Women in STEM (WiSTEM) Director

The WiSTEM Director leads the strategic vision, development, and execution of WiSTEM’s university-wide outreach, recruitment, and retention programs for pre-college and undergraduate STEM students. These programs aim to enhance STEM identity, self-efficacy, and a sense of belonging, ultimately leading to increased enrollment, retention, graduation rates, advancement to graduate school, and persistence in the STEM workforce. The Director cultivates partnerships, secures funding, and ensures the delivery of high-impact, data-informed programming that supports the success of women and other underrepresented students in STEM.

Must be eligible to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and vision for all WiSTEM programs and initiatives.
• Lead fundraising and development efforts, including corporate and alumni relations, grant writing, and donor stewardship.
• Oversee the creation, implementation, and evaluation of WiSTEM’s logic models, assessment plans, and impact reports.
• Manage the WiSTEM budget to ensure responsible stewardship of funds and alignment with program goals.
• Supervise and support WiSTEM full-time staff, fostering a collaborative team culture.
• Cultivate and maintain partnerships with university departments, corporate sponsors, alumni, and community organizations.
• Ensure the integration of research-based practices and high standards across all WiSTEM programming.
• Represent WiSTEM at local, regional, state, and national levels to expand visibility and impact.
• Lead internal communications and strategy, including staff meetings, retreats, and cross-program collaboration.
• Support and oversee program delivery, providing guidance and mentorship to staff and student leaders.

Key Characteristics

• STEM advocate and enthusiast committed to promoting STEM education and careers.
• Student-focused professional who prioritizes the needs and success of students in all initiatives.
• Proactive self-starter with the ability to work collaboratively and independently across units.
• Curious problem solver with a “yes, and” mindset and a commitment to continuous improvement.
• Passionate, organized, and creative educator dedicated to supporting existing WiSTEM programs and innovating new programs as opportunities arise.
• Detail-oriented individual who ensures accuracy and thoroughness in all tasks.
• Strength-based approach to working with students and colleagues, leveraging individual strengths to achieve collective goals.
• Technologically adept and meticulous content curator and manager with expertise in navigating and utilizing various platforms, systems, and media, including Excel, Word, survey systems, project and task management tools, and social media.
• Data-driven project manager with a proven track record in planning and executing medium-to-large-scale events, leveraging data insights to optimize outcomes and ensure seamless coordination.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Visionary leader who inspires and motivates staff through clear communication, strategic direction, and a shared commitment to WiSTEM’s mission.
• Decisive and ethical leader who navigates complex challenges with integrity, transparency, and sound judgment.

Program Responsibilities

• Fundraising & Budget: Lead development strategy and oversee all fundraising initiatives, including corporate and alumni relations, community and campus partnerships, and grant acquisition. Provide strategic guidance to staff managing program-specific budgets and fundraising efforts.  Secure, budget, and direct expenditures of WiSTEM funds. Manage university and/or CSU development team and/or corporate relations team relationships.
• Strategy/Assessment/Data: Lead strategic planning for WiSTEM’s growth, sustainability, and long-term impact, ensuring alignment with university priorities and national STEM education goals. Maintain overall WiSTEM and program-specific logic models and oversee longitudinal assessment and evaluation plans. Ensure research-based practices and high standards of program delivery are maintained across WiSTEM programming. Utilize data for program development, modification, and expansion. Oversee the integration and alignment of assessment and evaluation efforts across all WiSTEM programs. Guide staff in using data to inform program development and ensure consistency with WiSTEM’s strategic goals. Lead the development and oversight of WiSTEM’s communication strategy, ensuring consistent messaging across platforms. Provide strategic direction and oversight to staff executing newsletters, social media, and digital engagement, ensuring alignment with WiSTEM’s communication goals.
• Program Operations, Community, and Support (Year-Round): Lead WiSTEM staff meetings and retreats. Engage with the campus community. Engage with local, regional, state, and/or national STEM education communities. Oversee program delivery and support programming and staff as needed. Oversee campus, corporate, and community engagement activities to expand WiSTEM’s local, regional, and national presence. Ensure compliance with university policies and risk management protocols, including high-level oversight of youth protection standards and coordination with designated program liaisons.
• Supervise WiSTEM Full-time Staff: Directly supervise the Outreach Program Manager (who supervises the Outreach Program Coordinator), Student Program Coordinator, and Administrative Associate.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM, STEM education, higher education administration, public affairs, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in program leadership, preferably in higher education, STEM education, or nonprofit sectors.
• Supervisory experience managing full-time professional staff, including performance evaluation, coaching, and team development.
• Proven success in fundraising and development, including grant writing, donor relations, and corporate partnerships.
• Experience with strategic planning, program assessment, and data-informed decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to manage budgets and financial operations across multiple funding sources.
• Experience cultivating and maintaining institutional and community partnerships.
• Strong background in project management, especially in coordinating large-scale events or multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Strong understanding of STEM education pathways, including K-12 outreach, undergraduate retention, and workforce development.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including public speaking and stakeholder engagement.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in STEM, STEM education, higher education administration, public affairs, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• More than 8 years of experience developing and leading STEM education programming, STEM outreach camps and events, and STEM program coordination.
• Prior experience working within a large public research university, especially with UT Austin systems, policies, and culture.
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams and managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Experience with university development offices, corporate relations, or advancement teams, particularly in the context of fundraising and donor engagement.
• Familiarity with Texas K-12 education systems, STEM pipelines, and state-level education initiatives.
• Proficiency in data visualization and reporting tools for communicating program impact to stakeholders.

Salary Range

$88,000 + depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• This is an in-person, on-campus position with regular workdays and business hours from Monday to Friday.
• The role requires working in a small team environment with frequent interruptions and distractions.
• Occasional weekend and evening work is required.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form.  You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States.  Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment.  Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.