Director, Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA)

Position: Director, Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA)

• Classification: Director Level
• Reports To: Vice President for Academic Affairs

About The American International University

About The American International University

American International University (AIU) is a private institution in Kuwait, founded in 2019, offering undergraduate programs in Engineering and Computing, Architecture and Design, Business, Arts and Sciences, and Education. The programs are delivered in English and follow the American model of higher education. AIU serves a community of more than 4,000 students and is implementing the RISE Strategy 2026–2030, a five-year institutional transformation strategy anchored in research development, international accreditation, student success, employability, and community engagement.

Faculty excellence is one of AIU's greatest strategic assets and an essential enabler of every pillar of the RISE Strategy. Outstanding teaching, meaningful scholarship, effective service, academic leadership, and institutional innovation all depend upon attracting, supporting, developing, recognising, and retaining exceptional faculty. The Director of the Office of Faculty Affairs is responsible for creating an institutional environment in which faculty thrive throughout their academic careers, strengthening academic excellence, shared governance, leadership development, and institutional effectiveness while supporting AIU's ambitions for WSCUC accreditation and long-term academic distinction.

For more information, visit: www.aiu.edu.kw

Department Profile

The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) is AIU's institutional hub for faculty success, academic engagement, academic career development, shared governance, and institutional faculty excellence. Operating under the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Office serves all Schools, the Foundation Programme, and future graduate programmes, working collaboratively with more than 120 full-time faculty together with adjunct, visiting, and future clinical faculty.

The Office is established as one of AIU's strategic academic support units under the RISE Strategy, with the Director serving as its founding leader responsible for developing the Office's policies, programmes, partnerships, operational culture, and long-term strategic direction. Working collaboratively with Human Resources, Deans, Department Chairs, the Centre for Teaching & Learning, the Office of Graduate Studies, the Office of Research and Scholarly Activity, the Registrar, Quality Assurance, Student Affairs, Library Services, and other institutional units, the Director ensures that faculty-related academic matters are coordinated consistently across the University while maintaining a clear distinction from Human Resources' employment responsibilities.

The Office complements—but does not replace—the responsibilities of Human Resources. Human Resources remains responsible for employment administration, contracts, payroll, benefits, immigration, and employee relations, while the Office of Faculty Affairs provides academic leadership, coordination, guidance, and support on matters relating to faculty success, academic development, governance, academic progression, recognition, and institutional effectiveness.

The Office carries four interconnected institutional mandates:

1. Faculty Success & Engagement

Building an academic environment in which faculty are supported throughout every stage of their academic careers through mentoring, engagement, recognition, wellbeing, professional growth, leadership development, and institutional support.

2. Academic Career Development & Recognition

Supporting promotion, academic rank progression, leadership development, succession planning, recognition, awards, and continuous academic growth.

3. Academic Policies & Shared Governance

Promoting transparent governance, institutional consistency, academic integrity, faculty participation in decision-making, and continuous policy development.

4. Institutional Excellence & Faculty Effectiveness

Supporting institutional effectiveness, accreditation, academic quality, faculty engagement, strategic planning, and cross-functional collaboration in support of AIU's long-term academic mission.

Scope of Work

The Director of the Office of Faculty Affairs provides strategic and operational leadership across six interconnected institutional domains that collectively support faculty excellence, institutional effectiveness, academic quality, and shared governance.

The Director serves as the University's principal academic administrator for faculty affairs, providing leadership in the development and implementation of faculty-related academic policies, career development initiatives, governance structures, recognition programmes, academic support services, and institutional planning. The Director is simultaneously a strategic advisor, policy leader, governance specialist, faculty advocate, organisational developer, and institutional partner. This is not a role focused on employment administration; rather, it is a leadership position responsible for creating an institutional environment in which faculty are supported, recognised, developed, and empowered to contribute fully to AIU's academic mission.

The Director operates primarily as a strategic leader, advisor, facilitator, and institutional partner, working collaboratively with Human Resources and other University offices rather than duplicating their operational responsibilities.

This position requires a leader capable of building relationships across the institution, promoting collaboration, supporting faculty success, and ensuring that faculty-related academic processes are fair, transparent, consistent, and aligned with AIU's strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Faculty Success and Academic Engagement

Develop a comprehensive institutional strategy supporting faculty success throughout the academic career lifecycle.

Establish and coordinate faculty mentoring programmes for new, early-career, international, and newly promoted faculty.

Coordinate faculty orientation and academic transition activities in collaboration with Human Resources and the Centre for Teaching & Learning.

Promote interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty across schools.

Develop programmes supporting faculty engagement and institutional belonging.

Coordinate faculty networking events, retreats, academic forums, and engagement initiatives.

Support faculty wellbeing through collaboration with relevant institutional offices.

Facilitate communication between Academic Affairs and faculty.

Serve as an accessible resource for faculty seeking guidance on academic policies and procedures.

Promote an inclusive, respectful, and collaborative academic culture.

Coordinate faculty recognition and appreciation initiatives.

Support retention of high-performing faculty through engagement initiatives.

Develop institutional faculty engagement and satisfaction surveys.

Analyse institutional trends affecting faculty wellbeing and engagement.

Coordinate faculty leadership retreats.

Coordinate communities of academic practice.

Support international faculty transition and integration.

Develop faculty wellbeing initiatives.

Promote cross-school collaboration.

Coordinate annual faculty engagement programmes.

2. Academic Policies and Faculty Governance

Develop, maintain, and periodically review faculty-related academic policies.

Maintain the AIU Faculty Handbook.

Coordinate policy implementation across all schools.

Ensure consistent interpretation and application of faculty academic policies.

Support Faculty Council operations.

Coordinate faculty committee appointments.

Support elections to Faculty Council and other academic committees.

Promote shared governance across Academic Affairs.

Develop policy guidance documents.

Advise Deans and Department Chairs