Associate Director, FAST Academy - CARE

TITLE

Associate Director, FAST Academy

JOB SUMMARY

The Associate Director of FAST Academy supports Texas Woman's University's statewide mission to improve postsecondary access, preparation, and success for youth and students with lived experience in foster care. The Associate Director provides leadership for the planning, implementation, and assessment of FAST Academy, a three-week residential summer bridge program designed to strengthen academic readiness, life skills, and college transition success for foster care alumni entering higher education across Texas. The role also directs FAST Forward, a four-week, fully online, asynchronous college-readiness program available statewide. The Associate Director oversees all program operations, curriculum integration, partnerships with institutions and foster care liaisons across Texas, and the holistic support provided to participating students. Responsibilities include program development, staff supervision, coordination of learning experiences, and continuous improvement of both FAST Academy and FAST Forward, along with related CARE initiatives. The position ensures that students build the skills, confidence, and connections needed for a successful transition into higher education. Work is performed under the administrative supervision of the Executive Director for CARE and evaluated based on program effectiveness, student outcomes, and statewide impact.

ORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to: Executive Director, CARE (Campus Alliance & Resource Education)

Supervises: Grant Coordinator, FAST Academy; May supervise Graduate Assistants, Student Assistants (including Resident Leaders), and Interns

ESSENTIAL DUTIES - May include, but not limited to the following:

• Supports the Executive Director in strategic planning and statewide scaling of FAST Academy and FAST Forward.

• Leads the design, implementation, and daily operations of FAST Academy and FAST Forward programs.

• Ensures support of high-quality curriculum delivery, immersive learning experiences, and consistent program standards.

• Provides direct support to students with foster care experience, including academic readiness, financial literacy, and college transition coaching.

• Coordinates virtual sessions connecting students with foster care liaisons from their future institutions.

• Partners with colleges, universities, school districts, and state agencies to recruit students and strengthen statewide pathways to higher education.

• Represents FAST Academy & FAST Forward at outreach events, trainings, and statewide meetings.

• Builds relationships with nonprofits, corporate partners, and philanthropic organizations to support program resources.

• Oversees all FAST Academy logistics, including housing, meals, transportation, classroom scheduling, and safety procedures.

• Manages communication, documentation, and operational workflows to support a seamless student experience.

• Supervises seasonal and professional staff supporting summer programming.

• Leads assessment of student outcomes, program impact, and academic readiness indicators.

• Prepares reports for internal stakeholders, donors, and external partners.

• Ensures compliance with FERPA, university policies, and data privacy standards.

• Supports grant development and donor stewardship related to FAST Academy & FAST Forward.

• Collaborates with TWU housing, academics, student life, and enrollment teams to execute a cohesive summer experience.

• Manage program logistics for FAST Academy (housing, meals, scheduling, safety) and operational workflows for FAST Forward (online modules, pacing, communication).

• Strengthens partnerships with statewide K-12, higher education, and community organizations.

• Represents FAST Academy & FAST Forward and CARE on committees and serves as lead contact in the Executive Director's absence.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES

• Performs other duties as requested.

EDUCATION

Master's degree in higher education, student development, counseling, social work, or a related field required.

EXPERIENCE

Minimum of four years of progressively responsible experience in student development, college access, child welfare-aligned work, or related fields. Experience supervising staff and/or managing student-support programs strongly preferred. Experience working with foster youth or other special populations highly preferred. Experience in training, residential life, program development, or statewide collaboration is a plus.

REQUIREMENT

Regular and reliable attendance at the University during regular scheduled days and work hours is an essential function of this position.

All employees share the responsibility of maintaining information security and privacy requirements within the university by adhering to Federal and State regulations, and TWU Policies & Procedures.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES - The following are essential:

• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills. Strong presentation skills and ability to deliver training to diverse audiences.

• Ability to use office software, student databases, and communication platforms.

• Strong communication, organization, project management, and supervisory skills.

• Capacity for independent judgment, problem solving, and multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment.

• Ability to conceptualize, prioritize, and execute programs and services with minimal supervision.

• Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with students, faculty, staff, K-12 partners, higher education institutions, and community organizations.

• Ability to manage budgets, coordinate multiple projects, and adapt to peak periods and short deadlines.

• Demonstrated ability to handle the demands of frequent outreach activities and events, travel, maintaining high level engagement with multiple stakeholder groups and delivery under tight deadlines.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described in the Essential Duties and below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

The employee may be required to travel.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

All employees are responsible for maintaining an environment that is free from discrimination, intimidation, harassment, including sexual harassment. Work is normally performed in a typical interior work environment.

SAFETY

TWU promotes a safe working environment. Employees are responsible for completing assigned tasks safely and efficiently, and supervisors are responsible for creating and maintaining a safe work environment. Employees must report any unsafe work conditions or practices, as well as any near-miss incidents, to their supervisor and Risk Management. Supervisors and employees should ensure that injury/accident reports are submitted to the Office of Human Resources and Risk Management within 24 hours of the incident.

Texas Woman's University, an AA/EEO employer, provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected category, class or characteristic.

All offers of employment will be contingent on the candidate's ability to provide documents which establish proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Positions at Texas Woman's University deemed security-sensitive require background checks and verification of all academic credentials.

If you are a male between the age of 18 and 25, federal law requires that you must be registered with the U.S. Selective Service System, unless you meet certain exemptions under Selective Service law. Under HB 558, enacted by the 76th Texas State Legislature, if you are currently of the age and gender requiring registration with Selective Service, but knowingly and willfully fail to do so, you are ineligible for employment with an agency in any branch of Texas state government. For additional information regarding registration or status, you can contact the Selective Service System at 847-688-6888 or www.sss.gov.