Job Posting: The New School
The private university in New York City is hiring a University Ombudsperson. The full-time position will serve faculty, staff, and students, a total population of almost 15,000. It appears that this is a newly-configured job that will replace Ann-Louise Shapiro, who has been the Ombuds for faculty and staff since 2017. The Ombuds will report to the Senior Vice President for Administration, University Secretary, and Chief of Staff in the Office of the President.
Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree and experience working in academia. Preferred qualifications include an advanced degree, dispute resolution training, Ombuds experience, and at least five years of related professional-level work. The position pays $125,000 to $145,000 per year. No application deadline indicated. (HigherEdJobs.)
Related posts: Profile of The New School Ombuds; The New School Names Ombuds; Job Posting [2018].
$145,000 in Manhattan? That will not allow someone to live in the City, so they will need to commute a long way. Anticipate over a 90-minute commute from the outer reaches of Queens or maybe further in Jersey. Don't forget New York State and City income taxes. After federal income and social security taxes, NY State taxes, City taxes, and disability taxes one would do to clear $75,000 for this job. Count on $3,000/month in rent living in the City, the Boros too, really. If this position came with housing, it would be doable. Maybe it is possible to share space with someone for $2,000 a month in an outer boro or in Nassau County, or somewhere in Jersey. But then one is spending $1,000/ month in commuting costs and 3 hours a day on trains and busses. One is far better off earning $80,000 in Laramie, Wyoming.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, OP. I had the same thoughts. Another reason more higher ed institutions should be more open to remote work. We've proven (and continue to prove) that this work can be done well from wherever the wifi is.
DeleteIf I were an organization thinking about launching an ombuds function the comment section of this blog might make me seriously reconsider.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that an organization thinking about establishing an Ombuds would review these comments and heed the advice: establish it properly according to standards, including reporting lines to the top leadership (with equitable pay for someone reporting to the top…that this role should not be classified as an entry level position.). If an organization had plans that differed from this model, which has proven to be a successful recipe, then the absolutely should reconsider their plan to have an Ombuds. Do it right the first time or not at all.
DeleteTo anonymous 6:43 am:
ReplyDeleteThe ombuds profession would be better off without ill-concieved, under resourced, and other mal-designed programs that report to the wrong level of the organization, have deficient charters, etc.
Fewer robust programs would be better than a greater number of programs that pale in comparison to the programs that were concieved in the 1970s and 1980s.
Well trained and skilled ombuds are valuable resources. Unfortunately, salaries like the ones the original poster commented upon show a lack of regard for the strategic value of an ombuds. In most parts of the counrty $145,000 is a good salary. In New York, this is not a good professional salary.
My observation over the past decade is that the ombuds profession, and IOA, has evolved into a small-thinking, grateful for scraps, rut. At the outset, and as reflexively repeated by ombuds and IOA, ombuds reported to the highest levels of an organization. This is because the role was seen as IMPORTANT. Ombuds who pigeonhole themselves as ADR practitioners do themselves and the profession a disservice. Entry-level and non-strategic roles do not report to CEOs, nor do timid souls.
ReplyDeleteOmbuds need to be serious strategic personages, and such individuals deserve to be paid VP compensation. Viewing the profession through the soda straw of ADR diminishes the value of ombuds.
True.
Delete"There are no housing benefits available for this position."
ReplyDelete