Associate Dean, Social Work and Behavioral Health Programs

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If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Management_Executive 609 Pay Range: $116,600.00 - $209,900.00 Job Description The Associate Dean of Social Work and Behavioral Health Programs provides strategic, academic, operational, and business leadership for WGU's social work and behavioral health portfolio. This role is responsible for building, launching, scaling, and continuously improving high-quality, workforce-aligned programs that prepare students for careers in social work, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, community health, and human services. The Associate Dean serves as both academic leader and business owner - with P&L responsibility for program performance, student outcomes, workforce relevance, regulatory and accreditation alignment, faculty leadership, and financial sustainability. This role partners across the Leavitt School of Health and university functions including enrollment, marketing, product, academic delivery, assessment, accreditation, finance, and student support to ensure programs meet student, employer, community, and professional needs. Success in this role is measured by the ability to grow and sustain high-quality programs, improve retention and completion, support licensure and workforce outcomes, meet accreditation and regulatory expectations, and deliver strong return on investment for students and the university - while managing the portfolio's budget, enrollment growth, and contribution margin. Essential Functions and Responsibilities Provides strategic leadership and end-to-end ownership for social work and behavioral health programs, including program strategy, growth, student outcomes, financial performance, academic quality, and workforce alignment. Owns P&L for the portfolio, managing budget, enrollment assumptions, staffing plans, and contribution margin against university growth targets. Leads the development, launch, revision, and scaling of market-relevant, competency-based programs addressing national and regional workforce needs across social work, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, community health, and human services. Maintains primary accountability for CSWE accreditation activities - self-study development, candidacy, reaffirmation, site visits, assessment plans, reporting, and continuous improvement - and for any other relevant regulatory or professional approval processes. Partners with academic, operational, and regulatory teams to ensure field education, practicum, clinical placement, supervision, and experiential learning models meet accreditation, student, and workforce needs. Ensures programs remain aligned with professional standards, employer expectations, licensure pathways, and evolving workforce trends, including monitoring multi-state licensure requirements and scope-of-practice variation. Serves as a credible academic and industry voice for social work and behavioral health - representing the school in strategy discussions, external partnerships, professional associations, conferences, and workforce development opportunities. Builds and strengthens relationships with healthcare organizations, behavioral health providers, social service agencies, community organizations, government entities, professional associations, and employer partners. Leads and develops diverse, distributed teams - program leaders, faculty, program managers, instructional teams, and cross-functional partners - fostering accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement. Uses data and analytics to monitor program health: student progression, retention, completion, field placement outcomes, licensure outcomes, employment outcomes, student satisfaction, and faculty performance. Drives a culture of experimenta

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