Position Overview
The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (HIDA) at Arizona State University (ASU) seeks an accomplished Executive Director, Institute Effectiveness to serve as the Dean’s senior strategic, operational, and relational partner. Reporting directly to Dean Renée Cheng, this role functions as a principal integrator and execution leader for the Institute—advancing priorities, aligning people and resources, and ensuring that vision is translated into sustained, high-quality action.
The Executive Director, Institute Effectiveness brings clarity to complexity, momentum to priority initiatives, and consistency to how work gets done across the Institute. This leader operates with rigor and empathy, combining strong judgment, discretion, and follow-through with an ability to build trust across diverse academic and professional communities. The role is well suited for a senior leader who thrives in dynamic environments, excels at change leadership, and enjoys working closely with an ambitious Dean to increase institutional capacity and impact.
This position offers a unique opportunity to help shape the operating rhythm, coordination, and effectiveness of one of the nation’s most innovative design and arts institutes while supporting the Dean in advancing academic excellence, creative impact, and enterprise-wide priorities.
About the Institute
The Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University is the world’s most accessible and advanced design and arts school, serving over 9,000 students across 140 academic programs. With over 600 faculty members and 250 staff, HIDA encompasses ASU FIDM and Museum, the School of Art, The Design School, the Sidney Poitier New American Film School, The GAME School, the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, and the ASU Art Museum. The Institute is grounded in creativity, collaboration, and excellence. Students, faculty, and staff work across disciplines to generate ideas, address complex
challenges, and create socially relevant work that contributes meaningfully to communities and industries. Inclusion, technology, and community are central values, ensuring that talented students from all backgrounds can develop their creative voice and professional trajectory. The Institute is a place where imagination and execution come together to produce lasting impact.
Learn more about HIDA.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Partnership & Leadership Support
Serve as the Dean’s primary strategic and operational partner, supporting priority-setting, planning, and execution.Translate Institute-wide goals into clear plans, milestones, and ownership, ensuring consistent progress and follow-through.Provide thoughtful counsel, perspective, and constructive challenge to support strong decision-making.Partner closely with the Vice Dean and academic leadership to align academic priorities with operational execution.
Institute Integration & Execution
Act as a central integrator across schools, departments, and functional areas, promoting coordination and shared accountability.Ensure the right stakeholders are engaged at the right moments, bringing the right people into discussions and decisions to enable timely, well-informed outcomes.Lead and support complex, cross-unit initiatives from concept through implementation.Establish and reinforce effective project management, decision-making, and communication practices.Clarify roles, responsibilities, and interdependencies to support efficient and transparent ways of working.
Organizational Effectiveness & Operations
Strengthen Institute-wide operating rhythms, planning cycles, and performance management practices.Support leaders in setting priorities, sequencing work, and managing capacity across teams.Build systems and processes that scale to support both creative excellence and operational sustainability.Promote work practices that balance high performance with long-term effectiveness and wellbeing.
Relationship Management & Representation
Serve as a delegate and representative for the Dean, as appropriate, in internal and external settings.Build strong working relationships across the ASU ecosystem, including the Provost’s Office, ASU Foundation, university leadership, and strategic partners.Support coordination with external stakeholders, industry partners, and philanthropic collaborators.Maintain an engaged presence across HIDA locations, including Tempe, Mesa, Downtown Phoenix, and Downtown Los Angeles, with occasional international travel as needed.
Required Qualifications
Substantial leadership experience in complex, matrixed organizations; experience in higher education or mission-driven institutions is valued.Demonstrated success operating as a senior partner to an executive leader (e.g., Executive Director, Chief of Staff, COO, or equivalent).Proven ability to drive execution, manage multiple priorities, and deliver results in dynamic environments.Experience integrating strategic, academic, creative, or mission-focused work with strong operational discipline.
Core Competencies & Attributes
Integrator & Systems Thinker: Sees the whole system and connects people, priorities, and work across organizational boundaries.Strategic Agility: Operates at a fast pace while exercising sound judgment about timing, focus, and tradeoffs, including when to accelerate, when to pause, and when to recalibrate to ensure progress is meaningful and sustainable.Change Leadership: Translates vision into action, builds momentum, and sustains progress through periods of change.Political & Cultural Savvy: Navigates complex academic and institutional contexts with credibility and care.Emotional Intelligence & Communication: Builds trust, listens deeply, and communicates clearly and constructively.Service-Oriented Leadership: Approaches the role with humility, flexibility, and a strong commitment to advancing the Dean’s and Institute’s priorities.Respect for Creativity & Scholarship: Brings structure that enables, rather than constrains, creative and academic excellence.
Salary
$175,000 - $225,000 + Competitive Benefits Package
Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. For more information, please refer to the
Academic Affairs Manual (ACD) and
ASU Title IX Statement.
