Athletic Director

Athletics Director Position

Henry Ford College presents an opportunity for an Athletics Director. (12 month, tenure position)

Henry Ford College seeks a dynamic and experienced Director of Athletics to lead a comprehensive NJCAA intercollegiate athletics program focused on competitive excellence, student-athlete success, compliance, and enrollment growth. Reporting to the Vice President of Student Affairs, this position provides strategic and operational leadership for all athletics programs, personnel, facilities, and external partnerships. The Director supervises coaches and athletics staff while fostering a culture of accountability, academic achievement, and equity. This role is critical to advancing the College's strategic priorities related to student engagement, retention, completion, and community visibility.

Hours: The generally scheduled workday is from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday; however, based upon the needs of the position, extended hours are required in the evenings and weekends based on athletic programming, competitions, and events.

Core Competencies and Qualifications

Any education, experience, and training that demonstrates proficiency and the ability to perform the essential duties will be evaluated for equivalency to the education, competencies, and experience qualifications listed below.

• Master's degree in sports management, higher education administration, education, or a related field.

• Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible athletics administration experience, including supervision of coaches and staff.

• Minimum of three (3) years of experience within NJCAA or NCAA athletics; NJCAA experience a plus.

• Demonstrated leadership in athletics compliance, including NJCAA, conference (e.g., MCCAA), and Title IX regulations.

• Experience managing athletics budgets, scholarships, and resource allocation.

• Proven ability to lead, supervise, and evaluate staff while building a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

• Experience supporting student-athlete academic success, retention, and completion initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-sport athletics operations in a dynamic environment.

• Experience with fundraising, sponsorship development, community engagement, or external relations.

The most successful candidate will have a career that might include the following:

• Leading an NJCAA or similar collegiate athletics program with a strong record of compliance and competitive success.

• Developing athletics programs that contribute to enrollment growth and student retention.

• Establishing partnerships with academic and student support services to promote student-athlete success.

• Advancing equity, inclusion, and Title IX compliance within athletics programs.

• Securing external funding through fundraising, sponsorships, and donor engagement.

• Managing athletics facilities, capital planning, and game-day operations.

• Building recruitment pipelines aligned with institutional enrollment strategies.

• Serving diverse, non-traditional, and first-generation student populations.

Position-Specific Core Competencies:

• Strategic Leadership - Provides vision and direction for athletics aligned with the college's mission and strategic priorities; sets goals and drives long-term program success.

• Compliance and Accountability - Ensures adherence to institutional policies and governing regulations; maintains accountability for ethical conduct, eligibility, and program standards.

• Financial Management - Manages the athletics budget responsibly, aligning resources to priorities while identifying opportunities for efficiency and revenue generation.

• Relationship Building - Builds and sustains collaborative relationships across campus and with community partners, alumni, and stakeholders to support athletics programs.

• Communication - Communicates clearly and professionally with diverse audiences; promotes transparency and effectively represents the athletics program.

• Operational Effectiveness - Oversees daily athletics operations, ensuring efficient coordination of staff, programs, facilities, and events.

• Student-Centered Focus - Supports the academic success, well-being, and development of student-athletes, fostering a positive and engaging experience.

• Equity and Inclusion - Promotes equitable access and inclusive practices within athletics programs, ensuring a welcoming environment for all.

• Decision-Making - Makes timely, informed decisions using data, sound judgment, and consideration of impact.

• Change Management - Leads and implements change initiatives effectively, engaging stakeholders and ensuring successful adoption.

Additional Unique Competencies (Departmental & HFC Core Competencies):

• Advocating - Publicly affirms the importance and value of individual and group tasks in order to minimize the effect of budget cuts or other constraints on resources; skillfully advocates on behalf of others, teams and their work; works hard to increase the prominence of individual's or team's work within organization.

• Multi-Tasking - Demonstrates ability to effectively manage multiple tasks and deadlines.

• Keeping Others Informed - Keeps others well-informed through a variety of means, including productive and informative group and individual meetings and targeted written communications; highlights important information in communications and avoids flooding others with irrelevant information.

• Championing Great Ideas - Advances and promotes the best ideas, even in the face of organizational resistance; shields the team from bureaucratic processes that interfere with an innovative climate; and works to change processes that interfere with growth and innovation.

• Campus Community Awareness - Ability to interact with, educate, and inform community residents, leaders, groups, and coalitions about programs, policies, procedures, rules, regulations, and events at HFC with particular sensitivity to awareness of cross-cultural communications, diversity, openness, and inclusivity, while respecting and understanding individual differences.

All positions at Henry Ford College are also expected to demonstrate the following HFC Core Competencies:

• Public Service Motivation – Shows a commitment to serve the public. Ensures that actions meet public needs; aligns organizational objectives and practices with public interests.

• Respect – Demonstrates collaboration and teamwork; values diversity and inclusiveness; practices transparency; shows compassion and empathy; and remains engaged and committed to shared goals.

• Passion – Displays enthusiasm for teaching and learning; seeks diverse perspectives and ideas; creates a student-centered environment; and pursues excellence in all that we do.

• Ingenuity – Is agile, flexible, and responsive; pursues discovery and innovation; uses data and evidence to guide decisions; and continuously reimagines the future.

• Integrity – Upholds high ethical standards; maintains trust; and recognizes the impact of one's actions on the institution and community.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities including but not limited to

• Provides strategic leadership and vision for the College's intercollegiate athletics program.

• Serves as the primary athletics compliance officer.

• Leads all athletics programs and supervises coaches and staff.

• Establishes performance expectations and accountability measures for administrative staff and coaches.

• Develops and manages the athletics budget.

• Leads athletics recruitment strategies aligned with enrollment goals.

• Collaborates to support student-athlete academic success.

• In collaboration with the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Vice President of Foundation, leads fundraising, sponsorship, and community engagement efforts.

• Coordinates and manages athletics facilities and game-day operations.

• In collaboration with the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Vice President of Marketing and Communications, directs athletics marketing and communications.