Senior Director of Partnerships

Job Description

Job Description:\n\n Location: Norman & Oklahoma City Health Campus Who We Are OU Education Services (OUES) is a mission-driven organization dedicated to extending the reach and impact of the University of Oklahoma through high-quality academic programming, strategic college relationships, and a relentless commitment to student success. Serving both the OU Norman campus and the OU Health Sciences campus in Oklahoma City, OUES works alongside OU’s colleges to develop, sustain, and grow academic programs that serve learners across Oklahoma and beyond. At OUES, we believe that strong, lasting relationships with academic units are the foundation of everything we do. We work alongside deans, associate deans, and faculty leadership to ensure that every program we support reflects the academic excellence and institutional values of the University of Oklahoma — all while delivering measurable outcomes for students and long-term financial health for the colleges we serve. The Role The Senior Director of Partnerships is a senior executive role responsible for leading OUES’s program success function and partner engagement across the OU Norman and OU Health Sciences campuses. This leader leads the Program Success team who serves as the primary points of engagement with OU’s colleges. The team works directly with deans and associate deans to develop, manage, and grow a portfolio of academic programs that advance the mission of the university and its colleges. The Senior Director sets the strategic direction for the program success team and ensures that every program in the portfolio is held is aligned to the highest standards of academic quality, student outcomes, and financial sustainability. This role is deeply metrics-driven, leveraging tools such as the Program Quality Framework to make data-informed decisions that have real impact on learner success and college portfolio health. Given the unique complexity of the OU Health Sciences campus, the Senior Director will also have fluency in the distinctive needs of health professions education, including the management of programs with clinical placement, practicum, and field experience components. This requires close collaboration with health college leadership to ensure that clinical training infrastructure supports both student readiness and compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards. This role demands a high degree of executive presence, vision, and the ability to navigate complex institutional relationships with credibility and care. Regular in-person engagement at both campus locations (4 days per week) is expected. Key Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Vision • Define and drive a long-term program success strategy aligned with OUES’s organizational mission and the academic priorities of OU’s Norman and Health campuses. • Contribute to and execute on OUES’s overall organizational strategy, guiding the program success business unit in alignment with broader institutional goals. • Create and implement growth and innovation strategies that expand the college program portfolio and deepen OUES’s value to academic units. • Identify, assess, and manage risks that could affect the academic quality, student outcomes, or financial sustainability of the program portfolio. • Lead the OU and OUES teams through change, managing the impact of institutional transformations and evolving college priorities on program strategy and operations. College Engagement & Program Development • Build and sustain executive-level relationships with deans, associate deans, and college leadership across OU’s Norman and Health campuses. • Lead the team in working with academic units to develop new programs, grow existing offerings, and ensure the ongoing health and quality of the college program portfolio. • Serve as the senior point of contact for complex or high-stakes program challenges, ensuring resolution that preserves institutional trust and program integrity. • Ensure the Program Success team is effectively embedded within the respective colleges, serving as trusted advisors to faculty and academic leadership. • Leverage the Program Quality Framework, Student Outcomes, Financial Models, and other strategic tools to evaluate program performance and guide data-informed decisions that advance student outcomes and college goals. • Oversee the team’s engagement with health sciences colleges on programs that include clinical placements, practicums, and field experiences, ensuring these components are effectively coordinated, monitored, and aligned with accreditation and regulatory requirements. Student Outcomes & Academic Quality • Champion a culture of academic excellence and student-centered decision-making across the program success team and the programs it supports. • Oversee metrics related to learner impact, including enrollment, retention rates, graduation rates, and overall student success across the program portfolio. • Ensure that all programs supported by OUES meet rigorous standards of academic quality consistent with OU’s institutional values and accreditation requirements. • Use data and program quality assessments to identify opportunities for improvement and drive strategic interventions that enhance student outcomes. • Collaborate closely with college leadership to align program design, delivery, and support structures with the academic and student success goals of each college. • Ensure that health professions programs with clinical placement, practicum, or field experience requirements are structured to support student progression, licensure readiness, and successful transition into clinical practice. Team Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness • Lead, develop, and mentor the Program Success team, building a strong leadership pipeline and ensuring the team has the capabilities to excel. • Hold teams accountable for delivering on strategic, operational, and student outcome goals with clarity, consistency, and fairness. • Facilitate alignment across multiple business units and functional areas within OUES, including academic operations, marketing, enrollment, operations, student success, technology, and finance. • Handle conflicts at the executive level, ensuring they are resolved effectively and in the best interest of students, colleges, and the organization. • Design and scale team structures, processes, and workflows that enable the program success function to grow efficiently and sustainably. Performance, Financial Oversight & Accountability • Define and oversee KPIs for the college program portfolio, including program counts, learner impact metrics, student retention and graduation rates, and financial performance. • Oversee the financial health of the college program portfolio, ensuring programs are on track against revenue and sustainability targets. • Oversee department budgets, ensuring responsible stewardship of resources and strong return on investment for OUES and its college partners. • Create and present executive-level business reviews, portfolio forecasts, and program health reports to senior OUES leadership. • Ensure all program activities and operations align with OU’s academic standards, compliance requirements, and institutional mission. Key Performance Indicators The Senior Director of Program Success will be evaluated against the following performance benchmarks across five domains, reflecting both direct accountability and team-level outcomes across the full program portfolio. Enrollment, Recruitment & Retention • Meet or exceed term-over-term new student enrollment targets across the full program portfolio, supporting consistent and sustainable growth. • Maintain or improve portfolio-wide student retention rates each term, with a clear year-over-year improvement trajectory. • Achieve or exceed lead-to-enrollment conversion targets established in partnership with VP and enrollment leadership, with conversion performance reviewed each term. • Ensure the program success team functions as an effective and accountable liaison between enrollment, recruitment, and university partners for every active program. College Partner Engagement & Relationship Health • Achieve and maintain a college partner Net Promoter Score (NPS) or satisfaction score at or above the target established annually with senior OUES leadership, measured through structured partner surveys conducted with each dean and associate dean. • Demonstrate year-over-year improvement in partner satisfaction scores, with qualitative and quantitative feedback reviewed at least once per term and incorporated into team development and operational planning. • Maintain a low escalation rate — partnership issues requiring VP-level intervention should be rare. All escalations must be documented, assigned a resolution owner, and resolved within 5 business days with outcomes communicated to relevant stakeholders. • Ensure no active programs are at risk of partnership dissolution due to unresolved relationship issues; maintain a clear process for identifying, triaging, and resolving partnership health concerns before they escalate. • Ensure 95% or more of college partner and university stakeholder communications receive a response within 1 business day. • Conduct structured executive-level check-ins with each assigned dean or associate dean at minimum once per term. • Maintain 4 days per week of on-campus presence across OU Norman and OU Health Sciences campuses, with team members meeting a minimum of 50% in-person engagement with their assigned college partners. Program Quality & Delivery • Ensure 90% or more of programs in the portfolio launch on time and within scope each term, fully aligned with the established program model and quality standards. • Ensure all course schedules are published and communicated to stakeholders a minimum of two weeks prior to each program launch. • Ensure 100% of active programs meet or exceed quality standards outlined in the Program Quality Framework, with all programs reviewed on an annual basis. • Deliver biannual program reviews (fall and spring) for 100% of active programs, with all follow-up action items documented, assigned to owners, and tracked to completion. Operational Excellence • Ensure 100% of required program documentation, SOPs, and tracking tools are current and reviewed on a quarterly basis. • Maintain a defined and consistent cadence of program engagement activities and deliverables across the portfolio, aligned with team and organizational objectives. • Ensure cross-functional alignment meetings are held regularly and that internal teams (marketing, enrollment, student success, operations) are kept informed and aligned on program priorities and changes. Financial Performance • Ensure the program portfolio meets or exceeds revenue targets established in the annual budget, with performance reviewed and reported each term. • Manage department budget within approved thresholds, ensuring responsible stewardship of organizational resources and strong return on investment for OUES and its college partners. • Deliver quarterly portfolio forecasts and executive-level program health reports to senior OUES leadership on schedule. Behavioral Expectations ● Executive Presence: You engage with senior academic leaders — deans, associate deans, and institutional executives — with confidence, preparation, and credibility. You represent OUES at the highest levels of the university with professionalism and care. ● Strategic Orientation: You think in systems and long-term outcomes, not tasks. You set direction for your team and invest your energy in removing barriers, building capacity, and identifying opportunities rather than managing day-to-day execution. ● Accountability & Candor: You hold yourself and your team to clear, measurable outcomes and address performance gaps directly. You deliver difficult messages to colleagues and university partners with honesty and respect. ● Data-Driven Decision Making: You use program data, quality frameworks, and student outcome metrics to inform strategy and drive action. You don’t wait to be asked — you proactively surface what the data is telling you. ● Cross-Functional Leadership: You build strong working relationships across OUES functions — marketing, enrollment, finance, and operations — and align those teams around shared program goals without requiring formal authority. ● Collaborative Mindset: You foster inclusion, model shared accountability, and create an environment where your team can do their best work. You invest in developing others and building a strong leadership pipeline beneath you. What You Bring We know that no candidate checks every box. If you are passionate about our mission and bring most of what is described below, we strongly encourage you to apply. Required Qualifications • 8+ years of progressive experience in higher education, academic program management, or a related field, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership capacity. • Deep understanding of the academic unit landscape within a university, including how colleges, deans, and faculty leadership operate and make decisions. • Demonstrated ability to build trusted, long-term relationships with senior academic leaders, including deans and associate deans. • Proven track record of using data and quality frameworks to drive improvements in student outcomes, program health, and financial performance. • Strong understanding of student success metrics, including enrollment trends, retention, and graduation rates, and how operational decisions influence them. • Experience with budget oversight and financial accountability at the department or business unit level. • Exceptional communication, presentation, and influence skills across all levels of a university organization, including executive and C-suite stakeholders. • Ability to lead and develop a high-performing team in a fast-paced, metrics-driven environment. • Willingness and ability to be on-site at OU Norman and Oklahoma City Health campuses 4 days per week. • Bachelor’s degree required. Preferred Qualifications • Advanced degree (Master’s or higher) in higher education administration, business, public administration, healthcare, or a related field. • Experience working within or alongside a public university system, academic medical center, or health sciences institution. • Familiarity with health professions programs that include clinical placements, practicums, or field experiences, and an understanding of the regulatory, accreditation, and coordination requirements associated with clinical training. • Familiarity with online and continuing education program development, management, and quality assurance. • Experience with program quality frameworks or similar data-driven tools used to assess and improve academic program performance. • Experience leading organizational change or transformation within a higher education setting. • Proficiency with CRM platforms and the Microsoft Offic