The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), a mission-driven research, development, dissemination, and evaluation organization for higher education based in Boulder, Colorado, seeks a forward-thinking leader to serve as Vice President. The Vice President reports directly to the NCHEMS President.
NCHEMS is a private nonprofit (501.c.3) organization whose mission is to improve strategic decision making in postsecondary education for states, systems, institutions, and workforce development organizations in the United States and abroad. NCHEMS carries out research, development, dissemination, and evaluation activities, as well as technical assistance. In all its projects, NCHEMS centers the conversion of data into usable knowledge for postsecondary leaders and policy makers at all levels.
The Vice President is a crucial member of the organization’s executive leadership team, serving as the principal deputy to the President. As such, the incumbent assists in the development and execution of long- and short-range strategic objectives, the operation of business plans, the establishment of organizational policies and budgets, and the cultivation of a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and camaraderie. The Vice President provides input to help ensure organizational, human resource and financial performance. The Vice President designs projects and initiatives that secure funding support, establishes goals and performance standards, supervises staff, and directs multiple projects and delivers final products and presentations. The incumbent will develop and lead NCHEMS efforts in a specific content area or areas; specific areas of expertise will fit snugly within the mission but otherwise will be dependent on their interest and capacity.
The next Vice President of NCHEMS possesses substantial relevant knowledge and technical expertise, including mastery of areas of policy or practice relevant to postsecondary education; has demonstrated excellence in developing initiatives, project ideas and new services, funding opportunities, and new resources; a strong background in designing and successfully leading multiple complex projects; experience gathering and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data and using them to communicate with postsecondary leaders and to develop practical solutions; demonstrated excellence in working effectively with high-level institutional executives and elected and appointed policymakers, including state higher education executive officers and their staff, state legislators and legislative staff, institutional leaders, and others; and experience championing, enabling, and developing internal talent, and in leading mission-driven teams with both internal and external members.
Candidates for this position must have a bachelor’s degree plus ten years of relevant and progressive work experience in a relevant setting, such as a higher education organization/institution, non-profit entity, or a state government agency. Preferred attributes include master’s or terminal degree in a field relevant to higher education policy or practice and high-level expertise in one or more of the following areas: postsecondary finance or budgeting, evaluation and assessment, governance and organization, accreditation, education/workforce alignment, strategic planning.
The vice president is expected to travel approximately 25-40% of the time. Since the onset of the pandemic, local NCHEMS staff have been working in the Boulder, Colorado office twice per week, but a fully remote appointment is an option. In the latter case, working out of the Boulder office is expected at least once per quarter (two of these times can coincide with board meetings), plus other visits as needed. NCHEMS expects that a fully remote appointee will have ready access to an international airport.
See the full profile and application details here.
