Title: Director of Professional Development 

Unit: Non-Unit Professional (NUP)

Department: Strategic Priorities and Professional Development 

Reports to: Executive Director Strategic Priorities and Professional Development

Date: March 28, 2025 (Updated April 16, 2025)

General Summary: Professional development at MCC promotes the college's strategic plan and institutional priorities, while also fostering opportunities for personal and professional growth. The Director of Professional Development provides leadership in the development, implementation, coordination, supervision, and annual evaluation of professional development activities; and plays a key role in advancing the initiatives of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (CTRHT). The Director will work closely with the Assistant Director of Employee Engagement & Training and other key stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Professional Growth and Development

• Provide vision and strategic planning for professional development in alignment with the college's strategic plan in collaboration with institutional leaders.
• Review and approve requests from faculty & staff for professional development funding.
• Develop and monitor budgets assigned to the Office of Professional Development.
• Oversee and administer all aspects of the planning and deployment of all professional development activities, including resource allocation, design, marketing, dissemination, etc. These activities include the all-college biannual Professional Day, professional development focused grants, among others.
• Lead the Professional Development Advisory Board, which includes faculty, staff, and administrators from across the college; to identify the professional development needs of the college community. Also, seek input from the board on the impact of ongoing professional development initiatives.
• Coordinate internal professional development mini-grants, including the mini-grant application process and the approval of mini-grants, in collaboration with the Professional Development Advisory Board.
• Conduct surveys and gather feedback to assess the effectiveness of professional development initiatives.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including but not limited to Human Resources, to support new employee onboarding, as well as internal communities of practice (CoPs) where faculty and staff can share experiences and best practices. These include CoPs for administrative and staff assistants; a CoP for mid-level managers; and faculty-led SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning).
• Coordinate professional learning opportunities and participation in local higher education conferences and consortia, and other opportunities, such as NEFDC (New England Faculty Development Consortium), REJI (Racial Equity and Justice Institute), TLSD (Teaching, Learning, and Student Development), NELDI (former Chair Academy), and the Lowell Plan Public Matters.
• Facilitate professional learning on high-impact teaching practices that promote inclusive learning experiences, such as courses from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE).
• Partner with staff, faculty, and institutional teams participating in national conferences to facilitate regular campus-wide presentations that share best practices, innovative research, and relevant applications, with the campus community.
• Create and maintain electronic records, and other relevant tools, in order to track completion of professional development initiatives including the number of faculty and staff trained, attendance date, specific training/ program attended, etc.
• In collaboration with the Assistant Director of Employee Engagement & Training in HR, administer digital resources for professional development, including but not limited to the LinkedIn Learning library.
• Manage and update the MCC Intranet Professional Development web pages.
• Oversee the use of the Innovation Space on the Bedford campus, in collaboration with the Assistant Director of Employee Engagement & Training.

Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation

• In collaboration with the Executive Director, nurture strong collaborative relationships across the College and beyond through the CTRHT Action Plan and goals.
• Develop and disseminate strategic messaging to inform and engage internal and external stakeholders on TRHT priorities.
• Monitor national trends and facilitate listening circles and response strategies to address evolving racial healing and other challenges.
• Co-Lead Racial Healing Circles, assess their impact, and collaborate with internal and affiliate groups to collect artifacts, document and refine efforts.
• Champion and participate in initiatives that promote student success, belonging, campus climate, and others identified as strategic priorities.
• Raise awareness of TRHT and related initiatives through education, professional development, and community engagement, in partnership with Marketing / Communications, and other departments, to enhance visibility.

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve on College committees and advisory groups as assigned.
• Utilize software for budget management, scheduling, and record-keeping.
• Serve on local and state-wide professional development groups and task forces dedicated to the development, advancement, and sharing of best practices as assigned.
• Collaborate with the Events Director and administrative staff as needed to coordinate logistics, including space availability and other essential aspects, to ensure the seamless execution of professional development and CTRHT activities.
• Perform other related duties as required.

• Bachelor's degree with at least seven (7) years of relevant experience in professional development, higher education, or related field.
• Experience in designing and offering professional development activities for faculty and staff.
• Deep knowledge of faculty and staff development, training methodologies, instructional design and pedagogy.
• Working understanding of institutional policies, governance structures, accreditation standards, and use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills; self-starter; able to provide team leadership.
• Ability to travel to both the Lowell and Bedford campus.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in related field with 3-5 years of relevant experience
• College-level teaching experience.
• Bilingual, Spanish or Khmer language fluency preferred.
• Demonstrated ability implementing and managing strategic, equity or community- centric projects and initiatives at an organizational level.
• Working knowledge or interest in developing and facilitating racial healing practices and circles.
• Experience working in higher education, and at a comprehensive community college.
• Experience with project management and implementation of campus-wide initiatives.

Salary Range: $77,000 - $87,000; actual salary commensurate with academic background and experience. Employees of Middlesex Community College are considered employees of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and receive benefits, which include:

• High-quality and affordable health insurance through the Commonwealth's Group Insurance Commission (GIC)
• Competitive Dental and Vision Plans
• Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Assistance programs
• Low-cost basic and optional life insurance
• Retirement Savings: State Employees' Pension or Optional Retirement Program (ORP) and Deferred Compensation 457(b) plan or 403(b).
• 12 paid holidays per year and competitive Sick, Vacation, and Personal Time
• Tuition Benefits for employees and dependents at state colleges and universities
• Short-Term Disability and Extended Illness program participation options
• Professional Development and Continuing Education opportunities
• Cell Phone Bill Discounts with Verizon and T-Mobile Cell Phone Carriers
• Access to the Commonwealth's Mass4You, employee assistance program
• Free employee parking on Bedford and Lowell campuses
• Eligibility towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Location: Lowell and Bedford campuses 

Hours: 37.5 hours per week, schedule to be determined upon hire

Expected Start Date: June 2025 

Application Deadline: May 5, 2025 

About Middlesex Community College

At Middlesex Community College, everyone teaches, everyone learns. Collaborative in nature and innovative in practice, we educate, engage, and empower a diverse community of learners. Through transformative opportunities, we challenge and support every student to succeed and lead. Recognizing equity and inclusion as the foundation for excellence and creativity, Middlesex Community College meets the evolving educational, civic and workforce needs of our local and global communities.

Connections working at Middlesex Community College