Description

Location: Framingham, MA Category: Staff Job Type: Full-time Posted On: Tue Sep 8 2026 Job Description:

GENERAL STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Vice President for Equity and Inclusion is a strategic leader, campus practitioner, and organizational capacity builder who advances equity, inclusion, and belonging through institutional strategy and direct engagement with the university community. The Vice President advances a clear vision and priorities; builds structures, partnerships, and capacity to advance that vision; and remains actively engaged in the day-to-day work of listening, facilitating, responding, problem-solving, and helping the university navigate complex challenges.

The successful candidate will be an influential and highly relational leader who can advance a compelling vision while also doing the work necessary to bring that vision to life. They will be equally comfortable advising senior leaders, building collaborative relationships with faculty and staff, meeting with students, facilitating difficult conversations, mediating conflict, leading workshops, responding to emerging campus concerns, and connecting the University to expertise or resources beyond their own. They will understand that their role is not to personally solve every equity challenge, but to build the structures, relationships, knowledge, and capacity that enable the entire University to take shared responsibility for fostering an equitable and inclusive community.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Reports to the President of the University

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:

Directly supervises an Executive Assistant and the Director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE). Indirectly supervises the CIE Program Coordinator and other CIE staff. Provides direction and oversight to faculty participating in fellowships within the division. Supervises other staff as assigned.

EXAMPLES OF SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership

• Advances a clear, actionable vision for equity, inclusion, and belonging grounded in evidence-based practices, relevant scholarship, existing institutional frameworks, and the needs and experiences of the university community.
• Translates institutional commitments into sustainable structures, priorities, policies, practices, partnerships, and accountability mechanisms.
• Provides leadership for integrating equity, inclusion, and belonging into the University's strategic planning process, including the development, implementation, assessment, and ongoing refinement of strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Influences organizational change, builds consensus, and advances complex institutional priorities across organizational boundaries.
• Provides strategic leadership for the Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE), communicating its identity, purpose, priorities, service model, organizational structure, and approach to resource allocation, including identifying and developing appropriate partnerships across university departments to ensure the division has access to the resources, expertise, and institutional support needed to effectively carry out its work.

Campus Practice

• Maintains a visible and active presence throughout the university community and regularly engages directly with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners.
• Builds trusting, collaborative, and productive relationships with faculty and academic leaders and partners to strengthen inclusive teaching, learning, scholarship, departmental culture, faculty development, and faculty engagement.
• Collaborates with university offices and divisions in identifying and leveraging internal expertise, conducting needs assessments, and designing professional development opportunities.
• Personally facilitates complex conversations and provides consultation, mediation, and problem-solving support when conflicts or concerns arise related to equity, identity, inclusion, belonging, and organizational culture.
• Brings demonstrated skill in listening, facilitating dialogue, negotiating across differing perspectives, and helping individuals and groups move toward constructive resolution.
• Provides informed, timely, collaborative, and thoughtful leadership in response to emerging campus concerns and incidents affecting members of the university community. Exercises sound judgment in determining when issues require immediate intervention, consultation, communication, mediation, referral, or longer-term institutional action.

Organizational Capacity Building

• Builds the capacity of faculty, staff, students, and university leaders to recognize and address equity-related challenges, access relevant expertise and information, and take responsibility for advancing inclusion within their respective areas.
• Provides and facilitates educational opportunities, workshops, and training for faculty, staff, students, and University leaders to strengthen knowledge, skills, and institutional capacity related to equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Exercises sound judgment regarding the appropriate role of the division and CIE, balancing direct intervention with consultation, collaboration, referral, empowerment, and capacity building to ensure that responsibility for institutional equity is broadly shared.
• Serves as a trusted institutional resource and connector, bringing substantial knowledge of equity-related issues while demonstrating intellectual curiosity, humility, and the ability to identify, engage, support, and mobilize additional expertise when needed.
• Advances an expansive and intersectional understanding of equity that recognizes the diverse experiences and barriers affecting members of the university community, including socioeconomic background, first-generation status, disability, geographic and educational access, identity, and other factors that influence opportunity and belonging.
• Partners with academic and administrative leaders to identify and address disparities in student access, experience, persistence, retention, completion, and belonging. Develops and supports targeted, evidence-informed interventions for populations experiencing disproportionate barriers or lower rates of retention and success.
• Assesses and ensures that the University's equity and inclusion efforts meaningfully address the experiences and needs of students, faculty, and staff, recognizing that sustainable institutional change requires attention to learning, workplace culture, organizational practices, and community belonging.
• Supports the development, revitalization, and sustainability of student and employee affinity groups and other community-building networks. Works with participants to clarify purpose, establish sustainable structures, connect groups to institutional resources, and create opportunities for meaningful engagement and collective action.
• Partners with University Advancement, Alumni Relations, and external community stakeholders to strengthen relationships, elevate diverse voices and experiences, and create opportunities for alumni and community members to contribute to the University's equity and inclusion efforts.

As a Member of the President's Executive Team:

• Exhibits visible, transparent, collaborative, and caring leadership in all aspects of the work.
• Monitors National and Commonwealth higher education and DEI trends and developments for potential impact on the University.
• In collaboration with the President and executive staff members, identifies, creates, and executes the development of strategy and tactics to enhance public (municipal, state, and federal) support for the institution.
• Serves on and/or leads various committees or teams, as assigned.
• Engage regularly in professional development to support continuous individual growth and remain current on emerging research, best practices, and developments relevant.
• Responsible for reporting to the Equal Opportunity Officer or Title IX Coordinator knowledge or receipt of reports of discrimination, discriminatory harassment, and retaliation from students or other members of the university community.
• This position is designated as a Clery Campus Security Authority.
• Accountable for ensuring that equal opportunity, inclusion, and equity are integrally tied to all actions and decisions in areas of responsibility.
• Perform other duties as assigned or otherwise consistent with the purview of the position.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

This role performs work primarily on the Framingham State University campus. Weekend, evening, and early morning presence is required for various meetings and events.

Job Requirements:

The University seeks candidates who bring the professional experience, competencies, and personal qualities needed to thrive in this role. The qualifications below reflect qualifications that align strongly with the position. However, we recognize that talent and potential can take many forms. If you bring related experience and are excited about the opportunity, we encourage you to apply.

• Substantial experience working in higher education, with a sophisticated understanding and application of the principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in education.
• Advanced degree in a discipline relevant to equity, inclusion, organizational leadership, education, public administration, or another field that provides a strong foundation for the responsibilities of the position.
• Demonstrable scholarship and/or thought leadership in areas relevant to the position.
• Demonstrable strategic, collaborative, and relational leadership experience.
• Demonstrable strong and effective interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively and sensitively across backgrounds, across all levels of administration, staff, faculty, and students, and with the community beyond the university.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the principles, practices, and culture of public higher education.
• Substantial experience working with university personnel, policies, and procedures.

Additional Information:

This is a full-time, exempt, benefits-eligible, non-unit position. The salary range is $175,000-188,000, commensurate with experience and credentials.

Framingham State University conducts criminal history and sexual offender record checks on recommended finalists prior to final employment for all positions.

Framingham State University is an equal opportunity employer. The University considers all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, sex, age, national origin, disability status, Veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by law.

Members of underrepresented or minoritized groups, women, veterans, persons with disabilities, and all persons committed to equity, diversity, and inclusive excellence are strongly encouraged to apply.

Apply Here

PI286952560