About the role#
The Chief of Staff serves as a senior strategic and operational partner to the Associate Provost for Student Academic Engagement and Success. You will translate the Associate Provost's vision into actionable goals, initiatives, and measures of success. This role manages the day-to-day operations of the office, coordinates cross-functional projects, and ensures that financial, operational, and data resources align with divisional priorities. You will represent the Associate Provost in meetings and committees, providing continuity and resolving issues to maintain organizational momentum.
What you'll do#
- Act as a strategic thought partner to the Associate Provost regarding student persistence, retention, and academic success.
- Develop and maintain operating processes for decision-making, project management, budgeting, and data reporting.
- Supervise and coach office staff, setting clear performance expectations and coordinating workloads.
- Monitor strategic priorities, identifying initiatives that require leadership intervention or additional resources.
- Partner with the Senior Executive Assistant to align the Associate Provost's time with strategic priorities.
- Ensure the Associate Provost has accurate, decision-relevant financial information and translate data into organizational insights.
- Facilitate leadership meetings by developing agendas focused on risks, decisions, and strategic issues.
- Identify operational inefficiencies and recommend improvements to organizational structures.
- Track commitments and deliverables to ensure follow-through across functional areas.
- Promote coordination across division units to reduce organizational silos.
What you'll need#
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
- Seven years of professional experience with progressive responsibility in higher education administration, organizational operations, strategic initiatives, or a related field.
- Three years of experience supervising professional staff or providing functional leadership across teams.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex projects involving multiple stakeholders.
- Experience working with budgets, financial information, data, or organizational performance measures.
- Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suites and familiarity with CRM systems.
- A Master’s degree in a relevant field is preferred.
- Experience in higher education, including familiarity with shared governance and university organizational structures, is preferred.
- Experience supporting a senior executive, such as a dean, provost, or president, is preferred.
Location & details#
- Location: Dallas, Texas.
- This is an on-site, full-time position.
- The role is a regular staff position.
About Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university located in Dallas. It operates seven degree-granting schools focused on teaching and research. The institution serves a student body of 11,000. It employs 6,455 people.
How to get in at Southern Methodist University
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