Department Chair - Business, Behavioral Science, and Philosophy (SJO Online) at San Jacinto College – Houston, Texas

Department Chair - Business, Behavioral Science, and Philosophy (SJO Online)

Essential Job Functions:

Decision Making and Leadership

• Creates and approves goals for department by interpreting and supporting the goals of the institution as they relate to the department.
• Implements and/or reinforces changes based on policy decisions; interprets department policies to faculty, staff, students, and/or public.
• Initiates and maintains communication with colleagues, administrative staff, faculty, students, industry, external community, state, and national agencies.
• Informs the dean of decisions involving changes in the department and issues related to other campuses.
• Conducts meetings with faculty and staff.
• Provides the necessary research and department support to obtain/maintain external grant funds or donations, if appropriate.
• Resolve issues that arise between faculty and students.
• Keeps current on trends, issues, and initiatives in the divisions' related fields of education that affect teaching and learning within the departmental program.
• Assigns teaching loads and other departmental duties.
• Ensures faculty teaching online courses meet required training and professional development expectations (e.g., ACAdemic, online pedagogy training).
• Monitors compliance with online instructional standards, including accessibility, course presence, and required LMS components.
• Supports faculty in integrating instructional technology and digital tools consistent with college guidelines.
• Identifies best practices for department or processes in collaboration with industry and in review of educational literature and community needs.
• Monitors compliance with policies and procedures of the College.
• Attend meetings (e.g., department meetings, task forces, committees, councils).
• Meets the leadership competencies established by the College.

Department Operations – Non-Faculty Activities

• Prepares the annual department budget.
• Reviews/approves the purchases of goods and services.
• Develops and/or reviews class schedules.
• Reviews and processes textbook requests on a semester basis to ensure timely access and bookstore processing.
• Works with dual credit to meet the needs of independent school district partners.

Department Operations – Faculty Activities

• Recommends renewal of faculty contracts.
• Reviews and approves personnel changes within the department and forwards forms to the respective dean.
• Determines personnel needs in the department, makes appropriate requests in writing, and participates in hiring interviews in conjunction with the appropriate search committee.
• Performs tracking and analyzing program data, specifically student performance and enrollment data.
• Develops and implements strategies that support program completion, job placement, and/or transfer opportunities for students, when appropriate.
• Ensure department participation in student recruitment efforts.
• Supervises campus grants that provide educational programs or services to the division. Works with colleagues in college district to develop new grant applications.
• Responds to requests for faculty substitutions, class emergencies, and as a first point of contact for part-time faculty access.
• Oversees beginning-of-term learning management system checks, ensures compliance with required online course standards, facilitates distance learning course reviews, and verifies end-of-course documentation in alignment with online quality frameworks (e.g., Quality Matters, OSCQR) and accessibility expectations.

Professional Development and Performance Management

• Evaluates faculty teaching effectiveness through classroom observations, online course reviews, and analysis of student performance data, ensuring compliance with online instructional standards and accessibility requirements. Recognizes faculty who demonstrate a high level of teaching effectiveness, giving recognition for positive actions of faculty as well as offering constructive suggestions for professional growth.
• Supervises and evaluates new faculty and staff.
• Provides and/or promotes professional development opportunities to members of the department as appropriate.
• Provides coaching and support specific to effective online teaching practices, student engagement in virtual environments, and use of instructional technology.
• Meets with faculty and/or staff members to create key performance indicators that reflect the needs of the department, as well as consideration for the annual priorities of the College that affect teaching and learning.
• Provides evaluation and ongoing feedback regarding faculty and/or staff performance.
• Participates in validation meetings to review and discuss performance ratings of department members with campus leadership.

Curriculum and Assessment

• Facilitates assessment of student learning outcomes, general education outcomes, program-specific outcomes, accreditation requirements, and student performance on certificate or licensure assessments.
• Facilitates the development of curricular programs, projects, and initiatives in support of the College’s mission and strategic plan.
• Works with Institutional Effectiveness.
• Participates in activities associated with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) accreditation, program accreditation, and/or program review.
• Monitors program compliance with national, state, and/or regional agencies.

Additional Job Functions:

• Administrative duties as needed to oversee departmental budgets.
  • Reviews departmental budgets.
  • Follows and reviews procurement activities.
  • Reviews compliance to learning management system (LMS) standards for faculty.
  • Ensures compliance with distance education regulations, including NC-SARA requirements, state authorization standards, and applicable federal guidelines related to online delivery.
  • Approves departmental payroll.
• Collaborates with program directors and faculty to develop and implement innovative partnerships, e.g., healthcare providers/agencies, industry partners, governmental agencies, and educational partners.
• Assist with the coordination of advisory committee meetings with industry and educational partners per institutional requirements and guidelines.
• Teach a minimum and maximum of one (1) class during the summer.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Must be available to work flexible hours as needed to support online faculty and operations, including virtual meetings. Must have excellent communication skills, demonstrated tactical leadership abilities, and proven results.
• Must show proven teaching success in higher education, preferably including experience in online environments. 
• Demonstrate knowledge and achievement in curriculum management, including experience developing or overseeing online courses or programs.
• Possess effective and consistent conflict resolution, management, and organizational skills.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal skills, with demonstrated capacity to build relationships and foster collaboration across distributed teams; Demonstrate sound working knowledge of personal computer hardware/software, business management software (i.e. Banner), learning management system (i.e., Blackboard Ultra), and the broader digital tools ecosystems supporting online education. 
• Familiarity with distance education regulations and best practices, including accessibility standards (i.e., WCAG), online learning quality frameworks (i.e., Quality Matters, OSCQR), and state authorization requirements such as NC-SARA. 
• Must have administrative experience, including ability to establish priorities and make difficult choices among competing demands and make decisions in a consultative and informed manner.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively and consistently lead, support, and motivate remote faculty and staff in an online or distributed work environment.

Education:

• A master’s degree in appropriate discipline from a regionally accredited institution is required.

Experience:

• Five years in community college setting to include teaching or and/or administration required, including oversight of fully online instruction. Five years teaching and three years progressive leadership or equivalent experience preferred, including fully online and face-to-face.

Salary Grade: MAST

Salary is based on the Board-approved salary schedule for the current fiscal year. See Salary Schedule

Requisition Number: req6255

Posting Close Date: 5/11/2026

Applicant Support:
If you need assistance with the application process, please contact the Cornerstone Support Team at 281-998-6387, option 3, or email cornerstonesupport@sjcd.edu.

Note: Due to the number of applications we receive, we are unable to follow-up with every applicant individually. If your qualifications meet the requirements for the position, and you are selected for an interview, we will contact you. You can review your application status by logging into the Cornerstone system.

Annual Security Report: The San Jacinto College Police Department is responsible for preparing and distributing the Annual Security Report to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act).

Equal Opportunity Statement: The San Jacinto College District is committed to equal opportunity for all students, employees, and applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, pregnancy, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, genetic information, marital status, or veteran status in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. The following College official has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the College's non-discrimination policies: Sandra Ramirez, VCHR Org/Talent Effectiveness, 4620 Fairmont Pkwy., Pasadena, TX 77504; 281-991-2659; Sandra.Ramirez@sjcd.edu