Vice President, Work-Based Pathways

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.

Job Summary

The Vice President of Work-Based Pathways (VPWP) will lead the vision and execution of new work-based learning pathways across WGU's academic programs. Reporting to the Chief Academic Officer and Provost, the ideal candidate will have an innovative mindset and a demonstrated ability to think creatively to initiate and execute new ideas and programs. The VPWP will establish the strategic direction and key performance indicators for the development, launch, and scaling of work-based pathways within WGU's School of Business, School of Education, School of Technology, and the Leavitt School of Health. The VPWP will hire and lead a team of domain-specific leaders dedicated to each school, setting a foundation for work-based pathways at WGU.

A primary responsibility is creating new work-based academic programs and curriculum that take a work-first approach to learning by building partnerships between employers and WGU's four schools. The VPWP will have a crucial role in bridging curriculum and assessment design between academic leaders and workforce partners, shaping the future of work-based education at WGU and in the broader education and workforce landscape in the U.S. This role requires close collaboration with academic leadership, industry stakeholders, and program/product development teams to ensure that WGU's work-based pathways are designed to meet both student and employer needs. In addition, the VPWP will ensure programs are effectively scaled to advance access, affordability, and outcomes for students from underserved and diverse populations. In this inaugural role, the VPWP will create alignment between academic outcomes and critical workforce needs across the United States, helping to address talent gaps in key industries and impacting thousands of lives.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

1. Development and Scale: Lead the creation and scaling of work-based pathways and learning across WGU's academic programs, ensuring alignment with workforce needs and industry standards.

2. Student Success: Build work-based pathways that meet student needs, advance access, affordability, and completion, and deliver a strong ROI.

3. Strategic Partnerships: Build partnerships with employers and external partners, including state and federal agencies and workforce boards, to design pathways that provide students with meaningful, credit-worthy work experiences, connect them to jobs, and meet critical workforce demands.

4. Program Development: Manage curriculum and assessment development for work-based pathways, ensuring they meet the needs of students and employers, and adhere to the academic integrity of WGU.

5. Management: Build and lead a team of domain experts to support work-based pathway development across WGU's four academic schools.

6. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with school SVPs, academic program directors, strategic partnerships team and external partners to align pathway development with WGU's programs and workforce needs.

7. Thought Leadership: Serve as a thought leader in work-based learning and pathways, representing WGU in national forums and driving forward the conversation on work-based education.

8. Measurement: Develop and track metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the success of work-based pathways, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with WGU's mission and goals.

9. Regulatory and Compliance: Knowledge and understanding of regulatory requirements for RTIs, employers, RAPs and workforce boards, as well as associated funding opportunities

Other Duties: The VPWP will also conduct other duties as deemed necessary in the effective performance of this role or as directed by executive leaders, stakeholders and employers.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

* Extensive Knowledge of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship Models: The VPWP must have a deep understanding of work-based learning and pathways, such as apprenticeships, and their role in addressing student success and critical workforce gaps. The candidate should be well-versed in both long-term and short-term work-based experiences, as well as how these models can be standalone and/or integrate into higher education curricula and the workplace. Familiarity with the latest trends, legislation, and best practices in work-based learning is essential.

* Strategic Planning and Execution: The ability to develop, implement, and execute a comprehensive strategy for scaling work-based pathways is essential. The VPWP must demonstrate a keen ability to set measurable goals and KPIs, assess program performance, and adjust strategies based on data and feedback. The VPWP must also have experience conducting market and portfolio reviews to identify areas of opportunity for work-based pathways.

* Leadership and Team Development: Proven leadership experience in building and leading high-performing, cross-functional teams is essential. The VPWP will be responsible for recruiting and developing a team of domain experts across various schools (e.g., Business, Education, Health and Technology) and guiding them in creating work-based pathways that meet both employer and student needs. The role also requires strong mentorship skills to cultivate a high-performing team environment.

* Curriculum and Assessment Development: Experience working with academic leadership to design, develop, and assess curriculum and work-based learning opportunities is essential. The VPWP will ensure that these pathways meet the academic integrity of WGU while providing students with meaningful, credit-worthy and career relevant experiences. Familiarity with assessment models that measure both student learning outcomes and employer satisfaction is a must.

* Collaborative Leadership: The VPWP must possess exceptional interpersonal and collaboration skills as the VPWP will be required to work closely with executive leaders, school SVPs, academic program leaders, WGU's strategic partnerships team, and external employers. The ability to influence without direct authority and manage complex, matrixed organizational relationships is critical.

* External Stakeholder Engagement and Thought Leadership: Strong skills in building and maintaining external relationships, particularly with employers and industry partners, to ensure alignment between academic programs and workforce needs is required. The VPWP will also serve as an external thought leader, promoting WGU's work-based pathways and sharing insights with internal and national audiences.

Analytical and Data-Driven Decision Making: Strong analytical abilities to assess workforce needs, market trends, and program performance is required. The VPWP should have experience using data to guide decision-making, set benchmarks, and evaluate the effectiveness of work-based pathways. The VPWP should also be comfortable using data to present insights and recommendations to senior leadership.

* Communication and Presentation Skills: Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, are required to effectively convey the vision and progress of work-based learning initiatives to internal teams, external partners, and other stakeholders. The VPWP must also be able to present complex ideas in an accessible way to diverse audiences, including employers, academic leaders, and national forums.

* Problem Solving and Critical Thinking: The VPWP must have strong problem-solving skills and the ability to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of both students and employers. The VPWP will need to identify and overcome challenges in the implementation of work-based pathways while ensuring that programs remain aligned with workforce demands and WGU's academic goals.

* Proficiency with EdTech Tools: Familiarity with educational technology platforms and tools, especially those used to facilitate work-based learning and apprenticeships, is required. The VPWP will collaborate with partners like Craft Education to design and implement these tools, so technical proficiency and the ability to translate needs into technology solutions is critical.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A graduate degree in Higher Education, Education, Business Administration, Workforce Development, or a related field is required. Doctorate degree preferred. A combination of education and relevant work experience in designing and implementing work-based learning or apprenticeship programs may also be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.

Experience: At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience, in higher education, work-based learning, workforce development, apprenticeship program management, or a related field. Experience should include:

Designing, launching, and scaling work-based pathways, apprenticeships, or similar workforce-aligned educational programs.

Building and managing strategic partnerships with employers, industry leaders, and external stakeholders to develop and implement work-based learning opportunities.

Leading cross-functional teams and managing complex, matrixed organizational structures in a higher education or corporate setting.

Using data and metrics to assess program effectiveness, drive decision-making, and ensure continuous improvement.

Salary $200-240K with additional bonus opportunities

Disclaimer: This Job Description has been designed to indicate the general nature, essential duties, and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this classification. It does not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications that are required of the employee to do this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. This Job Description does not constitute a contract of employment and the University may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

How to apply: apply online

Full-time Regular Positions(FT classification, standard working hours = 40)

This is a full-time, regular position that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

The University is an equal opportunity employer.All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.