Vice Chancellor of Human Resources

Antioch University is now accepting applications and nominations for the position of Vice Chancellor for Human Resources (VCHR). Antioch University, one of the most distinctive institutions of higher education in the United States, traces its roots back to 1852 with Horace Mann as the first Antioch President. Grounded in its historic mission to advance social, economic, environmental and racial justice, Antioch is deeply committed to socially engaged, learner-centered education and to an inclusive and thriving workplace. This is an opportunity to be part of a university with both a powerful tradition and a powerful future. We are seeking a bold and imaginative HR leader to help us build forward based on our strong foundation.

Antioch University is a geographically dispersed national institution with campuses in four states and with degree and nondegree programs delivered onsite, online and in hybrid formats that attract students, faculty, and staff from across the nation and internationally.

Antioch has the opportunity and the challenge to build and adapt a thriving institution in the midst of an upending of the higher education landscape. The University is actively pursuing growth strategies that include the transition to national schools, new and expanded modalities, and partnering or affiliating with other institutions to extend our mission. With our unique blend of onsite, hybrid and online programs for post-traditional learners located across the country and world,
Antioch has strengths and flexibility to weather the storm. These efforts present unique and exciting HR challenges and opportunities. We need a visionary VCHR to help us face this future with proven best practices and exciting new practices that will help lead us forward.

We have the opportunity and the challenge to boldly build and nurture an organization that lives its mission as a just and humanistic workplace, one that infuses pro-inclusive and anti-racist approaches to recruitment and retention, that takes talent growth and development to heart, and that creates work environments that are safe and collaborative. We need a VCHR who can tackle the tough conversations, balance legal considerations with compassion and care, and who looks forward to building Antioch as a destination institution for talented faculty and staff.

We also have the opportunity and the challenge to imagine and support a national institution composed of committed employees working on site and from home offices, connecting with students, staff and supervisors down the hall or across the country, and collaborating with colleagues in the same office or in multiple time zones. These complexities call for strategic thinking and enormous creativity. We are not a one size fits all.

The VCHR will provide senior-level leadership for a University that serves over 4,000 post traditional learners (average student age is 35 years old) in undergraduate through doctoral-level programs via a range of modalities of delivery with high quality, personalized teaching and learning that prepares students for professions and enables them to make positive changes in their lives, organizations and communities. This is the collective commitment of our employees (175 full-time and 500 part-time faculty; and, 219 full-time and 53 part-time staff). It is the core of what we do, why we are here, and why we stay.

To that end, Antioch University is seeking candidates with a significant background in human resource leadership, especially with experience in higher education; a demonstrated record of leading organizational change and building positive organizational cultures; and, a collaborative spirit in working across the institution. The VCHR reports directly to the University Chancellor, serves as a member of the Chancellor’s senior executive team, and participates in institution-wide strategic planning and policy development. The VCHR will be responsible for the development, implementation, coordination of all areas of HR administration, payroll and benefits; compliance; talent recruitment and development; and organizational culture. Relevant experience with complex and geographically dispersed organizational structures and employees is a must. There is a preference for expertise in California, Washington or New Hampshire employment law.

Antioch University (AU) was founded in 1852 as Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, a nonprofit, non-sectarian, co-educational institution based on a progressive approach to socially engaged student learning. Antioch University and Antioch College are now separate institutions; the College licenses the Antioch name from Antioch University. Today, Antioch University has four site locations - Antioch University New England, Antioch University Los Angeles, Antioch University Santa Barbara, Antioch University Seattle - and two national non-site-based schools, Antioch University Online and the University’s Graduate School of Leadership & Change. Over the next two years we are transitioning to a national schools’-based model of organizing the delivery of programs and that will likely have an impact on organizational structures and practices.

Given Antioch’s dispersed national structure, the VCHR must be able to work effectively regardless of location and have comfort with a range of technologies to facilitate communication and services. While the VCHR can live and work from anywhere, including from a home office or one of the four campus locations there is a preference, although not a requirement, to be located in California. Frequent travel to AU locations will be necessary (once we return to face-to-face contact in the future) as is building geographically dispersed teams and working virtually with employees in groups and individually. A Master’s degree is required as is a minimum of 10 years of progressive responsibility in HR, with a minimum of five years specifically working in higher education. Creative thinking, strong communication skills, excellent team-building skills, and excellent follow through a must.

We look forward to the new Vice Chancellor beginning in Spring 2021.

Additional related Antioch University information of interest and the full job description may be
viewed at www.antioch.edu/VCHR.

To Apply:
Email cover letter, a current resume or CV and the contact information for three professional references to University Vice Chancellor of HR Search Committee at lcreighton@antioch.edu.

Deadline is October 16, 2020 or until the position is filled.