Academic Strategist

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

• Evaluates, improves, and maintains standards and policies supporting competency-based education model.
• Leads the development and regular review of practices to ensure clarity, accuracy, and alignment with business strategy.
• Creates scalable toolkits, documentation, and tracking mechanisms to support stakeholder adherence to credentialing standards.
• Develops and implements communication strategies, documentation, and collateral to support institutional understanding of credential standards and changes.
• Designs and executes change management and training plans to ensure effective rollout and adoption of new practices.
• Partners with other standards and practices organizations to promote consistency and institutional alignment.
• Consults with internal stakeholders to ensure credential alignment during program design and redevelopment.
• Participates in intake sessions to assess and guide adherence to standards throughout the program lifecycle.
• Develops and manages audit functions, reports on compliance, and creates remediation plans as needed.
• Serves as an expert spokesperson for credentialing models to internal and external audiences.
• Presents at national conferences and publish articles to elevate thought leadership in competency-based education and credential design.
• Acts as a leading expert across the institution, providing guidance to university leaders and peers on credentialing best practices.
• Influences senior leadership decisions by providing data-informed recommendations that align with institutional goals and learner outcomes.
• Provides mentorship, coaching, and domain-specific expertise to internal partners and project teams.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep understanding of competency-based education, credential frameworks, and mastery-based assessment design.
• Strong strategic thinking, systems thinking, and problem-solving skills with the ability to conceptualize and implement scalable processes.
• Demonstrated experience leading initiatives and influencing decisions in a matrixed organization.
• Exceptional ability to communicate complex concepts visually, verbally, and in writing to varied audiences including senior executives.
• Skilled in change management, including training development and implementation planning.
• Capacity to make quick, thoughtful decisions under pressure while navigating ambiguity.
• Ability to collaborate across functions and build trust with stakeholders at all levels.
• Demonstrated understanding of industry trends, labor market alignment, and data-informed credential development.
• Personal characteristics: integrity, initiative, adaptability, empathy, and mission-driven commitment.

Minimum Experience

• 5 years' experience in higher education with a focus on academic operations, credentialing, curriculum design, or a related field.
• Experience with competency-based education, academic standards, and policy or framework development.
• 1+ year experience leading cross-functional academic initiatives involving faculty, instructional design, and regulatory bodies.
• Bachelor's degree in education, curriculum and instruction, learning design, higher education administration, or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with learning management systems, digital authoring tools, or UX principles in learning environments.
• Experience working in agile or iterative development processes.

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Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.