Program Director IHP Death Dying Perspectives Practices and Policies

Department: International Honors Program/SIT Study Abroad
Reports to: Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Salary Range: $65000$75000
Anticipated Start Date: March 1 2025
Term of Employment: Fulltime
Base of Designation: Vermont USA
Remote Eligible: Remote with regular onsite and inperson travel



Instructions to Applicants:
Please submit a resume cover letter and information of three references by November 1 2024 to ensure consideration. The posting will stay open until the position is filled. first review of applications will begin 11/1/2024.

Conditional on Student Enrollment
World Learning seeks an inaugural Program Director for IHP Death & Dying: Perspectives Practices and Policies. The Program Director is responsible for overseeing program delivery and support for this unique undergraduate studyabroad program including academics operations management and administration. The programs learning journey takes place in four countries collaborating with culturally diverse and interdisciplinary teams and working with students from US accredited colleges and universities. This appointment will be offered with the academic rank of assistant or associate professor.

International Honors Program
The International Honors Program (IHP) is a dynamic and flexible academic structure that combines depth and breadth to provide a comparative and rigorous intellectual examination of critical global issues. The IHP program a part of the School for International Training (SIT) offers international semesterlong study abroad programs emphasizing the comparative study of critical global issues. IHPs learning model is grounded in experiential learning critical pedagogy cultural immersion local perspectives and global comparison.

IHP Death & Dying: Perspectives Practices and Policies
Designed around a central question what is the meaning of death this program seeks to demystify death through an interdisciplinary study of death and dying across cultures contexts and theoretical frameworks. Students will explore the meaning of death through the study of death rites and practices learning how cultural religious and community beliefs about death contribute to a groups cultural identity. To further discover what death means students will compare mortality rates across demographics and identity categories to identify sociopolitical determinants of death across disparate populations. We will look to popular culture the humanities the arts and the sciences to determine what it means to die and develop the vocabulary and skills to come to terms with death. Students will have the opportunity to synthesize their learning in a culminating inquirydriven project that utilizes ethically appropriate field work techniques to provide deeper insight into the crosscultural dimensions of death.

Through this multifaceted study of death the program aims to accomplish two objectives: 1 to normalize death discourse and increase students death literacy and 2 to interrogate how death and dying are used to construct maintain and challenge social and cultural boundaries identities and power structures.

Each semester program will take students from leading U.S. colleges and universities on a multisite study of death and dying in four countries on four continents. The planned itinerary is as follows:

New York City USA > Accra Ghana > Bali Indonesia > Oaxaca Mexico
**Each country program features rural excursions outside of the major cities where they are based.

The IHP Death & Dying webpage will be up soon. Meanwhile more information on other IHP programs can be found at: IHP Comparative Program SIT Study Abroad

RESPONSIBILITIES
Program Academics: Overall responsibility for developing and achieving the academic intent and integrity of the program; working with local faculty visiting traveling faculty and country coordinators to design and update four courses syllabi and curricula conducive to achieve the programs learning goals; advising and supporting student learning and research projects in collaboration with program faculty; oversight of and followup on student evaluations; facilitating collaboration and communication between multicountry faculty and team members; overseeing grading process and grade appeals; contributing to the academic leadership within SIT through research efforts and presentations at conferences.

Program Management & Administration: Overall responsibility for program budget; identifying and entering contractual agreements with local implementing partners; advising on program design delivery and scheduling; securing adherence to SIT/IHP policies; oversight of program evaluation processes; constant communication and collaboration between multicountry and US based teams; revising program curriculum and country programming at IHP annual planning meetings; participating in weekly IHP team calls and meetings; providing student support and guidance for medical personal behavioral and/or security issues; leading and participating in program launch midterm and retreat periods with students in each country; maintaining indepth knowledge of economic political and social situations in program countries for risk assessment and crisis management.

Staff Hiring Supervision Training & Collaboration: Oversight of all faculty and staff; responsible for team management and development (hiring training mentoring) and ongoing performance evaluation; working collaboratively with program managers traveling faculty IHP team members and SIT departments; representing IHP and SIT/World Learning at professional conferences participation on committees and institutional initiatives.

REQUIREMENTS
Required Experience/Education/Skills:

Ph.D. in a relevant field such as: sociology anthropology history geography religious studies political economy or other humanities or interdisciplinary field engaged with the meanings of death (and life).
At least 3 years of teaching experience and/or experience in academic administration or the equivalent in international experience
Demonstrated understanding of fieldbased interdisciplinary and experiential education and/or critical pedagogy
Experience teaching US based college students
Minimum oneyear experience living and working outside of the US
Supervisory experience ideally of multicultural staff at distant locations
Articulate in use of oral and written English
Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a multicultural team
Proficient in working in a fastpaced virtual environment
Excellent interpersonal communication skills
Flexibility to travel at least 30 of the time primarily to program locations but also to SIT meeting sites whether in Vermont at main campus or at Teaching Centers located around the world.



Vaccination is strongly recommended for all employees in our U.S. offices except for those receiving medical or religious exemptions. If boosters are subsequently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then employees and faculty are strongly encouraged to receive the booster within thirty 30 days of their eligibility.

THE WORLD LEARNING INC. FAMILY
For more than 90 years World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living the nations most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused masters degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.

World Learning
World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable peaceful and just world. World Learnings education development and exchange programs help people find their voices connect with their communities strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society and build relationships across cultures. With World Learnings support these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty conflict and inequality.

The Experiment in International Living
The Experiment in International Living is the nations most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path experience the world as a classroom immerse themselves fully in another culture and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.

SIT
School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the worlds most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa Asia and the Pacific Europe Latin America and the Middle East as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates masters and doctoral degrees. SIT programs are grounded in experiential learning and cultural immersion and strive to develop sustainable practices across its learning centers. We believe in developing respectful partnerships with local communities and seek to make accessible to our students the richness of local expertise and knowledge systems.

Required Experience:

Director