Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Orlando, FL

Role Overview

Excelon Associates is conducting a search for an experienced Associate Dean of Academic Affairs on behalf of a growing higher education institution in Orlando, Florida. The Associate Dean supports the leadership and coordination of academic programs and student-focused initiatives related to recruitment, education, retention, reentry, and overall student success, and assists the Dean of Academic Affairs in providing the leadership needed to advance the institution's mission, objectives, strategic plans, and academic goals. The position is full time, on site, and pays $75,000 to $80,000 per year.

The seat blends people leadership with regulatory precision. The Associate Dean coordinates timely academic advising for students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress (SAP), a standard tied to federal aid eligibility administered through Federal Student Aid, keeps courses in every modality staffed with qualified faculty, conducts biweekly one-on-ones and quarterly formal classroom observations, and runs new faculty orientation. Bilingual fluency in Spanish and English, including written, reading, and verbal communication, is a minimum requirement.

What Does an Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Do?

An Associate Dean of Academic Affairs helps lead a campus academic department. The role supports student retention, satisfaction, and certification goals, coordinates student reentry and readmission, manages academic advising for students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress, ensures qualified faculty coverage across online, blended, and on-campus courses, supports faculty hiring and development, and helps keep academic programs, support services, and diploma and degree offerings compliant with state, accreditation, and programmatic regulators.

The role also supports the planning, organization, staffing, coordination, supervision, development, and evaluation of the campus academic department. The Orlando campus sits in Orange County in Central Florida, and the Associate Dean works directly with the campus Dean of Academic Affairs to ensure that programs and services meet the needs of students, faculty, and the broader community.

Primary Responsibilities

Retention and Student Outcomes

• Support achievement of monthly, quarterly, and annual student retention, satisfaction, and certification goals.
• Help develop and maintain student support structures, academic advising processes, faculty office hours, and communication strategies designed to promote student success.
• Coordinate and track student reentry and readmission processes to support established monthly reentry goals.
• Support achievement of daily student attendance goals for on-campus programs and consistent student engagement within online courses.
• Coordinate timely academic advising for students who are not meeting satisfactory academic progress requirements, in accordance with institutional policies and applicable regulations.

Academic Operations

• Assist with the development and maintenance of student schedules across assigned programs and courses.
• Ensure courses across online, blended, and on-campus modalities are appropriately staffed with qualified faculty.
• Monitor faculty teaching assignments to ensure contractual commitments are fulfilled through applicable module end dates.
• Help ensure that program operations, personnel, facilities, and curriculum remain compliant with applicable state, accreditation, and programmatic regulatory requirements.
• Partner with academic leadership to identify opportunities to improve instructional quality, student outcomes, and overall academic operations.

Faculty Hiring and Development

• Support the recruitment, interviewing, selection, hiring, onboarding, and development of qualified faculty.
• Support the hiring and onboarding of instructors for assigned academic programs, and conduct new faculty orientation and training sessions.
• Conduct biweekly one-on-one meetings with instructors, program coordinators, and program directors.
• Conduct quarterly formal classroom observations of faculty and academic leadership personnel, and coordinate monthly instructor class assignments.
• Assist with the scheduling and completion of annual faculty development, in-service training, and professional growth activities consistent with institutional and accreditation requirements.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Lead and participate in faculty and staff meetings.
• Support the faculty performance appraisal process.
• Provide ongoing coaching and mentoring to faculty and academic staff.
• Assist with professional development and performance improvement initiatives.
• Promote a collaborative, accountable, student-centered academic environment.

What Are the Qualifications?

Education and Experience

• Master's degree in Education or a related field.
• Minimum of three years of successful teaching experience at the college level, preferably within a proprietary or career-focused higher education environment.

Language

• Bilingual fluency in Spanish and English, including written, reading, and verbal communication.

Skills and Availability

• Demonstrated patience, empathy, adaptability, and a solutions-oriented approach to leadership.
• Ability to adapt effectively to new and rapidly changing situations.
• Ability to work extended hours when necessary, including evenings and Saturdays, in support of institutional objectives.

Salary and Benefits

The posted salary range for the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs position in Orlando is $75,000 to $80,000 per year, paid as a full-time salaried role. The client also offers the benefits package below to full-time employees.

Associate Dean and academic affairs roles at proprietary and career-focused colleges in Florida are typically benchmarked against the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics category for postsecondary education administrators (SOC 11-9033), and this range sits in the entry band for that group, which is consistent with a campus-level associate dean seat that supports the Dean of Academic Affairs.

Core Benefits

• Medical coverage, including HSA and FSA options (dependent and health care).
• Dental and vision insurance.
• 12 paid holidays, paid time off, and a paid volunteer day.
• 401(k) with 50% employer matching.
• Short-term disability and life insurance, with supplemental life insurance options.
• Growth opportunities, education assistance, and professional development benefits.

No-Cost Benefits

• Group life insurance.
• Long-term disability coverage.
• Talent referral program.
• TicketsatWork discount entertainment program.
• Paid day off on your birthday for full-time employees after two years.

Who Thrives in This Role?

This role rewards a teacher who leads. The strongest candidates spent at least three years in college classrooms, ideally in a proprietary or career-focused setting, and now develop other instructors through observation, coaching, and honest feedback rather than title alone.

Spanish and English fluency is a requirement, not a preference. The Associate Dean advises students, coaches faculty, and handles institutional communication in both languages, in writing and in person, so candidates should be comfortable working across both every day.

It is also an operations seat. People who do well here keep schedules, faculty coverage, SAP advising, and compliance moving in every modality at once, and they track retention, attendance, and reentry numbers like a coach reads a scoreboard. Evenings and Saturdays come with the territory during peak periods, and the best fit stays patient, empathetic, and adaptable while the pace picks up.

About Excelon Associates and the Client

Excelon Associates is a retained and contingency executive search firm founded in 2007, headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, with offices in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, Florida, and a dedicated higher education recruitment practice. This search is being conducted by Excelon Associates on behalf of a growing higher education institution in Orlando, Florida, and the firm publishes its search fees and engagement terms so clients and candidates know how it works.

The client's Orlando campus serves students across on-campus, blended, and online programs and is expanding its academic leadership team to support that growth. The client's identity is shared with qualified candidates during the recruiting process. You can browse current open roles or review recent campaigns.

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The client is an equal opportunity employer and values all applications. Excelon does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, marital or veteran status, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.