Chief of Staff job with University of North Carolina Wilmington

The University of North Carolina
Wilmington (UNCW), the state’s coastal University, seeks a
dynamic, diplomatic, and forward-thinking Chief of Staff to serve
as a trusted senior advisor to
Chancellor Aswani Volety. As a key member of the Chancellor’s
Cabinet, the Chief of Staff plays a vital role in fostering
collaboration, enhancing communication, and advancing the
University’s strategic initiatives. The Chief of Staff helps to
ensure that the Chancellor’s vision is effectively translated into
action by coordinating efforts across University leadership,
supporting institutional priorities, and facilitating stakeholder
engagement.UNCW is a nationally recognized large public doctoral university
with a private feel dedicated to integrating teaching, mentoring,
research, and service. Since Chancellor Volety arrived in 2022,
UNCW has expanded academic opportunities and support services for
students; increased research and scholarship grant funding;
strengthened its regional, national, and international
partnerships; opened a new outdoor student recreation complex; and
successfully completed the Like No Other Capital Campaign for UNCW
– raising more than $136 million. Today, UNCW offers undergraduate,
master’s, and doctoral programs in areas of expertise that serve
the needs of the state and our local and global communities. The
Seahawk community includes over 2,300 faculty and staff, almost
19,000 students, and over 100,000 alums. The physical campus
includes the main campus in Wilmington, along with UNCW’s Center
for Marine Science, a research campus on the Intracoastal
Waterway.

Reporting directly to Chancellor Volety, the Chief of Staff is
responsible for building relationships across constituencies,
communicating with stakeholders about the directions and priorities
of the University, and keeping the Chancellor informed on diverse
viewpoints and issues. The Chief of Staff oversees daily operations
of the Chancellor’s Office and, in this capacity, supervises four
professional and support staff positions. The Chief of Staff also
supports the Chancellor in providing oversight of units organized
within the Chancellor’s Division and is expected to be involved in
applicable personnel matters, budget requests, and project
tracking. Units within the Chancellor’s Division include the
Department of Athletics, Office of Human Resources and Title IX,
Office of University Relations, Office of General Counsel, and the
Office of Internal Audit.

The next Chief of Staff will arrive at a time of great promise and
momentum and will play a prominent role in the execution,
measurement, and impact of the 10-year strategic plan, Soar
Higher. The plan’s commitment to unparalleled
opportunities, nationally prominent programs, community commitment,
and world-class operations and infrastructure harkens back to its
founding in 1947. It creates a clear framework for the Chief of
Staff’s charge ahead. The core of this charge is to ensure the
strategic plan is not only advancing, but the Chief of Staff will
also coordinate the collective advancement of initiatives and
establish a comprehensive strategy for communication and
publicizing its progress to the broader community.

Accomplishing these objectives will require a leader with the
confidence and experience to set priorities and assume
responsibility for a broad and complex set of initiatives related
to the Chancellor’s agenda. Successful candidates will be known as
strong networkers with the ability to build bridges, remove
obstacles, and resolve politically challenging situations. The
Chief of Staff will be a professional of unquestionable integrity,
character, and evidence of serving with discretion. The individual
must possess excellent oral and written communication skills and
substantial professional experience in building positive
relationships and creating a welcoming and rewarding working
environment. Additionally, the individual must be trustworthy and
credible, quick to understand the Chancellor’s needs, highly
collaborative, flexible yet decisive, tactful, politically aware,
and capable of managing multiple projects, working within a budget,
and meeting strict deadlines. A master’s degree and at least five
years of applicable leadership/management experience, or a related
bachelor’s degree and eight years of applicable
leadership/management experience, is required.

All applications, nominations, and inquiries are invited.
Applications should include, as separate documents, a CV or resume
and a letter of interest addressing the themes in the leadership
profile found at www.wittkieffer.com. WittKieffer
is assisting the University of North Carolina Wilmington in this
search, which will remain open until an appointment is made.
Nominations and inquiries can be directed to: Lucy Leske, Sarah
Palmer, and Melissa Fincher at UNCW_ChiefOfStaff@WittKieffer.com.

At the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), our
culture reflects our values of inclusion, diversity, globalization,
ethics, and integrity, and innovation, and we are committed to
providing equality of educational and employment opportunity for
all persons without regard to race, sex (such as gender, gender
identity, marital status, childbirth, and pregnancy), age, color,
national origin (including ethnicity), religion, disability, sexual
orientation, political affiliation, veteran status, military
service member status, genetic information, or relationship to
other university constituents – except where sex, age, or ability
represent bona fide educational or occupational qualifications or
where marital status is a statutorily established eligibility
criterion for State funded employee benefit programs.UNCWbelieves
that embracing the unique contributions of our faculty, staff and
students is critical to our success and paramount in being
recognized for our global mindset.

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