Duke University Job Descriptions
Duke Job Postings
To see if there are current openings for any of the job descriptions listed on this web site, please search Duke Jobs.
SR DIR, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, DCA
Job Title: SR DIR, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, DCA
Job Code: 2908
FLSA: E
Job Level: 15
Revised Date: 09/01/2025
Job Family: JF 28
Occupational Summary
The Senior Director of Community Engagement is a member of the Duke Center for Community Engagement team, which is an interdisciplinary hub facilitating collaborative scholarship between community partners and Duke faculty, staff, and students, to address pressing societal challenges. The Center connects community organizations with students and researchers to explore difficult questions, analyze data, and enhance their impactful work. The Duke Center for Community Engagement is a joint effort of Duke Community Affairs and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Office of the Provost. The Center supports the university's ongoing commitment to "partner with purpose," a cornerstone of Duke's vision for its second century.
This role reflects Duke's commitment to and strategic investment in community-engaged scholarship. The position reports to the Associate Vice Provost/Assistant Vice President for Community-Engaged Scholarship and is dedicated to forging purposeful partnerships with Duke constituents and neighbors in the region. The role involves collaboration with key Duke and community-based partners to advance overlapping and mutual interests around community-engaged research, teaching, and scholarship. The position will implement DCA and the Center's vision and strategic objectives to support Duke University's community-engaged scholarship endeavors, with a particular focus on the identification of applied research opportunities, and efforts to connect faculty, students, and community organizations to relevant curricular and co-curricular avenues. The role will provide strategic direction for community partnerships, offer guidance to faculty undertaking or interested in community-engaged scholarship, and serve as a champion for community collaboration. This position will also support building the new Center's infrastructure and will supervise staff as they are hired.
Work Performed
Partner with the AVP of Community-Engaged Scholarship and Center Faculty Director in coordinating with university constituents who undertake engaged scholarship, fostering equitable and inclusive frameworks to support community partnerships, building community capacity, and enhancing Duke capacity to undertake community-engagement on an equitable basis.
Develop and sustain efforts to demonstrate and share best practices across community engagement programs, including consulting for faculty, training for faculty and staff, and other learning opportunities to support engaged scholarship and service; become knowledgeable about and assist in improving University policies and procedures that support institutional and student and faculty/staff community-engaged scholarship.
Recommend organizational structures, personnel, and resources to ensure a collaborative environment at all levels of the Duke Center for Community Engagement.
Supervise Center for Community Engagement personnel as assigned, including, but not limited to, hiring, merit recommendations, promotions, transfers and vacation schedules.
Support AVP in determining the fiscal requirements of the Center for Community Engagement programs; prepare budgetary recommendations; review and prepare grant proposals.
With the AVP of Community-Engaged Scholarship and Center Faculty Director, coordinate, support, and sustain advisory councils for the Center for Community Engagement to ensure the community has increased feedback and input in existing and future community engagement efforts; develop consistent institutional and Center policies and mechanisms for working with community partners.
With the AVP of Community-Engaged Scholarship and Center Faculty Director, implement and share the Center's priorities and programs; Share updates on progress with the campus; Collaborate with other campus units to develop and facilitate programming or resources aligning with the Strategic Community Impact Plan.
With the AVP of Community-Engaged Scholarship and Center Faculty Director, engage with the Interdisciplinary Studies team to become knowledgeable about existing curricular and co-curricular programs across Duke's schools and interdisciplinary units;leverage those programs to coordinate opportunities for students to engage in community-based research and enhance the capacity of community partners consistent with DCA best practices.
Prepare reports and presentations for various constituents outlining the impact of university-community partnerships; Conduct annual assessment measures and reports to advance the field of community engagement and demonstrate Duke's commitment to its local community;
Provide strategic, tactical, and operational advice to the AVP and VP of DCA on all aspects of community engagement; represent and advise the AVP as appropriate.
Build partnerships with offices across Duke, in partnership with the AVP of Community-Engaged Scholarship and Center Faculty Director, to identify opportunities for collaborative efforts, especially that address community-defined priorities and that provide research and educational opportunities for Duke students and faculty.
Required Qualifications at this Level
Education/Training
Position requires analytical, organizational and communication skills generally required through completion of a Master's degree in a related field.
Experience
Work requires six years of work experience related to higher education and/or community engagement, volunteer or international development programs, or other types of programs relevant to the duties of this position. Demonstrated experience in project planning, budget management, proposal development, navigating complex organizational environments, and effective mentoring of staff. Excellent analytical and communications skills, including the capacity to translate complex material for non-academic audiences through both oral and written means.
Skills
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.
Duke University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation, or military status.
Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas-an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.
Essential Physical Job Functions
Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.
