The University is located in Denver, Colorado, a city known for its dynamic blend of business, innovation and world-class recreation. Denver is consistently ranked by Forbes and Kiplinger’s Magazine as one of the top cities for young professionals and recent college graduates. The University of Denver is a private institution founded in 1864. It serves a population of more than 5,200 undergraduate and 6,200 graduate students as a research-intensive institution. The beautiful campus is located approximately seven miles from downtown with easy access to public transportation.

With a long tradition of excellence and innovation, the Daniels College of Business prepares students to succeed in a dynamic, changing world. We are a high-achieving community of students, staff and faculty that inspires one another to think in new ways, perform at higher levels, and transform organizations and communities. Daniels is ranked among the top business schools and is the only business school in Colorado to receive rankings and recognition from BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report and Forbes. The Daniels College of Business (DCB) offers a variety of baccalaureate, graduate, PhD and certificate programs which are detailed at https://daniels.du.edu/ 

Position Summary

The Executive Director of Student Success at the Daniels College of Business is a visionary and strategic leader with exceptional leadership expertise and a proven track record of driving results. This role is pivotal in translating the College’s ambitious vision into actions that enhance student success.

Charged with institutionalizing and operationalizing the College’s vision for a transformative Center for Student Success, the Executive Director provides leadership over the groups enhancing the student experience, overseeing critical support functions for approximately 2000 undergraduate and 700 graduate students. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Student Success, this position ensures the seamless integration of innovative, student-centered initiatives that elevate academic and professional outcomes.

The Executive Director plays a crucial role in shaping the future of business education at Daniels. This leader must possess a deep understanding of the complexities and opportunities inherent in managing student affairs for a premier business school, driving forward an educational model rooted in ethical leadership, academic rigor, and global impact. Through collaborative leadership and operational excellence, the Executive Director will strengthen the College’s ability to advance business theory and practice while fostering a dynamic, inclusive, and high-performing environment.

The Executive Director has senior-level direct reports who are responsible for Employer Relations, Career Services, Graduate Student Services, Academic Advising and Experiential Learning. In conjunction with the Associate Dean, the Executive Director will establish goals for the College and lead each team to support and achieve those goals.

Essential Functions

Principal responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Setting Strategy and Executing for Results

• Represent the Dean’s vision internally and externally, ensuring alignment with the College’s strategic goals.
• Translate ambitious objectives into actionable, market-oriented plans for growth and performance.
• Identify areas for efficiency, improvement, and collaboration across operational units.
• Set clear, challenging goals and drive organizational performance while navigating complexity and uncertainty.
• Oversee the Student Success Center (SSC), including goal setting, budgeting, and performance management.
• Foster teamwork, communication, and career development opportunities within SSC staff.
• Identify critical needs and coordinate additional resources to support SSC activities.
• Report to the Associate Dean for Student Success.

Leading Teams

• Strengthen and promote a high-performance, collaborative and innovative culture for the College in conjunction with goals and strategies set forth in the Daniels strategic plan.
• Coordinate across various operational teams to achieve synergies and foster innovation.
• Translate over-arching goals into specific goals and objectives for each team.
• Oversee collective data strategy, best practices and protocols for operating units.
• Lead with a high degree of integrity and forethought.
• Recruit, motivate, develop and retain strong, professional teams of key staff.
• Set priorities decisively, delegate appropriately, ensure accountability and allocate resources efficiently to achieve results.
• Engage teams with enthusiasm and excitement about the College.
• Promote a strong culture of diversity and inclusive excellence across all the College’s activities.
• Organize and lead staff meetings.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and conceptualize while being flexible and adaptable, revising strategies as necessary.
• Demonstrated capacity to innovate and solve complex problems.
• Demonstrated capacity to operate the organization at the highest level of efficiency.
• Ability to manage key relationships and create networks of people to accomplish objectives.
• Possess unquestioned personal and professional integrity.
• Possess self-awareness and understanding of others that enhances interpersonal communication and management abilities.
• Self-starter with an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative organization with limited direction.
• The successful candidate will demonstrate commitment to the principles of multiculturalism/diversity/inclusive excellence through involvement and participation in university/division-wide projects and initiatives.
• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or the equivalent in relevant years and level of experience.
• 10 years of experience in business or administration management, including experience in direct personnel and team management and general operations.
• Experience managing a complex organization with demonstrated track record of building cohesion among disparate groups.
• Knowledge of trends in business education particularly as they relate to real-world issues and future business and economic realities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Administrative experience in higher education with a track record of academic leadership.

Working Environment

• Standard office environment.
• Unexpected interruptions occur often and stress level is moderate to high.
• Noise level is quiet to moderate.

Physical Activities

• Ability to work in front of a computer for extended periods of time.
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus.

Work Schedule
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.  In accordance with the University’s flexible work policy, this position is eligible to be considered for partial remote work. Further details regarding this plan will be determined with the hiring manager and are dependent on the division and team specific needs.

Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) May 2nd, 2025.

Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary Grade Number:
The salary grade for the position is 14.

Salary Range:
The salary range for this position is $110,000 - $120,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.

Benefits:
The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver.

Please include the following documents with your application:
1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.

All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.