Verto is on a mission to provide the best possible start to college for traditional students. We begin by making travel and experiential education a core part of every student’s first year. Our participants start college overseas in one of five Verto locations and take fully accredited in‑person classes from our Academic Provider, the University of New Haven. After completing 1‑3 semesters with Verto, participants seamlessly transfer to one of 50+ partner universities in the United States. Along the way, participants become more mature, empathetic global citizens who have a greater sense of purpose and direction for their lives. At Verto, we’re creating a different model. We’re driving the costs down and acceptance rates up. We connect participants to the world and give them a chance to discover who they are before making them choose a major. We’re out to build a transformational company that makes higher education more accessible and impactful. We are backed by First Round Capital and other top VCs.
VERTO LONDON – ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Verto is seeking a qualified individual to serve as the onsite academic leader at the Verto London study center. The anticipated title for the position is Assistant or Associate Academic Director. Additional titles may be considered, commensurate with educational qualifications and professional experience. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. The Verot London Academic leader 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 leader 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 leader directly reports to the Program Director for day‑to‑day academic program management and the implementation of academic affairs onsite. The Academic Director has a secondary reporting line to the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Verto Education Headquarters. This role collaborates closely with the global Academic Affairs Headquarters and wider global academic team on all matters related to strategic planning and academic development, academic operations, staff and faculty management, faculty oversight, and participant academic success and advising. The Academic leader is the primary manager of Verto London faculty, and is responsible for creating and maintaining a positive and transformative learning environment in partnership with key stakeholders across the organization.
Academic Leadership
* Academic Leadership: Lead the day to day academic program, providing academic quality assurance and regularly reviewing 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. Organize periodic site‑specific self‑studies, host visits or respond to requests from academic partners and/or accreditation teams as needed.
* Academic Program Management and Implementation: Implement and oversee academic programs, the Verto 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, active and experiential learning, co‑curricular activities, academic success and interventions, advising, etc. consistent with Verto’s priorities, mission and vision. Develops new courses and academic programming as needed for semester programs and/or custom requests.
* 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 appropriate to expertise and business needs. Collaborate across teams to ensure academic facilities and instructional sites meet program needs from planning to implementation.
* Academic Partnerships: Manage and develop local academic partnerships and maintain a positive working relationship with local faculty, associations, and institutions. Identify appropriate courses to be taught at the Verto Study Center and/or with local partner(s) and identify faculty who meet the academic credentialing requirements of Verto’s US Academic Provider/School of Record. Organize and attend Verto academic partner, accreditation (US/UK), and Academic Provider visits and events.
* Faculty and 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 and the local Program Director. Participate in the hiring and training process for all local study center staff as needed. Ensure high quality teaching and learning experiences.
* 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 and faculty.
* Global Leadership: Attend company‑wide training and meetings as needed, participate in strategic planning for London and global academic affairs, and serve as a key leader of the Verto London and global academic team.
* Other job related duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or be assigned to address company, study center, and departmental goals and priorities.
Academic Success and Student Academic Support
* Support faculty and staff in the implementation and ongoing monitoring of student participant academic accommodations, academic progress and performance, and corresponding academic actions or interventions.
* Collaborate with Student Success team and faculty to address student academic cases and escalations that impact student learning or the teaching and learning environment.
* Actively monitor student academic experiences and feedback to proactively identify and address classroom or academic concerns.
* Develop initiatives that advance student 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 for all participants; through related pre‑departure planning, academic interventions, academic skills focused workshops/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, faculty and course schedules, and timelines for required academic events. Ability to plan ahead and manage standard academic operating tasks and responsibilities.
* Serve as academic lead with local partners to facilitate appropriate sharing of student academic records and documents for student visas and registration; develop a course timetable for courses to be held at local partner, and ensure students have access to authorized campus resources (e.g. library, tutoring, support services).
* Serve as the onsite resource for key technology needs relevant to student information systems, learning management systems, textbooks and library resources, and course registration needs. Maintain up‑to‑date data in all relevant academic systems and databases. Oversee implementation and utilization of learning management systems (e.g., Canvas), for all teaching and learning activities.
* Partner with the AA Headquarters team to plan courses, sections, faculty and build timetables and student schedules using Verto systems (e.g. Canvas, Salesforce).
* 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, academic budgeting, and reporting on any participant enrollment changes.
* Academic facilities and scheduling management lead, along with operational staff to ensure standards for all instructional sites, including classrooms, labs, tutoring spaces. Coordinates proctoring, tutoring, classroom schedules, labs, and related compliance measures including lab safety trainings are completed.
* Responsible for planning and implementation of experiential learning across faculty/course following guidelines, standards, and budgetary requirements.
* Review, update, and submit all course syllabi and Canvas sites to ensure compliance with standards set by Academic Provider/School of Record, and Academic HQ. Lead curriculum development projects as necessary.
* Lead key pre‑departure and start of term activities including student academic orientations, faculty/staff onboarding, staff training on academic functions (e.g. Add/Drop).
* Manage faculty and course evaluation processes and student /program evaluations, engage staff and participants to yield high response rates, evaluate responses and distribute/discuss and utilize feedback. Monitor and lead strategies and achievement toward site specific and academic goals, including participant NPS and faculty and course effectiveness ratings.
* Identify and contribute to global and local academic projects to enhance student experiences for continuous improvement and quality assurance.
WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR
* Strategic Thinker: You can plot the chess moves a year ahead of time and develop a credible plan to deliver amazing value to our participants.
* Experienced People Manager: You know how to manage and grow a successful team.
* Influential Communicator: You are a thoughtful communicator who can sell ideas, gather resources, and rally stakeholders.
* Strong Executor: You value getting things done and hitting deadlines. You have a track record of delivering under pressure.
* Humble Collaborator: You bring kindness and empathy to your working relationships and put the team’s success before your own.
* Mission‑Driven: You deeply believe that education has the power to transform lives and you want to give more young people a chance to thrive.
Minimum Requirements and Qualifications
* Postgraduate degree required, Terminal degree (PhD or EdD) and 3 – 5 years experience in educational administration.
* Minimum of 3‑5 years’ experience in educational administration. Prior role at a university or study abroad organization or education management in an international setting, and/or direct experience with US higher education and study abroad with a strong student‑centered and experiential focus.
* Demonstrated teaching experience (minimum of two years at university level), preferably with U.S. college participants.
* Experience recruiting, training, and supervising high‑performing faculty and staff. Identification of training needs and support of performance improvement and other HR processes.
* Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to handle multiple ongoing tasks and prioritize within a complex administrative environment, flexible and able to adapt to changing circumstances.
* Enjoyment of working with faculty, staff and students to create transformational global educational experiences, serving as a bridge to the local culture to inspire participant learning.
* Ability to teach courses, with Academic Provider credentialing/approval in at least one relevant subject area and/or Verto’s Student Development Course, as appropriate to business need and enrollment.
* English language fluency required.
* Able to travel at least 2‑3 weeks per year, international travel required. Some evening and weekend events or activities may be required.
* Must be able to lawfully accept employment in the UK at the time an offer of employment is extended, background check required.
Preferred Skills and Qualifications
* Prior role at a university or study abroad organization or education management in an international setting, and/or direct experience with US higher education and study abroad. Experience working with first‑year college participants is a plus.
* Excellent problem‑solving skills; ability to investigate and analyze information and identify ways to identify problems with a bias toward action.
* Strong technical skills, including Google suite, LMS, CRM/SIS systems and ability to create and analyze data for decision‑making. Experience using platforms such as Canvas, Asana, Salesforce, Gemini, Slack, a plus.
* Skilled in project management and leveraging technology to build operational efficiency. Open to experimentation with new technologies, including AI, to support teaching and learning as well as day‑to‑day work.
* Dynamic training and presentation skills that can engage multiple audiences, with an ability to deliver effective online and in‑person training for students, faculty, and staff.
* Existing local faculty network across disciplines, engagement in local university and/or study abroad communities. Familiarity with STEM curriculum/programming is a plus.
* Comfortable working in global teams across time zones with demonstrated cultural competency.
* Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and comfort addressing relevant issues directly with staff and participants.
* High standard of success for self and others, committed to world class educational delivery with a focus on holistic student development and transformation.
* Strong collaborator and role model committed to developing early career professionals, mentoring students and staff. Team player who looks for opportunities to support and elevate others for mutual success.
* Prepared to work in a fast‑paced, start‑up organization that is striving for rapid growth, innovation, and long‑term success.
At Verto Education we value voices of all backgrounds and experiences. We know that creating a diverse environment takes dedication and intentional hiring practices. Even if you don’t meet 100% of the above qualifications, you should still seriously consider applying. Studies show that you can still be considered for a role if you meet just 50% of the role’s requirements.
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