Lead Academic Program Director – Cyber Security & AI

WGU; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 123,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Tuition benefits

Flexible time off

Parental leave

Job summary

WGU in Utah seeks a strategic leader to advance online, competency-based education and student success, overseeing academic program leaders, instructional faculty, and student coaches to drive outcomes across degree programs.

This full-time role requires strong data analysis, collaboration, and a willingness to travel up to 20% with a comprehensive benefits package. Minimum qualifications include a Master's degree and 3–5 years in Cybersecurity/AI/PM domains.

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of how students learn and combining innovative curriculum and student support strategies to drive student success
• Customer or student obsession with a focus on driving successful outcomes for them
• Industry or academic leader in Cyber Security, Data Science, Software, Cloud & IT Management
• Understanding of industry trends, opportunities and educational market trends in the discipline
• Credible voice of the department in external partnerships and presentation opportunities
• Strong people leader to indirect lead a diverse team of 25+ people including academic program leaders, instructional faculty, and student coaches/mentors
• Execution focus with ability to dive deep and live in the details with a fast-paced weekly execution cadence
• Ability to organize and coordinate activities and results across cross-functional teams
• Ability to coach and develop direct reports
• Ability to collaborate with and manage teams, including those in a remote environment, while demonstrating excellence, integrity, and respect
• Ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed organization
• Ability to build relationships and influence at all levels, both internally and externally
• Ability to be an agent of change in a rapidly changing environment
• Proven ability to analyze data to identify trends and drive innovation
• Sound judgement and decision‑making skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills

Responsibilities

• Drives a culture of continuous experimentation, measurement, and learning from data to rapidly improve the quality and delivery to students
• Leads academic program leaders, instructional faculty, and student coaches/mentors
• Influences others and Communicates Effectively to improve teamwork and decision making
• Collaborates with others across the organization to achieve shared objectives
• Manages Ambiguity and effectively handles risk
• Drives for Results with a strong outcomes-based orientation
• Builds Effective Teams across cross-functional areas
• Organizational Learning by experimenting and learning from failures

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Data analysis

Strategic planning

Cross-functional collaboration

Student success

Education

Master's degree in business or technical field

Doctorate degree in relevant area (preferred)

Tools

CISSP, CISM or AI Certifications

Job description

WGU in Utah seeks a strategic leader to advance online, competency-based education and student success, overseeing academic program leaders, instructional faculty, and student coaches to drive outcomes across degree programs.

This full-time role requires strong data analysis, collaboration, and a willingness to travel up to 20% with a comprehensive benefits package. Minimum qualifications include a Master's degree and 3–5 years in Cybersecurity/AI/PM domains.