Online Department Chair, Management And Project Management

Online Department Chair, Management and Project Management

American Public University System

The Department Chair is a Senior Academic Leader within the Boston School of Business who operates as the strategic architect of their disciplinary portfolio. Moving beyond administrative oversight, the Chair serves as a visionary owner, driving change and institutional progress by ensuring every course is a high-performing engine of student success. While collaborating extensively with cross-functional departments (Provost, ID, Marketing, etc.), the Chair serves as a strategic filter, triaging requests to ensure departmental resources remain focused on program quality and the University Mission. The Chair manages a diverse ecosystem of programs and faculty, transitioning from consultative autonomy to decisive ownership as they master the organizational variables of our student-first ethos.

Responsibilities:

Essential operations responsibilities include the ability to:

• Execute Strategic Market Rationalization: Continually evaluate the "why" of program portfolios, making data-informed recommendations for expansion or courageous decisions regarding program inactivation/teach-outs.
• Champion ACBSP Standards: Own the systematic assessment of program learning outcomes (PLOs) and student artifacts to ensure departmental quality consistently exceeds specialty accreditation benchmarks.
• Navigate Institutional Boundary Management: Act as the primary author of departmental time; triage competing priorities from external stakeholders through the lens of the school's strategic goals.
• Lead Data-Driven Success: Collaborate with the school's Director of Intelligence and other stakeholders to measure instructional efficacy and student persistence, grounding all operational choices in the student's best interest.
• Manage Departmental Stewardship: Contribute to strategic planning and budgeting by articulating the specific needs required to advance the department's market position.

Essential teaching and learning culture activities include the ability to:

• Dismantle Top-Down Management: Foster a culture of "Ownership" among faculty by modeling transparency, candid communication, and the empowerment to take informed risks.
• Mentor for Professional Vitality: Provide strategic mentorship to full-time and part-time faculty that transcends administrative scheduling, aligning every instructor with the school's "student-first" mission.
• Orchestrate High-Performing Teams: Hire and develop a blended faculty model where instructors operate as strategic partners in the delivery of industry-informed curricula, to include alignment with global project management frameworks (e.g., PMI/PMBOK standards).

Essential leadership activities include the ability to:

• Drive Institutional Progress: Transition from a culture of passive execution to one of active leadership, where success is defined by driving change rather than avoiding errors.
• Uphold Academic Integrity: Lead curriculum innovation and academic rigor-including the end-to-end design and modernization of project management programs- ensuring that the courses in the portfolio provide measurable value to the student and the industry.
• Center the Student-First Ethos: Use the student-first framework as the primary filter for all departmental choices, fostering an environment where inclusive, high-quality learning is the baseline.

Effective leaders will possess these critical skills and professional characteristics:

• Strategic Initiative: The ability to address challenges with forward-thinking solutions that prioritize long-term outcomes over short-term "helpfulness."
• Clarity as Leadership: A commitment to transparent communication that provides the department with the clarity necessary to focus on graduating career-ready students.
• Emotional Intelligence & Coaching: Proficiency in managing stressful situations and difficult conversations, using coaching techniques to develop others into leaders.
• Accountability for Deliverables: High attention to detail regarding ACBSP compliance and departmental performance while managing competing institutional priorities.

Requirements:

• Earned doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution in business, management, organizational leadership, or a closely related field.
• Current Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in good standing with the Project Management Institute (PMI).
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, and launching project management curriculum or academic programs anchored in the PMBOK Guide framework.
• Five or more years of academic or organizational leadership experience (e.g., Department Chair, Program Director, or senior enterprise PMO leadership).
• Experience with ACBSP or similar specialty programmatic accreditation processes (strongly preferred, given accountability for PLO and artifact assessment).
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, project management software, or contemporary educational technologies.
• Attendance at in-person University events (i.e., Commencement, Deans and Department Chairs meetings).
• Regular participation in and accountability for information conveyed at virtual meetings and University events.
• Physical capacity for sitting or standing and extensive use of communications, assisted, and classroom technologies.

When Applying: External candidates: Upload a CV and a copy of unofficial transcripts, master's degree and above. Student issued/unofficial copies are acceptable. Please do not send us official copies, unless specifically asked.

About Us:

American Public University System (APUS) is an Online University based in Charles Town, WV. Our University has over 100,000 students. Our emphasis is educating our nation's military and public services communities with quality and affordable education. APUS provides partnership and commitment in helping students realize the dream of a higher education and the opportunities that brings.

It is the policy of American Public University System (APUS) to afford equal opportunity to all qualified persons. We treat all qualified individuals equally as to their recruitment, hiring, assignments, advancements, compensation, and all other terms and conditions of employment. American Public University System (APUS) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, or sensory disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.