Academic Manager – Buenos Aires

ACADEMIC MANAGER 

Buenos Aires, Argentina

POSITION DESCRIPTION 

The Academic Manager oversees the coordination, quality, planning, and delivery of all components of educational programming onsite. This position provides day-to-day academic leadership, and oversees the learning environment to ensure it is a rigorous, engaging, and supportive experience that fosters participant academic success. The Academic Manager ensures that academic programming, faculty, and staff are in compliance with Verto and its Academic Provider/School of Record academic protocols, all of Verto’s policies and practices, and overall standards of academic excellence for teaching and learning. 

The Academic Manager directly reports to the Program Director for day-to-day academic program management and the implementation of academic affairs onsite. The Academic Manager collaborates closely with the global Academic Affairs Headquarters team on all matters related to strategic planning and academic development, academic operations, staff and faculty management, and participant academic success and advising. The Academic Manager is responsible for creating and maintaining a positive and transformative learning environment in partnership with key stakeholders across the organization.  

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Academic Leadership & Management 

• Academic Leadership: Manage the day to day academic program, providing academic quality assurance. Regularly review and report on academic data and trends, anticipating and addressing academic needs of relevant staff, faculty, and participants in cooperation with the Program Director and the Academic Affairs (AA) team at Verto Headquarters (HQ) and its Academic Provider/School of Record. Contribute to  periodic site-specific self-studies, partner site visits and respond to requests from academic partners and/or external stakeholders as needed. Participate in regular meetings with local and global academic team members.
• Academic Program Management and Implementation:  Implement and oversee academic programs, the curriculum, academic standards, and policies in compliance with Verto and Academic Provider/School of Record requirements, employing education and study abroad industry good practices and innovation in the execution of courses, experiential learning, co-curricular activities, academic success and academic interventions, advising, etc. consistent with Verto’s priorities, mission and vision. 
• Teaching and Learning Environment: Monitor teaching and learning and support faculty, staff, and participants to create and sustain positive and engaging learning environments. Facilitate transformational experiential learning and support the implementation of organizational initiatives, such as Verto Discovery, to maximize effectiveness and innovate pedagogical best practices for experiential teaching and learning. Teach courses as needed for local academic program, including discipline area course(s) and/or Student Development courses.
• Student Management: Address academic student needs, identify students of concern, ensure timely resolution of escalated student issues, academic complaints, grievances and appeals in coordination with Verto HQ. Ensure accurate and timely reporting and student records following Verto policies and reporting systems (Maxient). 

Faculty and Academic Staff Management, Training, & Support 

• Faculty Outreach & Local Academic Engagement: Engage in local academic networks and maintain a positive working relationship with local faculty, associations, and institutions and the larger study abroad and higher education community. Support the outreach and recruitment of qualified faculty who meet academic credentialing requirements of Verto’s US Academic Provider/School of Record. Develop relationships that can advance Verto experiential learning opportunities and academic engagement in the local community.
• Faculty and Academic Staff Management: Manage faculty and academic staff, including recruitment, hiring, credentialing, onboarding, training, and evaluation under the oversight of Academic Provider/School of Record in partnership with Verto HQ. Coordinate and engage in the hiring and training process for all local study center faculty and staff as needed. Supervise local academic staff and ensure staff are meeting academic responsibilities. 
• Faculty Community:  Create an engaged faculty community with local and global faculty through individual and group support. Support faculty, staff, and student engagement in and out of class. Develop, deliver, or coordinate local and global faculty training workshops and professional development before and during the semester for local faculty.  

Academic Success, Advising, and College Counseling

• Ensure staff/faculty are supported to implement and monitor ongoing participant academic accommodations, academic progress and performance, and corresponding academic actions or interventions. Collaborate with Student Life Manager in some supervision of staff.
• Contribute to initiatives that advance student advising and academic success, including ensuring participant access to tutoring and learning support services, coordinating faculty/student engagement through office hours, review sessions, etc. as appropriate.
• Support ongoing academic advising and college counseling for all participants; through related pre-departure planning & events, academic interventions, programming and post-Verto transfer support as appropriate.
• Provide training to faculty and staff to better understand and address student academic success and support needs, work directly with students to resolve escalated needs or support faculty and staff to advance student academic success. 

Academic Operations and Management 

• Provide day-to-day management of local academic operations, including the academic calendar, course schedules, and adhering to critical academic timelines and requirements.
• Serve as the local academic systems administrator relevant to student records, learning management systems, online textbooks and library resources, and course registration needs. Maintain up-to-date data in all relevant academic systems and databases (Salesforce, Maxient). Oversee implementation and utilization of learning management systems (e.g., Canvas), for all teaching and learning activities. 
• Under the supervision of the Program Director and in coordination with AAHQ, lead start of term activities including faculty/staff onboarding, student orientations, and review all course syllabi to ensure compliance with academic standards.
• Coordinate course registration activities with the Program Director and the AA HQ team, monitoring changes in enrollment, forecasting appropriate academic schedules and hiring, reviewing participant data and eligibility and academic budgeting needs.
• Manage academic assessment and course evaluation processes, engage staff and participants to yield expected response rates, evaluate and distribute/discuss and utilize feedback for continuous improvement. 

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree and a minimum of two years of experience in educational administration, academic advising, teaching, student services or study abroad.
• Demonstrated teaching experience in undergraduate education, preferably with U.S. college participants, with a minimum of two years teaching in a university or study abroad environment with a participant-centered, experiential learning approach.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal. Spanish and English language fluency required.
• Enjoyment of working with staff and participants to create transformational educational experiences, serving as a bridge to the local culture to inspire participant learning.  
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and comfort addressing relevant issues directly with staff and participants. 
• Ability to handle multiple ongoing tasks and prioritize within a complex administrative environment, flexible and able to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Ability to complete detail-oriented tasks on time without sacrificing accuracy or quality.
• Experience supervising staff, comfortable working in global teams across time zones with demonstrated cultural competency. 
• Prepared to work in a fast-paced organization that is striving for growth, innovation, and long-term success.