and exercise independent judgment.
- Strong communication and stakeholder-engagement skills, including the ability to collaborate with senior leaders, deans, faculty, staff, and cross-functional partners.
- Demonstrated ability to improve workflows, processes, service standards, reporting, and operational effectiveness.
- Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain confidentiality and data integrity.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Workday, Campus Solutions, SharePoint, Knowledge Lake, and project management tools.
- Ability to adapt to changing priorities, manage competing deadlines, and resolve operational challenges effectively.

Preferred :

- CAPM or PMP certification.
- Experience in a higher education environment.
- Experience overseeing faculty credentialing, academic records, or accreditation-related processes.
- Experience leading cross-functional academic operations projects and process-improvement initiatives.

To submit your application for this opportunity, please visit the Embry-Riddle Career Site and search for requisition number R312298 . Please attach all relevant materials to your application when you apply online. Complete submissions include:

- Cover letter
- Resume
- Contact information for at least three professional references (please note that references may be contacted as part of the interview/screening process)

Current Embry-Riddle employees: Please apply directly through the ERAU Employee Hub Central application within Workday.

Embry-Riddle is committed to fostering a workplace where all individuals are valued and respected. We strive to ensure that all faculty, staff, and students are treated fairly and provided equal opportunities for employment, advancement, compensation, training, and other benefits of employment. Embry-Riddle makes employment decisions — including hiring, promotions, compensation, and other terms of employment — based on individual merit, qualifications, and abilities. Embry-Riddle is strongly opposed to discrimination and harassment, and such behavior is prohibited by university policy. Embry-Riddle does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, predisposing genetic characteristics, age, religion, or pregnancy status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law, in its employment, educational programs, admissions policies, financial aid, or other school-administered programs or activities. For further information, please visit our website .

Embry-Riddle does not accept unsolicited assistance from staffing or recruitment agencies. Agencies interested in partnering with the University should contact [email protected] and should not contact hiring managers or other University employees directly.   To preserve the integrity and authenticity of our hiring process, candidates are expected to participate without AI-assisted coaching, real-time response generation, or recording during interviews or assessments. Embry-Riddle does not use AI to automatically screen, rank, or select candidates .