The public university in Williamsburg, VA is hiring its next Ombudsperson. Mark Patterson has held the position for about a year and half and will be moving to CSU Channel Islands this summer. The full-time position serves all campus employees and reports to the Provost's office.
Applicants must have an advanced degree and/or significant relevant experience. Knowledge of higher education, its structure and policies and practices, is preferred. The position pays up to $80,000 and applications are due by June 28, 2019. (W&M Posting.)
Update 6/6/19: The job posting is down now. I'll update the link asap.
Update 6/7//19: New link.
Related posts: William & Mary Student Paper Supports Exanded Ombuds Office; Ombuds at the College of William & Mary Hosts Conflict Resolution Day Speaker; Job Posting; California State University Channel Islands Names First Ombuds.
Max salary should be $80,000 with correction for full time.
ReplyDelete$60,000? What a joke.
ReplyDeleteThere are Ombuds working for 60K and under (with advanced degrees, with years of experience). Instead of commenting about the joke of pay let's find ways to advocate for higher pay, or norms of higher pay, in the profession.
DeleteEven $80,000 is a joke, if it is a 12-month position.
ReplyDeleteThis comment lacks context and thus feels like an insult. The $80k salary is in the salary range of jobs recently offered by US Olympic Committee, Lesley University, Berkeley, UCLA, Georgia State, Florida International, and Florida Dept of Revenue. So why don't offer some rationale?
DeleteIt feels like an insult to the many people willing to take an ombuds job at that salary.
DeleteI agree with you fully, Tom. At a moment when so many are trying to enter this field *and* many offices have shuttered in recent years, it feels tone deaf at best to be so dismissive on a job posting - particularly as an anonymous commenter.
DeleteIf we wish to encourage increases in ombuds' salaries, it might be a good thing for people to boycott applying to positions that pay low salaries. If we have the benefit to organizations that we assert, we are worth $100,000+. I am lucky in that my institution values my contribution enough to pay me this way.
ReplyDeleteIn an educational setting, 9-month assistant professors exceed this threshold, on an annualized basis. A competent ombuds makes a greater contribution than a typical assistant professor.
Just because someone is willing to accept a job for $40,000 or $60,000 does not mean that the salary is too low, given the contribution that a competent ombuds makes to an organization.
The "joke" salary comment may have been a bit harsh; however, it is not necessarily off base. We have value and should be compensated as if we have value.
Need an assistant?
DeleteI don't disagree with many of these comments; many ombuds positions are underpaid. This seems to be an issue particularly for the aspiring and less established practitioners who face the one-two punch of low (or UNPAID) salaries as well as increasingly high educational and experiential bars to entry-level ombuds positions.
ReplyDeleteHowever, $80,000 does not seem to be outside the accepted range for an ombuds role, particularly when factoring in the cost-of-living in Williamsburg.
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion on the salary. Even though I am leaving, I do hope to see W&M continue to receive quality ombuds support. For what it's worth, the salary increased to $80K during my tenure--an improvement built upon several increases my predecessor won--so bringing about change through demonstrating value "in the chair" is one way to change how our profession is paid-- if you can afford to start at the low end, which I chose to do with some pain for myself and family, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteSee also: https://www.simplyhired.com/salaries-k-university-ombudsman-jobs.html
ReplyDelete