Director of Learning & Development | Institute on the Environment
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Application
Details
Posted: 15-Oct-24
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Salary: 60,215.61 - 144,492.51
Categories:
Education/Training
Internal Number: 365080
Are you passionate about advancing sustainability? Do you believe in the power of education, learning, and development to strengthen communities, activate networks of people, and benefit learners at all stages of their lives? Do you enjoy managing teams and leading others, supporting their professional development and alignment with organizational goals?
If any part of this sounds like you, we hope you read on. The Director of Learning & Development at the Institute on the Environment (IonE) leads exactly this type of work â“ overseeing a group of professionals supporting a portfolio of innovative programming that benefits learners across a variety of ages and career stages, and serving as a member of the Instituteâ™s five-person leadership and management team.
Where Youâ™ll Work
As part of a public research university, IonE exists to catalyze sustainability outcomes â“ driving environmental impact and innovation. Founded in 2007, it is a boundary-spanning, externally oriented unit, embedded within the University of Minnesota (UMN) and explicitly charged with forging connections and collaborations across and beyond academia â“ on a local, regional, and global scale. We consider this connective work critical because the environmental challenges we face are not only urgent, they are also vast and complex â“ and they will not be solved by any one discipline or sector working alone. To achieve its goals, IonE is organized as three core programmatic areas, in addition to pursuing operational excellence:
Producing and co-creating knowledge and new solutions â“ through outcomes-oriented research activities, grantmaking, and other collaborative projects
Capacity-building across our community â“ through learning, leadership, and professional development offerings
Scaling and enabling collective impact â“ through our public-interest communications and engagement activities, inspiring and connecting audiences with relevant knowledge and one another
Each of these programmatic areas is led by a practitioner-manager who both conducts work in their area of specialization and oversees a portfolio of activities, led by professional staff. Equally critical to our theory of change is our operational and administrative infrastructure, including our grants administration; reporting and evaluation capabilities; and other operational functions.
When we refer to our âœcommunity,â we are referring to a broad network of people: our staff members; affiliated UMN faculty and professional staff, as well as non-University affiliates; students (from undergraduate to adult professional learners); partners and collaborators on funded projects; as well as other collaborators, advisors, donors, and supporters.
With its interdisciplinary and outcome-oriented mandate, IonE was created to be different and to operate differently than the âœacademy-as-usual.â We learn and grow as a community that â“ through words and actions â“ models how to practice education, research, and communications that accelerate just transformations to a sustainable future.
The Work Youâ™ll Lead
The L&D division of IonE includes programming supporting learning and leadership/professional development across a wide range of learners and participants, including undergraduate students (e.g., via the sustainability studies minor, internships, study abroad, and other experiential learning), graduate students (e.g., through co-curricular workshops and peer mentoring); postdoctoral scholars; researchers and educators; and decision-makers, community, and corporate leaders (e.g., through international exchange and topical convenings). The institute will continue to serve a wide range of learners â“ inside and outside the university â“ and programs range from established with opportunities for evolution, to new experiments still involving refinement and scaling, to programming in need of fresh or new approaches.
In particular, we seek a director who can steer a portfolio of learning and development offerings that respond to imperatives in the 2024-2029 IonE Strategic Plan and our companion Diversity, Education, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Action Plan; grow the capacity of scholars to engage in IonEâ™s Impact Goals, a cross-functioning theme in the strategic plan; enhance our organizational capacity to assess this divisionâ™s impact and outcomes across participants and learners; foster the creation or scaling of innovative and impactful educational programming and materials; foster and sustain relationships with learners inside and outside the university; integrate diverse ways of knowing and doing; and grow external resources to support its constellation of work.
Candidates who are successful in this role will be entrepreneurial, innovative, and rigorous. They will be excited about absorbing and connecting ideas, and helping the best ideas spread at scale. The role requires organizational savvy and an ability to be part of a collaborative management team that oversees the institute as a whole and the implementation of IonEâ™s strategic plan.
How the Role Is Structured
Reporting to the Executive Director of IonE (Jessica Hellmann), the L&D Director is a full-time position, overseeing a team of professional staff committed to the cultivation of activated people in the sustainability space. The director oversees a budget of ~$1M/year, with potential for externally funded growth. Hundreds of students, faculty, University staff, and external partners participate in IonEâ™s learning and development programs and activities each year, with potential for marked increases in reach and scale of impact.
A note on how this position is funded: At the University, many roles are split efforts (for example: 50% time on administrative leadership, 25% teaching, 25% working on grant-funded projects, etc.), and each fraction can have its own funding source(s). For this role, we are seeking someone who can devote a minimum of 50 and up to 75% effort to the responsibilities described below, supported by core funding (sometimes called âœhardâ funding) provided by IonE. All candidates should expect over time, as part of their role, to pursue other externally (or âœsoftâ) funded activities (such as contributing to a grant-funded project) to fill out the remaining 25â“50% of their full FTE.
If you are new to this model, we will start you on 100% hard funding, and youâ™ll have time to cultivate your soft funding streams. IonE offers a wide range of support in seeking and managing grant funding â“ and has a wide network across the University to help identify other soft-funding opportunities.
Additional Details:
Salary range: $112,750 â“ $132,650 (for 1 FTE)
Benefits: UMN P&A employee group benefits
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota (remote work possible 1-2 days a week)
Relocation funds are available for candidates who need to move to the area
We particularly encourage applications from individuals who belong to groups that have been historically underrepresented in environmental work and in academia, including those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, those with disabilities, veterans, and those from LGBTQIA+ communities. Details about how to apply are below, after the Benefits section. We recognize applying takes effort, and we look forward to reading and reviewing your submission.
Informational Webinar:
We invite you to learn more! Click here for the recording of an informational webinar held on Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. You may reach out to April at deink001@umn.edu for any questions.
Core Responsibilities
Learning and Development Portfolio 50% This category of work is about managing the development and delivery of distinctive learning and professional/leadership development offerings â“ responsive to the needs of our core audience groups and key partners, in alignment with IonEâ™s strategic plan.
Manage and strategically develop our portfolio of learning, leadership, and professional development offerings, including cohorts, experiential learning, and other opportunities, taking an integrated approach to advancing unit goals and sustainability outcomes
Center principles of antiracism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all leadership and development activities, integrating these values in program development, policies, and organizational/group practices and processes
Engage with diverse internal and external stakeholders, including various IonE advisory bodies, to understand learning, leadership, and development needs â“ with an eye toward creating value and complementing other structures at the University of Minnesota
Scale the reach of this programming, ensuring equitable access to these opportunities across defined audience groups (e.g., affiliates, graduate students, etc.), core disciplines, and geographies (e.g., system-wide campuses)
Partner with internal and external subject matter experts to incorporate diverse perspectives and content into programming â“ and facilitate the engagement of IonE affiliates in the delivery, design, oversight, and possible export of activities and programs
Develop and deliver select sessions, workshops, and seminars, aligned with your own area(s) of expertise â“ and coach others in the development of new offerings that advance IonEâ™s approach to leadership development and sustainability pedagogy
Collaborate and consult with other units and IonE systemwide hub directors in support of new educational programs and initiatives related to sustainability, working with leaders and advisors of sustainability degree programs across the UMN system as needed
Evaluation and Scaling Impact 20% This category of work is about rigorous evaluation, reflection, and reporting â“ drawing out insights, models, and other learnings to share widely and scale the impact of your program area activities.
Partner on the development of IonE-wide impact and performance metrics, aligned with our strategic and DEIJ action plans, and implement a regular data collection and reporting cycle for the leadership and development portfolio
Analyze quantitative and qualitative data, to better understand the overall effectiveness, outcomes, and impacts of leadership and development portfolio initiatives, activities, and programs, and make adjustments based on your insights
Partner with colleagues, including staff and affiliates, to scale program area insights, models, and other learnings, through popular and/or academic publishing, and other forms of content creation
Stay updated on best practices and research, as an active practitioner in the education, leadership, professional development, and sustainability fields, using your knowledge to continuously improve the effectiveness of portfolio activities
Management and Supervision 20% This category of work describes your organizational leadership and management role, as well as staff supervision and development responsibilities. In this role, you will be leading a team of professionals responsible for the design and delivery of learning and developing offerings, ensuring staff can deliver best-in-class, audience-centered experiences, deploying a variety of learning methods and technologies.
Supervise and manage IonE leadership and development staff, supporting their alignment to organizational objectives, as well as their career development and professional growth
Lead program area work planning, aligning with unit-level/organizational goals, and facilitating collaboration with other programs, groups, and activities across IonE
Forecast and monitor annual salary and programming expenses, developing an integrated portfolio budget, aligning organizational resources, and pursuing external revenue/funding streams, including innovative and collaborative financial models that promote value creation
Serve as a core member of the IonE management team, contributing to organizational decision-making, strategy-setting, and stewardship, including the cultivation of employee engagement and a productive organizational culture
Visibility and Thought Leadership 10% This category of work speaks to your role as a thought leader in this field, as well as responsibilities for cultivating partnerships and funding opportunities. This may also include University service (such as sitting on committees).
Represent IonE through participation in conferences, lectures, and professional societies, especially where participation scales IonEâ™s signature approaches and advances a reputation for excellence in leadership/pedagogy
Develop and maintain relationships with other leaders in sustainability education, leadership, and professional development, cultivating new opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing
Identify and actively cultivate opportunities for grant proposals and other external funding to support current and new initiatives, and collaborate with IonEâ™s development officer to create an integrated, prioritized plan for philanthropy
Working Conditions:
The majority of the work in this position is performed in a general office setting. IonE offices and meeting spaces are accessible and the building has accessible gendered restrooms on-site. Non-gendered restrooms are accessible through the tunnel system but would not be considered convenient for regular daily use.
This position has been designated as work profile 2. Profile 2 is expected to work on-site more than 50% of the time. Your office will be located on the St. Paul campus. IonE management retains the right to modify flexible work arrangement agreements on a temporary or permanent basis for any reason at any time.
Required Qualifications
A terminal degree and at least 8 years of relevant experience, including significant management experience, or an advanced degree with at least 10 or more years of directly related professional experience
Proven management experiences and a history of success in leading groups, including supervising and developing professional and administrative staff
Demonstrated excellence in your discipline(s), including a strong understanding of leadership theories and adult/college-level learning principles and practices
Demonstrated technical and operational mastery, including a proven track record of implementing successful learning and development programming
Strong understanding of change management methodologies and frameworks
Experience operationalizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in your work and workplace
Experience capturing metrics that drive insights and decision-making, and using both quantitative and qualitative data to identify benchmarks and best-in-class approaches
Experience in strategic budget development and management
A consultative, collaborative orientation to your work, with a commitment to and appreciation of interdisciplinarity, community engagement, and co-creation
Preferred Qualifications Especially competitive candidates may have some â“ though not all â“ of the following qualifications:
Deep and wide-ranging knowledge of not only theory and research, but also current practice across sectors, in sustainability education and leadership development
A dynamic, entrepreneurial orientation, supporting growth, scaling, results, and impact
A proven track record in fundraising, grant writing, and other external revenue development
Confidence in public-facing roles, with strong public-speaking skills and an ability to inspire others
A professional/public record of scholarship or thought leadership in a relevant field
Understanding of (and appreciation for) the academic environment, including the complex structures and incentives of higher education
Experience working in a matrixed environment, with an ability to gather input and influence decisions across all levels of an organization â“ and an understanding of the implications of decisions and actions on segments of the organization outside one's immediate area
The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.