Edtech.com's Summary

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is hiring a Director or Senior Director of Learner Experience - Gies College of Business to shape the co-curricular undergraduate experience at Gies. The role leads the Purpose-Driven Leaders experience, honors programming, leadership development, and community-building efforts that promote belonging and student success. It supervises the staff who run Student Engagement and Gies Honors and partners with admissions, advising, and student success teams.

Highlights

Build and carry out a learner experience strategy that covers the full undergraduate journey from orientation through graduation.
Lead the design, assessment, and ongoing evolution of the Purpose-Driven Leaders (PDL) experience with Admissions, Student Success, faculty, and Career & Professional Development.
Oversee Gies Honors, Gies Scholars, James Scholars, and first-year experience programming, including honors recruitment, curriculum, and enrichment.
Direct strategy for signature college events, leadership development, Registered Student Organizations, student traditions, and wellness and belonging efforts.
Create an assessment framework drawing on participation data, student feedback, engagement metrics, and retention indicators to guide improvements.
Supervise the professional staff for Student Engagement and Honors, coaching them and setting unit goals and assessment metrics.
Pilot and scale new co-curricular experiences that strengthen belonging, leadership development, and purpose exploration as the student population grows.
Serve on the Undergraduate Programs Leadership Team and represent the program on college and campus committees.
Needs a bachelor's degree and experience leading programs and supervising staff, with five years of progressive higher education or student affairs experience for Director and eight for Senior Director.
The budgeted salary range is $94,000 to $118,000 for the Director and $118,000 to $128,000 for the Senior Director.

Director or Senior Director of Learner Experience - Gies College of Business Full Description

Job Summary

Director of Learner Experience

The Director of Learner Experience guides the design and continuous improvement of the co-curricular undergraduate experience at Gies College of Business. Within Undergraduate Programs, the Director leads the Purpose-Driven Leaders (PDL) experience, honors programming, leadership development, community building, and signature student experiences that promote belonging, purpose, and student success.

The Director coordinates with academic and student support partners to advance college priorities, supervises staff responsible for Student Engagement and Gies Honors, and ensures students have opportunities to develop leadership and professional readiness throughout their time at Gies.

Senior Director of Learner Experience

The Senior Director of Learner Experience provides strategic and operational leadership for the co-curricular undergraduate experience at Gies College of Business. Within Undergraduate Programs, the Senior Director oversees the PDL experience, honors programming, leadership development, community building, and signature initiatives that foster belonging, purpose, and student success.

The Senior Director aligns academic, professional, and co-curricular experiences through cross-functional collaboration, supervises leaders responsible for Student Engagement and Gies Honors, and advances college priorities to ensure students develop purpose, belonging, leadership, and professional readiness.

Duties & Responsibilities

Director of Learner Experience

Strategic Leadership

Develop and implement a comprehensive learner experience strategy spanning orientation through graduation.
Provide strategic leadership and oversight for the design, implementation, assessment, and continuous evolution of the Purpose-Driven Leaders (PDL) experience, in collaboration with Admissions, Student Success, faculty, MarCom, Advancement, Career & Professional Development, and other campus partners.
In collaboration with other Gies units, establish mechanisms to regularly gather, interpret, and respond to student feedback to inform strategic decisions regarding the learner experience.
Design and maintain the learner experience framework that ties honors, student engagement, leadership development, and signature initiatives to the College's Purpose, Edge, and Community pillars.
Identify emerging trends and best practices in student engagement, leadership development, and learner experience and recommend innovative approaches that advance the College's strategic priorities.
Develop and maintain a comprehensive learner experience assessment framework, utilizing participation data, student feedback, engagement metrics, retention indicators, and qualitative outcomes to guide continuous improvement.
Collaborate to develop new initiatives that enhance belonging, retention, leadership development, and student success.
Design, pilot, and scale innovative co-curricular experiences that strengthen belonging, leadership development, purpose exploration, and student success.
Collaborate with Academic Affairs, Student & Corporate Connections, Gies Global, Access and Engagement, MarCom, Advancement, and other college units to create an integrated student experience.
Partner with enrollment, academic, advising, and student success leaders to create seamless transitions across the undergraduate learner journey.
Ensure Honors, PDL, and Student Engagement programming can scale to serve a growing student population without diluting quality or belonging.

Student Engagement & Community

Provide strategic direction, assessment, and continuous improvement for:

Signature college events
Student leadership development
Registered Student Organization strategy
Community-building initiatives
Student traditions and rituals
Student wellness and belonging efforts

Honors & High Achievement Programs

Ensure Honors programming complements and reinforces the broader learner experience strategy while continuing to provide distinctive experiences for high-achieving students. Provide strategic oversight for:

Gies Honors
Gies Scholars
James Scholars
First-Year Experience programming
Honors recruitment
Honors curriculum and enrichment experiences
Leadership development opportunities

Ensure honors programming reflects institutional priorities and national best practices.

Supervision & Team Leadership

Directly supervise professional staff responsible for Student Engagement and Honors.
Foster collaboration across learner experience functions.
Develop staff through coaching, mentoring, and professional development.
Establish goals and assessment metrics for the unit.
Manage budgets and personnel.

College Leadership & Strategic Initiatives

Serve on the Undergraduate Programs Leadership Team.
Represent Undergraduate Programs on college and campus committees.
Partner with senior leadership on strategic initiatives impacting undergraduate students.
Collaborate with Enrollment Management, Advising, and Student Success to improve the overall student experience.
Other related duties as assigned.

Senior Director of Learner Experience

Strategic Leadership

Develop, implement, and continuously improve a comprehensive co-curricular learner-experience strategy spanning orientation through graduation. Collaborate with Academic Affairs, Student & Corporate Connections, Gies Global, Access and Engagement, and other college units to establish clear priorities, outcomes, measures, and responsibilities for an integrated student experience.
Identify emerging trends and best practices in student engagement, leadership development, and learner experience and recommend innovative approaches that advance the College's strategic priorities.
Provide strategic leadership for the design, implementation, assessment, and continuous evolution of the Purpose-Driven Leaders (PDL) experience, in collaboration with Admissions, Student Success, faculty, Career & Professional Development, and other campus partners.
Design and maintain the learner experience framework that ties honors, student engagement, leadership development, and signature initiatives to the College's Purpose, Edge, and Community pillars.
Develop and maintain a comprehensive learner experience assessment framework, utilizing participation data, student feedback, engagement metrics, retention indicators, and qualitative outcomes to guide continuous improvement.
Design, pilot, and scale innovative co-curricular experiences that strengthen belonging, leadership development, purpose exploration, and student success.
Work closely with other Gies units to establish mechanisms to regularly gather, interpret, and respond to student feedback to inform strategic decisions regarding the learner experience.
Ensure Honors, PDL, and all Student Engagement programming can scale to serve a growing student population without diluting quality or belonging.

Student Engagement & Community

Provide strategic direction, oversight, assessment, and continuous improvement for student engagement and community-building programs, including:

Signature college events
Student leadership development
Registered Student Organization strategy
Community-building initiatives
Student traditions and rituals
Student wellness and belonging efforts

Honors & High Achievement Programs

Provide strategic direction, oversight, assessment, and continuous improvement for Honors and high-achievement programs. Ensure these programs align with the broader learner-experience strategy, institutional priorities, student needs, and relevant national practices while providing distinctive opportunities for high-achieving students, including:

Gies Honors, including recruitment, curriculum, and enrichment experiences
Gies Scholars
James Scholars
First-Year Experience programming
Leadership development opportunities

Supervision & Team Leadership

Directly supervise professional staff responsible for Student Engagement and Honors.
Foster collaboration across learner experience functions.
Develop staff through coaching, mentoring, and professional development.
Establish goals and assessment metrics for the unit.
Manage the unit's budget.

College Leadership & Strategic Initiatives

Serve on the Undergraduate Programs Leadership Team.
Represent Undergraduate Programs on college and campus committees.
Partner with senior leadership on strategic initiatives impacting undergraduate students.
Collaborate with Enrollment Management, Advising, and Student Success to improve the overall student experience.
Other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Director of Learner Experience

Bachelor's degree.
Five years of progressively responsible experience in higher education, student affairs, learner experience, student success, or a related field.
Experience leading programs or initiatives and supervising professional staff.

Senior Director of Learner Experience

Bachelor's degree.
Eight years of progressively responsible experience in higher education, student affairs, learner experience, student success, or a related field.
Experience leading programs or initiatives and supervising professional staff.

Preferred Qualifications

Director of Learner Experience

Master's degree in higher education, student affairs, educational leadership, business administration, or a related field.
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and building collaborative partnerships.
Experience with student engagement, honors programs, leadership development, or experiential learning.
Experience using assessment or student data to improve programs and services.

Senior Director of Learner Experience

Master's degree. Comparable combinations of education and significant, relevant experience will be considered.
Master's degree in higher education, student affairs, educational leadership, business administration, or a related field.
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and building collaborative partnerships.
Experience with student engagement, honors programs, leadership development, or experiential learning.
Experience using assessment or student data to improve programs and services.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Director and Senior Director of Learner Experience

Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to build collaborative relationships across a complex organization.
Ability to think strategically while managing multiple priorities.
Demonstrated ability to lead teams and develop staff.
Commitment to creating an engaging and inclusive learner experience.
Strong organizational, problem-solving, and project management skills.

Appointment Information

This is a 100% full-time Academic Professional position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the search close date. The budgeted salary range is for the Director of Learner Experience is $94,000 to $118,000 and for the Senior Director of Learner Experience is $118,000 to $128,000. Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity.

The position is not eligible for any type of sponsorship.

Application Procedures & Deadline Information

Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, please contact [email protected]. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used in some portions of the candidate review process for this position; however, all employment decisions will be made by a person.

This position is intended to be eligible for benefits. This includes Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, a Retirement Plan, Paid time Off, and Tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify.

Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Accommodations may also be requested on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, or religion. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodation portal, or by contacting the Office for Access & Equity at 217-333-0885, option #1, or [email protected].

Requisition ID: 1038400

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Director or Senior Director of Learner Experience - Gies College of Business

Edtech.com's Summary

Director or Senior Director of Learner Experience - Gies College of Business Full Description

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