The Role
Lead design, development, and deployment of online academic programs for adult learners. Serve as academic liaison with partner institutions, coordinate faculty and instructional designers, monitor course performance, provide Canvas training, run program reviews, forecast capacity, and collaborate cross-functionally to improve student outcomes and scale program offerings.
Summary Generated by Built In
Who We Are
Our mission is simple but critical: to build pathways for adult learners to earn high-quality, workforce-aligned degrees and credentials from North Carolina’s public universities.
At Project Kitty Hawk, our work reflects our company values:
Collaboration – We prioritize our partners’ success and reputation, aligning every initiative with their goals, reflecting their values, and enhancing their impact.
Innovation – We innovate, not replicate. As creative problem solvers, we use data-driven insights to push boundaries, continuously improve our services, develop solutions, and redefine what it means to serve nontraditional learners.
Empathy – We understand the unique challenges of nontraditional learners, and are committed to supporting them with empathy, respect, and solutions that fit their needs.
Integrity – We operate with transparency and accountability in everything we do. We uphold honesty, take ownership of our work, and maintain the highest standards.
Teamwork – We embody the collaboration we seek. We always strive to be dependable, supportive, and solutions-oriented teammates.
Together, we partner with universities in the University of North Carolina (UNC) System to produce innovative, flexible degree and credential programs in high-demand fields. Each PKH team member plays a vital role in advancing this mission and shaping the future of education for adult learners.
These values will enable us to realize PKH’s vision: to make North Carolina’s public universities the top choice for adult learners and to amplify the UNC System’s role as a national leader in higher education innovation, access, and student success. By joining our team, you have an opportunity to contribute to our achievement of that vision, in the process helping to create opportunities for thousands of learners to earn their success and move up the economic ladder.
At Project Kitty Hawk we hire talented people who are not only dedicated to our mission but share our belief that working together makes us stronger and more effective. In this organization you’ll find individuals with a range of interesting backgrounds and life stories; the true magic happens when those individuals come together to solve problems in service of a common goal.
The Role
The Program Director will lead the design, development, and deployment of academic programs delivered by PKH (Project Kitty Hawk) for institutions of higher education. In this role, you will collaborate with PKH teams, partners, and institutions’ academic faculty and staff to support the successful launch, maintenance, and growth of online academic programs focused on serving the adult learner.
What you'll do:
- Serve as an academic liaison for PKH with partner institutions and instructional design team supporting the design, development, and deployment of new programs and courses.
- Work closely with institutions’ academic leadership and faculty to ensure successful design and development of programs and courses to meet the needs of the adult learner, including collaboration with publishers, academic resource vendors, etc., as necessary.
- Support evolving learning experience and design initiatives by deploying effective strategies in collaboration with our institutional partner leaders and faculty to ensure desired student learning outcomes are met.
- Work closely and communicate effectively with partners, program chairs/coordinators, and faculty to ensure successful execution, maintenance, and growth of academic programs.
- Partner with institutions to confirm course availability, advise enrollment capacity, and forecast needs to ensure consistent term-over-term offerings.
- Facilitate weekly or biweekly program meetings to maintain alignment with internal and partner stakeholders.
- As a key member of the core institutional partnership team, support the development and continuous improvement of others in collaboration with director of partnership success, coach manager, and partnership admissions lead (PAL).
- Collaborate across PKH to ensure a best-in-class student experience including work with partnership success, business development, student success, operations management, and data & technology teams.
- Provide instructor training and support for the Canvas LMS and tools utilized to deliver online courses.
- Lead structured academic program reviews with partner institutions’ leadership teams ensuring quality, alignment with goals, and continuous improvement.
- Monitor course performance trends (DFW rates, engagement, trends in assessments, qualitative data from success coaches & students) and share findings with academic programs to determine if targeted adjustments are necessary to impact course experience and learning outcomes.
- Support the development of a long-term strategy for academic programs including assuring it is aligned with any product and service functions, as well as, able to support the most critical and scalable needs of the institutions and workforce partners in relation to academic programs and activities.
- Collaborate with PKH digital and data teams by leveraging technology to improve and enhance academic program design, development, and deployment.
What you bring:
- Candidates should ideally have a master’s (doctorate preferred) with substantial experience in designing, developing, and deploying academic programs.
- A minimum of 8 years of experience in a fast-paced, growing institution.
- At least 5 years of experience in working closely with instructional design teams and faculty
- 3 years of workplace experience (outside of higher education)
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to think strategically
- Data analysis and forecasting
- Interpersonal skills
- Expertise in curriculum and academic program management
What We Offer
Project Kitty Hawk offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes full medical/dental/vision coverage, a 401K with match, and a generous time-off policy with paid volunteer time. In addition, we are committed to providing competitive salaries with the potential for performance bonus and remote working flexibility.
Project Kitty Hawk is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
Project Kitty Hawk is dedicated to this policy concerning recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please contact Kelly Snow at [email protected].
Skills Required
- Master's degree (Doctorate preferred)
- Doctorate
- Minimum of 8 years experience in a fast-paced, growing institution
- At least 5 years working closely with instructional design teams and faculty
- 3 years workplace experience outside of higher education
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to think strategically
- Data analysis and forecasting
- Interpersonal skills
- Expertise in curriculum and academic program management
- Experience with Canvas LMS
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The Company
What We Do
Project Kitty Hawk is an education technology and services nonprofit affiliated with the University of North Carolina System. Its mission is to help UNC System universities launch and scale high-quality, workforce-aligned online degree programs and credentials specifically designed for working adults in North Carolina. The organization provides strategic guidance, innovative technology solutions, and support services to expand educational access and improve student outcomes for adult learners.
