Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Health

Position Summary:

The Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development is a transformational leadership role that drives innovative professional development strategies across the Department of Medicine’s diverse academic enterprise. This position oversees faculty recruitment, faculty retention, and professional development for department members of all backgrounds and training, while fostering deep integration with Dartmouth’s broader ecosystem of excellence, from the Geisel School of Medicine to the Dartmouth Cancer Center to The Dartmouth Institute. This individual will collaborate with department leadership, faculty, staff, and institutional administration to ensure the development strategies align with the department’s goals, values, and mission. The role requires strong leadership, interpersonal skills, and a deep understanding of academic medical environments. Working collaboratively with fellow Vice Chairs and the Chair, this leader builds a transparent, high-performance culture that attracts and retains top-tier talent across clinical, research, and educational missions.

The position reports to the Chair of Medicine.

Key Responsibilities:

Faculty Recruitment and Retention

• Design comprehensive recruitment strategies to recruit diverse, highly qualified faculty members.
• Partner with section chiefs to create recruitment processes that demonstrate Dartmouth Health’s distinctive value proposition, resulting in improved candidate acceptance rates and reduced recruitment cycle times.
• Work with department leadership to ensure that retention strategies align with career development, institutional culture, and departmental needs.
• Implement systematic approaches to faculty and staff satisfaction and feedback to identify and address retention concerns, especially within the realm of professional development.
• Streamline credentialing processes through partnerships with institutional administration, reducing time spent in credentialing process while maintaining compliance excellence.

Faculty and Professional Development and Mentorship

• Cultivate Dartmouth Health’s distinctive culture of collaborative excellence in building and maintaining a departmental culture of continuous professional development through mentoring, workshops, and individual career planning.
• Creates and collaborates with other external stakeholders to create professional development activities and plans for section chiefs, faculty, and professionals across the Department.
• Design faculty and professional development initiatives that harness Dartmouth Health’s unique strengths and to advance skills in teaching, research, clinical practice, and leadership skills.
• In collaboration with section chiefs, ensure faculty and staff have access to mentorship opportunities to advance their academic and professional careers.
• Support faculty in securing internal and external funding for professional development activities.

Promotion and Tenure

• Collaborate with section chiefs to ensure they understand the expectations and requirements for advancement in clinical, teaching, and research domains, and have tools and skills necessary to support academic advancement of their faculty.
• Create advancement support guidance and systems for section chiefs in their role of supporting faculty members through the promotion and tenure process, and to individual faculty members as needed.
• Serve as Chair of the Department of Medicine Promotions and Advancement Committee (DOMPAC) to review faculty promotion proposals and packets to ensure they meet institutional standards.
• Develop promotion pathway metrics regarding promotion within the Department, and review regularly to identify areas for improvement while maintaining alignment with national academic standards.

Faculty and Professional Development Affairs Operations

• Lead a high-performing Faculty and Professional Development Affairs team, ensuring smooth operations of all faculty-related processes and policies.
• Serve as a liaison between faculty members and Geisel Office of Faculty Affairs regarding policies, procedures, and benefits.
• Stay updated on regulatory and institutional changes that affect faculty policies and practices.
• Create and modify processes and tools to assist faculty and section chiefs with regular self-assessment of academic progress, and to guide them through the promotion process

Collaboration and Communication

• Partner with Chair and Vice Chair colleagues to develop and implement transformative policies and strategic initiatives to enhance the faculty and professional development experience and institutional competitiveness.
• Function as a strategic advisor for section chiefs and faculty members, providing advice and assistance with regard to career development, work-life balance, and institutional resources.
• Represent the department in relevant institutional committees or councils focused on faculty affairs.

Education and Experience:

• M.D. required; rank of Professor required.
• At least 10 years of experience in a leadership position in academic medicine, with a focus on faculty affairs, leadership, or human resources.
• Proven experience in faculty recruitment, development, mentorship, and retention.
• In-depth understanding of academic medical systems, including the dynamics of clinical, teaching, and research roles.

Skills and Competencies:

• Strong leadership and management skills with proven ability to inspire diverse faculty and professionals of varying backgrounds toward shared vision while driving innovative change across complex academic environment.
• Exceptional communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to build rapport across all levels of the institution.
• Deep expertise in academic personnel policies, promotion and tenure processes, and best practices in faculty development.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse groups and individuals to achieve departmental and institutional goals.

This job description provides an overview of the essential functions of the Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development role. The responsibilities outlined above may be modified based on departmental needs and priorities, as determined at the discretion of the Chair of the Department.