Director, Academic Administration & Planning

Missouri Arts Council; Missouri; On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Missouri Arts Council in Saint Louis, MO seeks a Director of Academic Administration & Planning to provide operational and financial leadership for Academic Affairs, reporting to the Provost. Responsibilities include budget management, resource planning, and cross-functional coordination across schools and units.

The role emphasizes data-informed decision-making, process improvement, and strategic planning to support institutional priorities and continuity.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in higher education administration, business, finance, public administration, organizational leadership, or related field.
• 7–10 years in higher education administration, finance, operations, planning, or related area with leadership responsibility.
• Experience with budget management, financial planning, forecasting, and resource allocation.
• Experience supporting senior or executive leadership and translating priorities into operational plans.

Responsibilities

• Lead development, administration, monitoring, forecasting, and analysis of the Academic Affairs budget with Provost and academic leaders.
• Coordinate administrative and resource planning across Academic Affairs and units.
• Develop resource-planning scenarios to support schools, colleges, and Academic Affairs units.
• Maintain standardized administrative workflows, documentation, controls, and operating practices.
• Provide data-informed analyses, dashboards, and decision-support materials for Provost and leadership.
• Collaborate with Finance, Institutional Research, HR, IT and other partners to ensure accuracy and transparency.

Skills

Academic Administration & Planning

Operational Leadership

Strategic & Resource Planning

Business & Operational Analysis

Project & Process Management

Executive Decision Support

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Communication & Influence

Relationship Management

Risk Identification & Escalation

Accountability & Results Orientation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in higher education administration, business, finance, public administration, organizational leadership, or related field

Master’s degree in higher education administration, business administration, finance, public administration, organizational leadership, or related field

Job description

Director, Academic Administration & Planning

#1189

Saint Louis, Missouri, United States

External Job Description

The Director, Academic Administration & Planning provides operational, financial, planning, analytical, and administrative leadership for Academic Affairs and reports directly to the Provost. The position coordinates the infrastructure, analysis, resource planning, and administrative processes necessary to support the Provost, academic leadership, schools, colleges, and other Academic Affairs units across the University.

The Director translates academic and institutional priorities into coordinated operational and financial plans, strengthens resource stewardship, and provides analysis and recommendations to support effective executive decision-making. The position serves as a key administrative partner to the Provost and works across Academic Affairs to strengthen operational effectiveness, financial discipline, planning, accountability, and continuity. The Director partners with Human Resources, as appropriate, on matters affecting Academic Affairs.

The role requires strong operational leadership, financial acumen, strategic and resource planning, data-informed decision-making, project and process management, cross-functional collaboration, organizational effectiveness, and the ability to translate complex information into actionable recommendations.

• Academic Affairs Budget & Financial Management — 35%
• Lead and coordinate the development, administration, monitoring, forecasting, and analysis of the Academic Affairs budget in partnership with the Provost, Finance, Deans, and academic leadership.
• Develop budget forecasts, financial analyses, and resource-allocation scenarios to support academic priorities, financial sustainability, and executive decision-making.
• Monitor expenditures, commitments, budget variances, resource utilization, and emerging financial risks and escalete significant concerns to the Provost and appropriate institutional partners.
• Coordinate annual budget planning and recurring financial reporting for Academic Affairs.
• Develop and maintain appropriate financial documentation, controls, reconciliation practices, and reporting mechanisms.
• Advise the Provost on budget performance, resource utilization, financial risks, and opportunities for improved efficiency and resource alignment.
• Serve as a primary Academic Affairs liaison with Finance on budget, financial planning, and resource matters.
• Academic Administration & Resource Planning — 25%
• Lead and coordinate administrative and resource planning across Academic Affairs in alignment with academic and institutional priorities.
• Assess resource utilization, operational capacity, administrative practices, and opportunities for improved effectiveness and efficiency.
• Develop and recommend resource-planning and allocation scenarios to support schools, colleges, and Academic Affairs units.
• Develop and maintain standardized administrative workflows, procedures, documentation, controls, and operating practices.
• Maintain business continuity documentation and support continuity planning for critical Academic Affairs administrative functions.
• Identify and escalete operational risks, gaps, duplication, resource constraints, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Partner with academic and administrative leaders to strengthen coordination and effective use of institutional resources.
• Academic Planning & Administrative Coordination — 15%
• Coordinate planning and implementation activities supporting Academic Affairs priorities and initiatives.
• Translate academic priorities into implementation plans, timelines, milestones, resource requirements, and accountability mechanisms.
• Coordinate activities across schools, colleges, and Academic Affairs units when centralized administrative support or cross-functional coordination is required.
• Monitor implementation progress, identify barriers and dependencies, and provide status reporting and recommendations to the Provost.
• Lead or support continuous improvement of Academic Affairs administrative practices and operating processes.
• Support implementation of organizational, administrative, and process changes approved by the Provost.
• Academic Affairs Data, Reporting & Analysis — 15%
• Develop operational and financial reports, dashboards, forecasts, analyses, and executive decision-support materials for the Provost and academic leadership.
• Analyze budget, resource, operational, and other relevant Academic Affairs data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and potential interventions.
• Establish recurring reporting and decision-support mechanisms that strengthen transparency and accountability.
• Partner with Finance, Institutional Research, Information Technology, and other institutional data owners to promote accuracy, consistency, and appropriate use of information.
• Translate complex operational and financial information into clear findings, recommendations, and decision points for academic leadership.
• Support data-informed assessment of resource allocation, administrative effectiveness, and institutional priorities.
• Provost & Academic Leadership Support — 10%
• Provide operational, administrative, planning, financial, and analytical support to the Provost.
• Prepare analyses, presentations, recommendations, scenarios, and executive decision-support materials.
• Coordinate assigned operational and administrative initiatives on behalf of the Office of the Provost.
• Build effective working relationships with Deans, academic leaders, Finance, Institutional Research, Human Resources, Information Technology, and other institutional partners.
• Represent Academic Affairs on operational committees, planning groups, and institutional initiatives as assigned.
• Provide recommendations to the Provost regarding administrative effectiveness, resource utilization, operational risks, and opportunities for improvement.

The salary range for this position is:$80,000-$90,000 annually.

Location

Webster Groves Campus-WEBG

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in higher education administration, business administration, finance, public administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.

Requisite Experience

• 7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in higher education administration, finance, operations, planning, or a related area, including management or significant functional leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience with budget management, financial planning, forecasting, financial analysis, and resource allocation.
• Demonstrated experience supporting senior or executive leadership and translating strategic priorities into operational and administrative plans.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex projects, process improvements, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience assessing operational processes, identifying gaps and risks, and developing sustainable solutions.
• Experience with data analysis, reporting, dashboards, forecasting, and executive decision support.
• Demonstrated ability to develop recommendations based on financial, operational, and organizational analysis.

Core Competencies

• Academic Administration & Planning
• Operational Leadership & Execution
• Strategic & Resource Planning
• Business & Operational Analysis
• Project & Process Management
• Executive Decision Support
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Communication & Influence
• Relationship Management
• Risk Identification & Escalation
• Accountability & Results Orientation

Accountable | Collaborative | Analytical | Proactive | Solutions-Oriented | Operationally Disciplined | Data-Informed | Institutionally Focused

Preferred Qualifications

Education

• Master’s degree in higher education administration, business administration, finance, public administration, organizational leadership, or a related field.

Department

Academic Affairs-ACAF

Physical Demands

Work is generally performed within a standard office environment with regular use of technology and virtual collaboration tools.

This Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or on any other basis prohibited by law. Information on race, gender and national origin will only be used for statistical and recordkeeping purposes, and will not be used in making any employment decisions. All information provided will be kept separate from your expression of interest. Providing this information is strictly voluntary, and you will not be subjected to any adverse action or treatment if you choose not to provide this information. If you do not choose to answer these questions, we ask that you select "Decline to Identify" for each question. Thank you for your voluntary cooperation.