Executive Director, Center for Professional Readiness

GENERAL SUMMARY

The Executive Director for the Center for Professional Readiness provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for a centralized university-wide function dedicated to advancing student success, clinical education quality, and licensure outcomes across all academic programs and campuses. Within the Center, the role also oversees clinical site development and career services, ensuring strong clinical partnerships and effective pathways from education to employment.

This role is responsible for developing and implementing institution-wide strategies that ensure students are clinically prepared, academically supported, and fully ready for professional licensure and practice. The incumbent partners closely with academic leadership, program directors, and faculty to drive measurable improvements in student outcomes and ensure a consistent, high-quality student experience.

This is a fully on-campus role (not hybrid or remote). As a key university leader, the incumbent is expected to maintain a consistent and visible presence on a USAHS campus.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Leadership and Collaboration

Lead and grow the Center for Professional Readiness as a high-impact, institution-wide function
Partner with academic leaders to align operational processes with student outcomes
Collaborate with faculty to ensure clinical preparation through effective teaching, advising, and clinical practices
Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Academic Officer on strategies to improve student success and program performance as students approach graduation, with a focus on clinical readiness, licensure success, and successful program completion.

Licensure Readiness and Outcomes

Develop and implement comprehensive, program-integrated licensure preparation strategies

Establish early identification systems for students at risk of licensure failure and implement targeted intervention strategies
Monitor and analyze licensure performance data across programs and campuses
Lead continuous improvement initiatives to increase first-time pass rates and overall outcomes
Partner with Program Directors to ensure accountability for licensure performance

Clinical Education Excellence

Provide university-level leadership and accountability for the quality and performance of clinical education and placement processes across programs, by partnering with program leaders to monitor performance and drive continuous improvement
Ensure efficiency, timeliness, and scalability of clinical placements
Establish standards to ensure placements are appropriate, high-quality, and aligned with student learning needs
Monitor and improve student satisfaction and experience in clinical environments
Build, expand, and sustain high-quality clinical partnerships and site relationships
Promote consistency and excellence in clinical education across campuses

Student Success and Support

Design and implement systems to monitor student progression and readiness for clinical and licensure milestones
Develop standardized approaches to student intervention, remediation, and academic support
Collaborate with faculty and academic leadership to address student performance gaps
Ensure alignment between academic preparation, clinical performance, career development, and licensure readiness

Data, Analytics, and Continuous Improvement

Establish dashboards and reporting structures to track key performance indicators, including licensure pass rates, clinical performance, and student success metrics
Conduct root cause analyses to identify trends and performance gaps
Translate data insights into actionable strategies and measurable improvement plans
Ensure transparency and accountability for outcomes across programs and campuses

Standardization and Best Practices

Develop and implement standardized processes for clinical education, student support, and licensure preparation
Reduce variability in student experience and outcomes across campuses and programs
Identify, scale, and sustain best practices across the institution

KEY OUTCOMES AND PERFORMANCE METRICS

Improved licensure pass rates across all programs
High-quality, consistent clinical education experiences
Increased student satisfaction and preparedness for practice
Reduced variability in outcomes across campuses
Scalable, efficient clinical placement processes
Strong, sustainable clinical partnerships

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Provides direct leadership and oversight for the Clinical Education Central Functions, Site Development, Career Services, and Licensure Success teams
Holds indirect accountability for overall clinical education performance and licensure outcomes across programs

OTHER DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
May perform other duties and responsibilities that management may deem necessary from time to time.

POSITION IN ORGANIZATION
Reports to: Chief Academic Officer
Positions Supervised: Central Functions Manager, Clinical Site Development Manager, Manager of Career Services, and additional roles as developed to support the Center’s growth and strategic priorities

TECHNICAL, MANAGERIAL & PEOPLE SKILLS REQUIRED
To perform this job successfully an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Incumbents will be evaluated, in part, based on performance of each essential function. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Required

Entry level degree in a clinical discipline
Minimum of 8–10 years of progressive leadership experience in higher education, health sciences education, or a related field
Demonstrated experience improving licensure/certification pass rates, progression, retention, and/or employment outcomes
Experience overseeing or partnering with clinical education functions, including placements, site relationships, and experiential learning
Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and drive initiatives across multiple programs and/or campuses
Strong experience using data and analytics to inform decision-making, assess performance, and drive continuous improvement
Experience developing and implementing scalable processes and systems in a complex organization

Preferred

Terminal degree in a health sciences discipline or closely related field (e.g., PhD, EdD)
Experience in a multi-campus, distributed, or systems-based academic environment
Prior experience in an academic leadership role, such as a Director, Program Director, Associate Dean, or comparable position
Familiarity with accreditation standards and regulatory requirements in health sciences education (e.g., CAPTE, ACOTE, CCNE, or other health sciences programmatic accreditors)
Experience with clinical site development, partnership management, and workforce alignment
Experience overseeing or collaborating with career services and employer engagement initiatives
Demonstrated success leading student success, clinical education, or professional readiness initiatives at scale

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

Strategic and systems-level thinker with the ability to operationalize vision
Outcomes-driven with a strong focus on accountability and measurable impact
Collaborative and influential leader with the ability to partner effectively with faculty and academic leadership
Change agent with experience leading transformation and reducing variability across programs
Strong communicator with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders

TRAVEL
Occasional domestic travel may be required

BUSINESS COMPETENCIES
To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
Being Resilient - Rebounding from setbacks and adversity when facing difficult situations.
Instills Trust - Gaining the confidence and trust of others through honesty, integrity, and authenticity.
Drives Results - Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.
Customer Focus - Building strong customer relationships and delivering customer-centric solutions.
Drives Engagement- Creating a climate where people are motivated to do their best to help the organization achieve its objectives.
People Leadership - Leads by example when it comes to finding and developing talent, with a focus on talent acquisition strategies, setting performance targets that raises standards and development of high potential talent.

WORK ENVIRONMENTWork is performed primarily in a standard office environment but may involve exposure to moderate noise levels. Work involves operation of personal computer equipment for six to eight hours daily and includes physical demands associated with a traditional office setting, e.g., walking, standing, communicating, and other physical functions as necessary.