Job Summary:

The Assistant Vice Provost for Distance Learning leads recruitment and partnerships for RPI’s distance-learning and professional education operation and, along with and in support of leadership, sets and helps set the strategy for growing its enrollment, revenue, and market position of the unit. The position carries executive responsibility for the institution's partnership with its Online Program Enablement (OPE) supplier(s), holding the supplier(s) accountable to contracted enrollment objectives, service levels, and key performance indicators across the graduate degree, graduate certificate, undergraduate bachelor's completion, and continuing education portfolios, among others. The Assistant Vice Provost supports leadership in managing the portfolio’s operating budget and the net revenue contribution of the portfolio, oversees the business-to-business (B2B) employer partnership operation that anchors current enrollment, and directs the build-out of a structured continuing education business across multiple audience tracks. The position supports curricular initiatives for distance learning by the academic deans, as well as work as a colleague to marketing, financial aid, information technology, and career and professional development offices, and represents RPI@Work and other RPI distance learning facets to corporate partners, county and government partners, and institutional leadership.

Who we are:

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is the first technological research university in the United States. We bring creativity, science, and technology together to address society's greatest challenges. We cultivate exceptional problem-solvers by immersing them in a culture of rigorous inquiry, disciplined practice, and hands-on application. Our strategic plan, RPI Forward, charts a pioneering course for the next era of RPI. Explore the RPI Forward plan. ↗︎

Nestled on a beautiful 275-acre campus in upstate NY, RPI is home to five schools, 32 research centers, three makerspaces, an observatory, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, and the IBM Quantum System One - the first university-based quantum computer in the world. 

With top notch employee health and retirement benefits, RPI offers its full-time employees a generous paid time off program, tuition remission, and opportunities for career growth. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in online or professional education, enrollment management, or a related higher education or education services field.
• Eight or more years of related experience.
• Minimum of five (5) years of supervisory experience leading professional staff and managing strategic initiatives.
• Demonstrated success managing a major vendor, OPM/OPE, or outsourced-services relationship against contracted performance targets, or equivalent experience inside an online program management organization.
• Demonstrated success developing and implementing enrollment or revenue growth strategies that achieve stated goals.

Relevant combinations of education, training and experience may be considered.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of online and professional education markets, including OPM/OPE service models, fee-for-service and revenue-share economics, and the regulatory environment for online program partnerships.
• Knowledge of enrollment management principles across marketing, recruitment, admission, retention, and student success for adult and post-traditional learners.
• Strong contract management and vendor governance skills, including KPI design, service-level enforcement, and performance remediation.
• Strong budget development, fiscal management, and financial modeling skills, including cohort-based enrollment projection and net revenue analysis.
• Demonstrated business development and negotiation skills with corporate, government, and institutional partners.
• Demonstrated expertise in data analytics and reporting to support executive decision-making, and proficiency with CRM platforms, student information systems, and business intelligence tools.
• Strong leadership and personnel management skills, with the ability to recruit, develop, mentor, and evaluate staff.
• Ability to lead organizational change and manage competing priorities in a new and rapidly evolving business unit.
• Excellent strategic planning, project management, and organizational skills.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation communication skills, with the ability to influence, negotiate, and build consensus across diverse constituencies.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment in handling sensitive student, partner, and institutional information.
• Commitment to fostering an inclusive, learner-centered environment and promoting continuous improvement through innovation and data-informed practices.

Preferred Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities:

• Experience at an R1 science and technology institution or with STEM-focused professional education portfolios.
• Direct experience negotiating or administering an OPM/OPE contract on the institutional side, including a supplier transition or launch.
• Experience building or scaling a continuing education, executive education, or corporate training business.
• Experience with employer tuition-benefit programs and B2B enrollment channels.
• Experience with Slate CRM and Banner student information systems.

Representative Job Duties:

1. OPE Partnership Management and Enrollment Performance

• Serve as the institutional owner of the OPE supplier relationship, directing implementation of the OPE contract from transition and onboarding through steady-state operation.
• Hold the OPE supplier accountable to contracted enrollment objectives, lead-generation and conversion targets, service-level agreements, and key performance indicators for each program line; chair the joint governance and performance-review cadence.
• Oversee the Year 1 supplier diagnostic and the translation of indicative enrollment and revenue ranges into committed contractual targets for degrees, certificates, the bachelor's completion program, and continuing education.
• Direct the marketing, recruitment, and enrollment funnel operated with the supplier, ensuring Slate remains the system of record and that funnel instrumentation, attribution, and reporting meet institutional data governance standards.
• Manage contract compliance, including the fee-for-service pricing structure, data protection and breach notification provisions, and coordination requirements with the Division of the Chief Information Officer.
• Prepare and present supplier performance reports and corrective-action recommendations to the Vice Provost and institutional leadership.

2. Budget and Financial Oversight

• Develop, manage, and be accountable for the distance learning portfolio’s, including RPI@Work, operating budget, including supplier fees, instructional costs, marketing spend, and staffing.
• Steward the net revenue contribution of the distance learning portfolio, monitoring net revenue per enrolled student by program line and recommending pricing, discount, and investment decisions.
• Build multi-year financial models and enrollment projections that separate new from continuing enrollment, track cohorts individually, and distinguish expected cases from stretch cases; ensure enrollment models are validated before net tuition revenue is committed in institutional plans.
• Oversee financial reporting for external partnership funds, including county and employer payments, and ensure delivery obligations are matched to funded capacity.

3. B2B and Employer Partnership Operations

• Provide executive oversight of the employer-sponsored enrollment operation, including relationships with anchor aerospace, defense, and industrial employers and their tuition benefit programs.
• Lead a deliberate diversification strategy that reduces concentration risk in a small number of sponsoring employers while protecting and growing those anchor relationships.
• Direct business development for custom corporate training and cohort-based programs, extending existing B2B partnerships into structured continuing education engagements.
• Oversee government, county, and community college partnerships that feed the portfolio, including transfer pathway agreements supporting the bachelor's completion program, and serve as the accountable distance learning executive for partner-facing commitments and reporting.
• Negotiate, implement, and monitor memoranda of understanding, articulation agreements, and corporate education agreements in coordination with procurement and general counsel.

4. Program Portfolio and Continuing Education Growth

• Manage the distance learning program portfolio across graduate degrees, graduate certificates, the undergraduate bachelor's completion program, and continuing education, recommending program launches, rationalization, and pricing reviews on defined triggers.
• Direct the build-out of the continuing education business across its defined program types (non-credit microcredentials, credit-bearing individual courses, open-enrollment executive education, and custom corporate training) and audience tracks, with distinct go-to-market plans per track.
• Oversee the free short-course gateway layer as a top-of-funnel acquisition tactic, ensuring it is instrumented in the CRM and measured for conversion into paid offerings.
• Partner with academic deans and faculty on program development, instructional capacity, and quality standards for online delivery.
• Coordinate with alumni relations to activate the alumni base as a continuing education audience and referral channel.

5. Data, Systems, and Compliance

• Ensure the integrity of enrollment data across the CRM and student information system, and direct the analytics, dashboards, and KPI reporting used to manage supplier performance and portfolio health.
• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations governing distance education, including state authorization and reciprocity requirements. This position carries no Designated School Official (DSO) or Title IV administration responsibilities.
• Maintain institutional data governance standards in all supplier operations, including breach notification and data handling provisions of the OPE contract.

6. Leadership and Institutional Collaboration

• Build, supervise, and develop the distance learning staff, including partnership directors and program and operations personnel.
• Establish clear operating models with campus partners (enrollment management, career and professional development, information technology, institutional advancement, financial aid, and the academic schools) so that delivery responsibilities are defined, funded, and staffed before commitments are made.
• Along with the Dean overseeing distance learning, represent RPI’s distance learning portfolio to institutional leadership, external partners, and professional associations, and contribute to institutional strategy for distance and professional education.

7. Other Duties

• Perform other duties as assigned in support of departmental and institutional objectives.

Shift:

Business Hours with weekends or evenings occasionally required

Travel:

Driving:

Driving a personal vehicle for non-passenger use

Starting Salary/Rate:

Expected hiring range: $170,000 - $210,000

Pay transparency disclosure: The selected candidate’s salary will be determined based on factors that include the available budget, internal equity, and the final candidate’s qualifications, experience, education and other job-related credentials. This hiring range is provided as RPI's good faith estimate of the expected hiring range at the time of posting.

Application instructions:

Follow the on-screen prompts to create a brief online profile. Please be ready to upload your resume and cover letter.

If you need assistance with the online application process, please contact careers@rpi.edu.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Total Compensation and Benefits Information:

RPI's Total Compensation Program is designed to provide stable pay growth, a comprehensive and affordable benefits package, and a comprehensive and affordable retiree medical and prescription plan. Our goal is to provide you and your family with a comprehensive health and welfare program as an umbrella of financial security and protection during your employment. For more information, please visit Benefits | Human Resources (rpi.edu).

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