Careers Job Description
General Description
Founded in 2007, City University of New York (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is a comprehensive associate degree completion program that currently serves 25,000 students annually at nine CUNY colleges. ASAP provides comprehensive and personalized supports and resources to students that remove barriers to full-time study, support academic momentum, and build connected community. ASAP has proven to be one of CUNY's most successful initiatives, with students in the program graduating at a rate more than double that of similar students. ASAP has been rigorously evaluated and garnered national recognition, winning the 2020 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The ASAP model has also been adapted to the CUNY baccalaureate space as Accelerate, Complete and Engage (ACE), which is demonstrating impressive early outcomes.
Over the past six years, CUNY has provided direct technical assistance to institutions outside of CUNY in support of their replication efforts that maintain a high level of fidelity to the ASAP program model. These partnerships have formed a growing network that constitutes the CUNY ASAP National Replication Collaborative. Emerging federal legislation that recommends substantial investments in supporting colleges to adopt evidence-based retention and completion best practices regularly cites ASAP as a key model. The likelihood of substantial federal funding has positioned the CUNY ASAP|ACE team to both expand its ASAP-focused replication support services and enhance its existing technical assistance operation to include ACE to also serve baccalaureate-granting colleges.
Under the direction of the CUNY ASAP|ACE University Executive Director, the Director for ASAP|ACE National Replication Strategy will shape and drive a reorganization of the ASAP|ACE national replication operational infrastructure. The Director for ASAP|ACE National Replication Strategy will demonstrate a strong understanding of the current national higher education policy landscape, deep understanding of public college and university organizations, coupled with outstanding project management and leadership skills. The Director will be fully focused on creating a scaled and sustained capacity for ASAP|ACE replication technical assistance services that are responsive to growing national demand.
This position is grant-funded for 12 months, but as ASAP|ACE technical assistance grows this will likely be a long-term position.
Other Duties
- In the first three to five months, work closely with an external consultant through a planning process that will provide recommendations that inform the staffing model, technical assistance service model, and financing structure to support and sustain growth;
- Serve as the primary point of contact for the external consultant, providing materials, responding to questions, and providing input and feedback on plans and draft deliverables as needed;
- Drawing on the recommendations from the external consultant, define and launch the next phase of the CUNY ASAP|ACE national replication technical assistance and external engagement operational strategy;
- Revamp ASAP|ACE national replication marketing and promotion strategy, establishing an external engagement plan to identify, engage, select, and on-board prospective ASAP|ACE replication partner institutions;
- Build and maintain relationships with institutional leadership at prospective replication locations to help them assess their readiness for ASAP|ACE replication and to provide guidance appropriate to their context and/or strategic priorities;
- Track and maintain fluency on relevant federal and state legislative and policy issues that impact potential stakeholders/replication partners and develop strategic recommendations across stakeholder networks as applicable;
- If pending legislation is passed and targeted federal or state funds become available, develop expertise on accessing these funds and provide guidance and support to potential replication partners interested in pursuing funding for ASAP|ACE replication;
- With the guidance of the ASAP|ACE Director of Research and Evaluation, evolve current approaches to measuring, monitoring, certifying, and tracking replication model fidelity across locations;
- Develop a roadmap for the ASAP|ACE Replication Collaborative and provide strategic direction for ongoing events and engagements with current and future partners;
- With the support of the ASAP Senior Manager for New College Partnerships and Technical Assistance, provide day to day oversight over all direct technical assistance activities, development of resources, provision of trainings and other events/convenings;
- Direct all long-and short-term replication budget planning and monitoring, tracking fiscal activity across technical assistance project budgets;
- Participate in national membership organizations and ad-hoc advocacy coalitions to advance replication-related strategic priorities and enhance visibility;
- Server as primary point of contact with current and potential funders of ASAP|ACE replication and technical assistance and prepare proposals, reports, and other materials;
- Present on ASAP|ACE and its replication in a wide variety of contexts to a range of audiences;
- Other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the ASAP|ACE University Executive Director.
Qualifications
- A master’s degree or advanced doctoral study;
- Minimum of ten years of senior leadership experience in higher education, public service, non-profit management, and/or a related field leading large-scale projects;
- An in-depth understanding of the current public higher education public policy landscape, with a strong emphasis on open-access colleges that serve underrepresented, low-income students;
- A commitment to equity, as built through working with/for broad access institutions;
- A strategic mindset, with a record of partnering with leaders to build high-performing teams;
- Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and work effectively with internal and external stakeholders at various levels;
- Experience creating and implementing new programs, initiatives and/or teams;
- Strong experience coordinating multi-site projects and facilitating cross-functional groups;
- Record of obtaining federal and/or state funding through competitive grant processes;
- Excellent written and interpersonal skills; and
- Ability to travel outside of New York City.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
Office of Academic Affairs
Full Time
$115,000.00 - $125,000.00
Nov 26, 2021 (Or Until Filled)