Southern Maine Community College Jobs Hiring Now

Academic Leadership & Innovation:

• Serve as the CAO for all credit programs, with oversight of non-credit educational offerings, ensuring rigor, quality, and continuous enhancement of teaching and learning.
• Champion innovative and high-impact academic practices, including Guided Pathways, co-requisite instruction, interdisciplinary approaches, open educational resources (OER), and master course models, to enhance student learning and workforce readiness.

Program Development & Continuous Improvement:

• Lead the innovation and continuous enhancement of academic programs-including transfer pathways, workforce development programs, and emerging fields-through collaborative efforts with faculty, staff, and industry partners.
• Provide guidance and oversight in curriculum development, program review, and assessment of student learning outcomes, ensuring evidence-based, data-driven decision-making for academic excellence.
• Implement Guided Pathways framework fully across the institution, including meta-major development, program mapping, and structured academic planning to reduce loss points and improve degree completion.
• Collaborate with advising and enrollment management to create integrated, seamless student experience from point of entry through credential attainment.
• Evaluate and expand competency-based education (CBE) models and prior learning assessment (PLA) opportunities to accelerate credential attainment for working adult learners.
• Oversee academic scheduling, catalog development, and academic calendar planning in coordination with department chairs, institutional research, and enrollment management leadership.
• Promote and expand distance learning, hybrid instructional models, and technology-enhanced delivery to increase access and flexibility for diverse student populatins.

Student Success, Completion & Retention:

• Lead and coordinate college-wide completion and retention strategy, using disaggregated data identify equity gaps and implement targeted, evidence-based interventions for underserved student populations.
• Collaborate with the VP and Dean of Enrollment & Student Success, Financial Aid, and Advising Leadership on early alert systems, advising models, and proactive student support initiatives.
• Oversee the design and implementation of co-requisite and bridge programming to eliminate development education barriers and accelerate student progress toward credentials.
• Champion equity-minded practices throughout academic programming, advising structures, and faculty professional development, ensuring that success strategies address the needs of all students, including first-generation, low-income, and historically underrepresented learners.
• Monitor and report on key academic performance indicators – including retention, course completion, graduation, and transfer rates – presenting findings regularly to the Executive Leadership Team.
• Support the integration of career planning, experiential learning, work-based learning into academic programs to strengthen student’s connection to educational purpose and long-term workforce goals.
• Oversee learning commons and library services in support of student academic success and information literary.

Faculty & Professional Development:

• Lead and support faculty hiring, recruitment, and retention, ensuring a diverse, talented, and student-focused academic team that meets the evening needs of students and programs.
• Develop and enhance professional development opportunities for full-time and adjunct faculty, promoting pedagogical innovation, instructional technology integration, and evidence-based best practices in teaching and learning.
• Collaborate with Faculty Senate and other shared governance bodies to strengthen faculty-driven initiatives and ensure that faculty voices are central to academic planning and policy development.
• Oversee faculty evaluation processes, including performance review and professional growth planning, in accordance with MCCS collective bargaining agreements and institutional policy.
• Facilitate professional learning communities, peer observation programs, and discipline-specific development opportunities that build faculty capacity and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Dual Enrollment & K-12 Partnerships:

• Provide strategic oversight and supervision of the Director of Early College, ensuring the department’s goals, operations, and partnerships align with the College’s academic mission and Guided Pathways framework.
• In collaboration with the Director of Early College, set the strategic direction for dual enrollment and early college programming, including expansion priorities, partnership development, and program quality standards.
• Hold the Director accountable for instructor qualification processes, course equivalency reviews, NECHE compliance, and the academic integrity of dual enrollment offerings.
• Support the Director in building and sustaining articulation agreements with four-year colleges and universities to facilitate student transfer, and in advancing 2+2 and reverse transfer initiatives.
• Serve as the College’s senior executive representative at regional K-16 councils and statewide postsecondary access initiatives, elevating the Early College department’s work and advocating for underrepresent student populations.

Community & External Partnerships:

• Build and strengthen partnerships with business, industry, K-12 institutions, four-year universities, and government agencies to align academic offerings with workforce and transfer opportunities.
• Engage regularly with regional industry partners, chambers of commerce, and workforce development boards to gather labor market intelligence and incorporate it into program planning, review and development.
• Lead initiatives to expand experiential learning, apprenticeships, internships, and industry-aligned credentials that enhance student employability and economic mobility
• Represent the College at local, regional, and national forums and conferences, advocating for community college initiatives, higher education policy, and workforce innovation.
• Serve on relevant community boards and committees, including the MCCS Academic Dean team, to advance the College’s interests and contribute to statewide higher education priorities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in education, higher education administration, curriculum & instruction, or a closely related field. (Doctoral degree strongly preferred; a Master’s may be considered with extensive senior leadership experience)
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in academic affairs or educational administration, with demonstrated experience in program development and faculty leadership, preferably in a community college setting.
• College-level teaching experience, including online or hybrid delivery.
• Demonstrated experience implementing Guided Pathways, completion agenda strategies, or comparable student success frameworks.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing innovative educational programs aligned with workforce needs.
• Experience with K-12 partnership development, including dual enrollment, early-college, or concurrent enrollment programs.
• Strong understanding of best practices in teaching and learning, including open educational resources, curriculum and instructional design, and distance learning.
• Proven ability to use disaggregated data to drive-equity focused decision-making and lead continuous improvement efforts.
• Proven ability to foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared governance among faculty and instructional staff.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Doctoral degree in education, higher education administration, or a related field.
• Experience serving as a Chief Academic Officer or in a comparable senior academic leadership role at an institution of similar size and complexity.
• Familiarity with NECHE accreditation standards, self-study processes, and substantive change protocols.
• Experience with collective bargaining environments and academic labor relations, including familiarity with MCCS agreements.
• Experience with competency-based education (CBE) design or prior learning assessment (PLA) programs.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining strong partnerships with community organizations, industry partners, four-year institutions, and K-12 school systems.
• Experience with strategic enrollment management, including course-scheduling optimization and student pathway planning.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Deep understanding of the community college landscape, including the unique challenges and opportunities facing large, open-access, two-year institutions and the evolving nature of the community college mission.
• Expertise in Guided Pathways implementation, including meta-major development, program mapping, advising integration, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated ability to use institutional date, student outcomes data, and external labor market information to drive strategy and continuous improvement.
• Excellent leadership and management skills, with the ability to build, develop and retain high-performing educational teams across diverse disciplines.
• Exceptional communication, consensus-building, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to foster strong relationships with faculty, students, executive colleagues, employers, K-12 partners, four-year institutions, and state system leadership.
• Strong understanding of the role of technology in higher education, including instructional technology, distance learning platforms, and data systems.
• Ability to think strategically and develop innovative solutions to complex challenges in a rapidly changing higher education environment.
• Sound judgement in navigating collective bargaining agreements, academic policy, and regulatory compliance.
• Ability to model and sustain a collegial, inclusive, and student-focused institutional culture.