The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center enriches the experience, fosters success, celebrates victories, and affirms the existence of Penn’s LGBTQ+ undergraduates, professional and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni using the lenses of social justice and intersectionality. Through education, support, and advocacy, the Center cultivates a campus climate where all students, inclusive of their sexuality, gender, and sexual identity, can live authentically. The LGBT Center Director is the University’s primary student-focused advisor and professional staff on matters pertaining to gender identity, sexual orientation, and Penn’s LGBTQ+ communities and their related celebrations and concerns. They have primary responsibility for the LGBT Center’s day-to-day operations, campus-wide relationship and collaboration building, sexual orientation and gender identity advisement, and direct support in confidential situations. They also work closely with development and alumni relations to engage LGBTQ+ alum in center initiatives. The Director reports to the Associate Vice Provost for University Life (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging); works closely with LGBTQ+ faculty, the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program, campus DEI offices, Wellness, and other cultural resource centers; and collaborates with all University units, Penn’s 12 schools, and with community organizations and universities, local, national, and international.

Job Responsibilities

• Administration – developing organizational goals and objectives; preparing and managing departmental budgets; purchasing; project dissemination; office and technology management; general inquiry triage; facility decision making; meetings with University Life administration, the Provost Center’s financial team members, and fellow CRC directors.
• Consultation & Policy – work with schools, departments at all levels, and/or individuals to address questions, situations, needs, and strategy. Examples include, but are not limited to: student information systems, restroom policies, working with transitioning students on how they want to do so at Penn, consultation on creating a more LGBTQ+ inclusive syllabus, supporting students who experience identity or gender-based bias on campus, and other relevant issues.
• Collaboration – build relationships with colleges and administrative units across campus to increase sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ students; work with key partners to better serve the whole student; support LGBTQ+ Faculty Working Group; co-create joint programming and customized training; engage relevant stakeholders for new and innovative LGBTQ+ initiatives to support the student experience.
• Direct Support – advise Lambda Alliance and Lambda Grads, the undergraduate and graduate LGBTQ+ umbrella groups; provide confidential support for students, staff, and faculty.
• Staff Supervision – regular 1:1 supervision for two full-time associate directors, social work interns, and higher education interns; weekly all professional staff meetings; mentor associate directors around supervision, re: work-study students and part-time building coordinator; address Center personnel issues.
• Development & Alumni Relations – serves as a liaison with the center and Penn Leadership Q, PennGALA, and individual alumni; work with DAR on Spectrum, Homecoming, and Alumni Weekends; development work via ongoing donor stewardship, cultivation, and partnering with University Life’s Strategic Partnerships and Programs Director.

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in relevant field (e.g. education, social work, queer, gender, transgender, or gender studies, etc.) required. Doctoral degree preferred.

• ​Demonstrated effectiveness working with and fostering a sense of belonging for LGBTQ+ communities, especially those traditionally underserved.
• Seven to ten years experience in a position providing appropriate preparation for the responsibilities of the position, preferably in higher education, including but not limited to: administration, staff supervision, policy work, cross functional collaboration, working with and across student, staff, faculty, and alum constituencies, resource management, providing confidential consultations, educational programming, and development.
• Excellent communication skills essential.