Assistant Dean, Department Administration
The University of California, San Diego
About this position
Position Description
The Assistant Dean, Department Administration serves as a senior administrative leader deployed across School of Medicine departments to provide interim department business leadership during vacancies, transitions, or periods of operational stabilization. Acting with a high degree of autonomy, the Assistant Dean assumes full responsibility for stabilizing, managing, and enhancing administrative operations within assigned departments. The incumbent provides comprehensive oversight across all major administrative domains—including finance, academic and staff human resources, research administration, clinical and educational program support, space and facilities management, business systems, and compliance. The role ensures continuity of department leadership, promotes operational excellence, and represents departmental interests to School of Medicine and institutional leadership. Assignments range from short-term operational intervention to extended leadership engagements. The incumbent must rapidly assess departmental needs, establish credibility with faculty and staff, implement sustainable administrative practices, and align departmental processes with School of Medicine standards and strategic goals. Incumbent will also support School-wide initiatives that influence departmental operations, providing expertise, coordination, and administrative leadership. Key Responsibilities • Serve as a senior administrative leader deployed to School of Medicine departments to provide interim business and operational leadership during leadership vacancies, transitions, or periods of stabilization. • Assume full responsibility for department administrative operations, including finance, academic and staff human resources, research administration, clinical and educational program support, space and facilities, business systems, and compliance. • Rapidly assess departmental needs, establish credibility with faculty and staff, and stabilize operations while implementing sustainable administrative practices aligned with School of Medicine standards and strategic priorities. • Provide strategic and operational leadership, including department and program planning, development of new initiatives, identification of funding sources, policy development, and implementation of operational improvements to drive efficiency and effectiveness. • Lead complex financial management across multiple fund sources, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, internal controls, reporting, and strategic resource allocation, ensuring compliance with UC, state, federal, and sponsor requirements. • Direct financial modeling, clinical revenue and expense analysis, and development of productivity measures and dashboards to support data driven decision making for departments and School leadership. • Oversee academic personnel and staff human resources functions, including appointments, compensation planning, merits and promotions, credentialing, workforce planning, performance management, employee relations, and succession planning. • Collaborate with Department Chairs on faculty recruitment and retention, including negotiating recruitment packages, overseeing compensation plans, and resolving appointment and organizational issues. • Provide leadership and oversight for research administration activities, including pre and post award processes, proposal development, budget planning, compliance, risk mitigation, and research productivity improvement. • Partner with faculty and senior leaders to plan, develop, and expand clinical, education, and research programs, including development of funding models, incentive plans, and program enhancements. • Oversee space and facilities planning, including space utilization analysis, facilities expansion or renovation projects, relocations, lease considerations, and assurance of environmental health, safety, licensure, and accreditation compliance. • Strengthen administrative and workplace culture by mentoring and developing staff, fostering collaboration, and promoting consistent administrative standards across departments. • Lead change management efforts, including organizational redesign, process improvement, policy implementation, and removal of barriers to achieving operational and strategic goals. • Serve as a senior advisor and departmental representative to School of Medicine, Health Sciences, and Health System leadership, participating in short and long term strategic planning with organization wide impact. • Support School wide initiatives that influence departmental operations by providing subject matter expertise, coordination, and administrative leadership. • Participate in leadership transition planning, onboarding and acculturation of new department leaders, and orientation to organizational, academic, and regental protocols. • Represent leadership with delegated authority on task forces, committees, and strategic initiatives; engage with high level internal and external stakeholders to resolve complex and sensitive issues.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree and seven or more years of progressively responsible administrative leadership experience in a complex academic, research, or healthcare environment; or equivalent combination of experience, education and training. Five or more years of experience as business officer/lead administrator role within a medium to large clinical health sciences department or division with annual operating budget of at least $40M or more. Leadership experience in a School of Medicine. Demonstrated experience leading operational turnaround efforts. Demonstrated experience with department operational oversight including academic/staff HR, finance, research administration, facilities, IT, education, and clinical partnership/operations. Excellent leadership skills to oversee large or multiple academic departments and/or centers and/or institutes through subordinate managers. Expert knowledge of organizational processes, protocols and procedures. Demonstrates advanced strategic thinking, relationship building, and consulting skills in guiding the organization toward workable strategies and solutions. Demonstrated experience with developing and implementing efficiencies to enhance operations. Advanced analytical, problem-solving, project planning and implementation skills. Skills to effectively lead highly significant engagements from inception to conclusion. Demonstrated ability to lead in dynamic environments, manage multiple priorities, and quickly establish trust and credibility with faculty and staff. Highly-skilled in navigating complex organizations. Advanced written, verbal and presentation skills for influencing and facilitating sustained change. Advanced knowledge of financial analysis and reporting techniques, accounting principles, forecasting, budgeting, audit and internal control systems. Knowledge of the organizational environment of higher education and large research universities to understand client priorities, issues, motivations and constraints. Knowledge of institutional policies and the ability to ensure adherence to internal controls, regulatory requirements, and audit standards. Working knowledge of organization and system-wide organizational reporting structure, as well as an understanding of the interactive roles of management throughout the organization.