Job Announcement
Center Director, Australia
Location: Cairns, Australia
Reports To: Assistant Provost for Faculty Development and Academic Affairs
Start Date: July 2025
Salary Range: USD$60,000- USD$65,000.00 (gross)
Application Deadline: April 4, 2025 (Rolling review)
Apply: Submit a letter of interest and CV (with three references) via https://worldlearning.applicantpro.com/jobs/3679013
School for International Training (SIT) is seeking a center director in Australia in the area of environmental science, marine biology, or related disciplines. SIT is an accredited US higher education institution and a global leader in experiential education, offering undergraduate and graduate programs focused on critical global issues. Our immersive learning model connects students with local communities, fostering intercultural understanding and social justice.
Position Description:
The Center Director (CD) leads SIT Australia's Cairns-based programs, overseeing academic quality, operations, and student services. The CD will manage the semester Rainforest, Reef, and Cultural Ecology program and a diverse portfolio of experiential learning programs, ensuring alignment with SIT's mission of academic excellence and community engagement.
For compliance with local labor and employment laws and when circumstance warrants, the center director will have a local employment contract through an affiliated local entity or as determined by SIT.
Responsibilities include:
1. Academic Program Management: Oversee curriculum design, teach one course per semester, and guide student research projects and internships. Ensure academic rigor and experiential learning components align with SIT standards.
2. Student Services: Provide academic advising, cross-cultural guidance, and student well-being support in collaboration with SIT's Office of Student Health, Safety, and Well-Being.
3. Operations & Compliance: Manage center operations, finances, and local partnerships. Ensure compliance with local laws and SIT policies.
4. Human Resources: Recruit, supervise, and support faculty and staff, fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
5. Health, Safety & Security: Implement SIT health and safety protocols, act as the primary contact for student emergencies, and maintain contingency plans.
6. Community Engagement: Build partnerships with local organizations, promote SIT's mission, and integrate community-based learning into the curriculum.
7. Marketing: Support the production of SIT promotional materials by providing updates, content, and other information as requested.
8. Other: Participate as needed and possibly present at conferences or other professional meetings; other duties as assigned.
The nature of the center director job is such that they may be called upon during irregular hours to deal with emergencies. Responding to urgent program or student needs off-hours is a regular part of the duties of a center director. For the duration of the program, the center director must remain in-country and physically at the program site or with the student group and will be reachable by mobile phone on an emergency basis.
SIT programs are situated in urban as well as remote locations where accommodation may be rudimentary, and accessibility limited. Some aspects of the program may require physical exertion such as, but not limited to, occasionally driving, walking, as well as remaining stationary for long periods. Depending on the theme of the program there may be excursions in rugged terrain which may require, but are not limited to, activities such as hiking, climbing and/or water-based sports.
Qualifications:
1. Terminal degree in environmental science, marine biology, conservation biology, earth sciences, sustainability, or related field.
2. Minimum 3 years of experience in academic program management, program administration, experiential education, or international higher education.
3. Fluency in English.
4. Demonstrated commitment to inclusive education and student well-being.
5. Legal right to work and reside in Australia.
6. Knowledge of Australia and Oceania ecosystems preferred.
Benefits
World Learning/SIT provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, FSA/HRA, Life/AD&D, Short Term/Long Term Disability, EAP, Parking and Transit, 403 (b) retirement plan, where applicable, for eligible full-time and part-time employees.
The World Learning Inc. Family
For more than 90 years, World Learning Inc. has been a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living, the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused master's degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.
SIT | sit.edu
School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees. SIT programs are grounded in experiential learning, cultural immersion, inclusive approaches, and strive to develop sustainable practices across its learning centers. We believe in developing respectful partnerships with local communities and seek to make accessible to our students the richness of local expertise and knowledge systems.
World Learning | worldlearning.org
World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. World Learning's education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society, and build relationships across cultures. With World Learning's support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.
The Experiment in International Living | experiment.org
The Experiment in International Living is the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years, The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path, experience the world as a classroom, immerse themselves fully in another culture, and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.
A Commitment to Our Values
We are a global community of staff, faculty, board members, alumni, students, and participants who use our core values -- community, intercultural understanding, sustainability, and social inclusion & justice - to inform our programs and how we operate as an organization. We are committed to acting with accountability, transparency, reciprocity, authenticity, and empathy.
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