Assistant Dean, Open Enrolment, Strategic Innovation and Partnerships

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (“SCS” / “School”) meets the needs of adult learners with expertly designed non-degree programs and courses delivered in multiple in-class, online, and hybrid formats by instructors who are recognized leaders in their fields. A leader in continuing education, the School extends U of T’s impact deeper into the community it serves and further along the continuum of lifelong learning.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Dean of the School of Continuing Studies and as a member of the School’s senior leadership team, the Assistant Dean, Open Enrolment, Strategic Innovation and Partnerships (“ADOESIP”) provides visionary leadership to the School’s academic programs across all areas of study. The ADOESIP leads a team of Program Directors and has oversight over the Instructor and Program Services team led by their manager.

The Assistant Dean is fully responsible for fostering a culture of innovation, business growth, agility, and creativity across all program disciplines. They lead and are accountable for revenue generation across the open enrolment portfolios; program and course development, program delivery, and renewal while ensuring financial viability and market relevance for a full suite of leading-edge, high-quality academic programs designed to drive enrolment and revenue growth and meet the diverse and changing needs of learners in the global arena.

The ADOESIP leads the activities for continuing education market research. They direct and collaborate with their team of Program Directors (PDs) to identify new, innovative and revenue generating open enrollment offerings; they highlight, develop and implement strategies to lift the brand of SCS’ courses, programs and certificates, streamlining the audiences to whom programs are targeted; they conduct continuous unit process improvements; diversify income generation options for the unit while assessing and mitigating risks. They develop and implement long and short term plans that will foster continuous growth and development.

Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree, preferably in a field related to adult education, business administration, higher education or an acceptable equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of senior management experience in a complex entrepreneurial revenue generating continuing education non-credit setting or similar experience in a comparable entrepreneurial revenue generating higher educational setting.
• Vision for opportunities beyond the obvious, coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit to carry out the mission, vision, and purpose of a strategic continuing education mandate.
• Demonstrated ability to generate continued and sustained educational program revenue using diverse income revenue generation skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in the identification of new educational market opportunities and business growth in all areas including national and international arenas.
• Experience negotiating and administering programming/educational revenue generating contracts and program fees.
• Extensive experience in adult education and curriculum oversight; well versed in issues surrounding high quality academic programming, in-class, online and hybrid education delivery modalities.
• Expert knowledge of upcoming/future trends in digital and teaching/learning innovation.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate and maintain strategic internal and external partnerships to benefit the success of educational initiatives and learners.
• Experience with budget management, growth forecasting and reporting.
• Experience managing complex projects from creation to execution.
• Effective leadership and team management skills in a unionized environment.

Skills:

• Highly proficient computer skills including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with environmental scanning and market research, and the analysis of competition and sales.
• Proficiency using a CRM (customer relationship management) system is an asset as is experience working with Teams, Zoom and SharePoint.

Other:

• A passion for continuing education.
• Superior knowledge of and commitment to adult education philosophy and the needs of adult learners.
• Highly effective business acumen and business development expertise.
• Highly proactive, innovative and results oriented.
• Well-honed communication and presentation skills; excellent judgment and decision-making abilities; ability to handle the demands and stress of a highly competitive business environment.
• Ability to think, respond, and act quickly within a high-paced and results-driven environment.
• Accountable for behaving in a manner that demonstrates personal commitment to responsiveness, innovation, teamwork and integrity.
• Demonstrated commitment to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness.

Core Knowledge, Skills and Competencies:

• Strategic Planning and Implementation
• Creative Thinking
• Forward Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Exceptional Communication and Presentation Skills
• Strategic Persuasion
• Flexibility and Resilience
• Relationship Building

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Diversity Statement: The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.

Accessibility Statement: The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission. The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.