Assistant Director - Health & Safety

Job Description

Travel Risk Management and Emergency Planning (35%)

• Keep abreast of best practices and standards regarding international health, safety, and security in education abroad and ensure alignment of KU processes/procedures to these standards.

• Conduct daily monitoring of world events, health/safety information, and legal decisions affecting international programs in higher education; communicate information to travelers as appropriate and respond to emerging health, safety, and security concerns around the world.

• Review proposals for and advise on health, safety and security issues related to new study abroad programs or other university-affiliated international group travel; evaluate existing study abroad programs and locations to assess geopolitical, health, safety, and security risk and exposure. Make recommendations on program operations or modifications as needed to address identified concerns.

• In coordination with program coordinators, design and deliver health, safety, and security training for study abroad program participants and leaders, or other registered travelers. Track stakeholder compliance with required training.

• Oversee medical disclosure and judicial review processes for study abroad program participants.

• Collaborate with Audit, Risk & Compliance on the integration of student travel data into the Healix Sentinel Travel Oracle system.

• Oversee the university-affiliated student international travel registry, including campus outreach and engagement, student advising and support, enrollment in AIG insurance by registry students, and travel tracking.

• Facilitate activities of the International Travel Review Committee to evaluate student/program director petitions for university-affiliated international education activities in high-risk locations.

• With the Director of Study Abroad, evaluate and revise emergency protocols for all university-administered education abroad programs.

• Serve as unit liaison to Student Conduct and Community Standards, KU Counseling & Psychological Services, Watkins Health Services, SAPEC, and OCR/Title IX

Incident Response, Reporting, and Compliance Management (20%)

• Serve as on-call after-hours responder and coordinate schedule for rotation of secondary responder. Includes communication during incidents with students, parents, faculty directors, Study Abroad staff, relevant KU units, travel assistance provider, and overseas counterparts. Ensure that SAGE's response to all incidents is carried out effectively and consistently. Conduct after-action reviews to identify new strategies for crisis management.

• Maintain system for incident reporting. Summarize, analyze, and report on key trends and statistics regarding health/safety issues experienced by students and recommend preventative actions as necessary.

• Solicit and compile data for KU's Annual Safety Report as required under the Clery Act.

• Ensure compliance with FERPA, HIPAA, GDPR and other regulations related to information security and the protection of student privacy and rights; monitor changes in federal regulations and subsequent application of changes to unit's information systems.

Information Systems & Data Development (20%)

• Oversee the design, integration, ongoing maintenance and issue resolution of Terra Dotta, the web-based information management system in use by the Study Abroad & Global Engagement (SAGE) unit and serving approximately 1,500 student participants and 100+ faculty/staff leaders of study abroad programs annually.

• Serve as the SAGE liaison to Terra Dotta, the software vendor, and with KU IT and with KU Student Information Systems on system integration and operations.

• Collaborate with the SAGE Outreach Coordinator to ensure effective functionality and design in the integration of the SAGE website with the Terra Dotta online data management system.

• Train Study Abroad staff on use of Terra Dotta and newly deployed features, including how to perform queries to access and track applicant and participant data; manage communications with applicants, participants, and alumni; and arrange for periodic contact with potential applicants who have indicated general or specific interest.

• Provide desk-side or phone/email-based training to faculty/staff utilizing the system to provide online student recommendation letters, screen applicants to a program, and make recommendations on student admission to study abroad.

• Coordinate development of annual statistical reports, including the submission of the annual IIE Open Doors Survey.

• Develop unit-specific study abroad data/reports as requested for use in unit strategic planning, curriculum integration efforts, external grant proposals or accreditation reports.

Program Administration (15%)

• As assigned, manage all aspects of a targeted portfolio of education abroad programs. Program management includes program and budget development and oversight, promotions and recruitment, development of web and Terra Dotta materials, student advising and orientation, liaison with overseas institutions and vendors, overseas support, emergency management, program evaluation, and re-entry programming for students.

Special Projects/Representation/Supervision (10%)

• Serve as a representative of the University at state, regional and national conferences and committees as assigned; provide leadership and services to the field of international education, including through participation in relevant professional associations or organizations (NAFSA, OSAC, PULSE, etc.).

• Represent SAGE and serve on various department and university committees.

• Supervise 2 FTE who collectively support financial aid advising and scholarship administration; process payments and posts awards, provide technical and administrative support for the Terra Dotta system; manage the SAGE office and the Passport Acceptance Facility, and supervise student clerical support.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.

• Five years of related work experience in international programs and/or study abroad administration, emergency management, international travel risk and security, campus crisis management, or similar field.

• Two years of supervisory experience.

• Experience living, working, studying or traveling abroad.

• Demonstrated excellent written and oral communication skills. (Written communication will be evaluated by application materials. Oral communication will be evaluated by interview performance and reference checks.)

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree.

• Knowledge of and experience in the evaluation of health and safety concerns within the context of higher education and study abroad.

• Demonstrated knowledge of FERPA, HIPPA, Title IX, the Clery Act and international insurance.

• Experience developing emergency plans and coordinating international crisis response efforts.

• Experience designing and facilitating workshops and trainings.

• Experience using Terra Dotta Study Abroad software.