IMMEDIATE INTERIM OPPORTUNITY
Interim Dean, School of Health Studies
Reports to: Vice President, Academic
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Duration: 6 Months
Our client, a respected Academic institution, is seeking an experienced and dynamic Interim Dean, School of Health Studies, to provide executive leadership during a critical period of organizational transition and portfolio evolution.
This assignment requires a highly credible academic leader who can quickly establish trust, strengthen leadership capability within the school, and provide both strategic and operational guidance across a diverse health-focused portfolio. The successful candidate will bring deep experience in post-secondary education, healthcare-related programming, organizational change, and stakeholder engagement.
More than simply maintaining operations, this mandate is focused on positioning the school for future success. The Interim Dean will serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, assess current programming and portfolio performance, identify opportunities for growth and modernization, and coach the Associate Dean team through a period of significant change.
This is an ideal opportunity for a seasoned academic executive who enjoys driving transformation, building leadership capacity, and leaving organizations stronger than they found them.
The Mandate
Reporting to the Vice President, Academic, the Interim Dean will:
Leadership and Team Development
- Provide executive leadership to a team of Associate Deans and academic leaders.
- Coach, mentor, and develop members of the leadership team, strengthening capability, accountability, and decision-making.
- Assess leadership effectiveness, team structure, and organizational readiness to support future objectives.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, student success, and continuous improvement.
- Support leaders through change while maintaining engagement and operational stability.
Strategic Portfolio Leadership
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the Vice President, Academic and executive leadership team.
- Provide objective assessment and recommendations regarding the future direction of the Health Studies portfolio.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen organizational effectiveness, academic quality, and financial sustainability.
- Develop recommendations regarding program mix, partnerships, resource allocation, and growth strategies.
- Support the organization in evaluating future investments and emerging opportunities within the healthcare and health sciences sectors.
Program Review and Academic Excellence
- Lead a comprehensive review of existing programs across the School.
- Evaluate enrolment trends, market demand, program performance, graduate outcomes, and labour market opportunities.
- Ensure programs remain aligned with healthcare sector needs, regulatory requirements, and student expectations.
- Identify opportunities for program enhancement, expansion, consolidation, or modernization.
- Support program quality assurance and accreditation activities as required.
Growth and Partnership Development
- Identify opportunities to increase enrolment and strengthen market positioning.
- Engage healthcare, community, and industry partners to support student placement opportunities and program relevance.
- Assess opportunities for new program development and strategic partnerships.
- Provide recommendations to enhance the school’s competitiveness and long-term sustainability.
Change Leadership
- Lead and support key transformation initiatives underway within the school.
- Help leaders navigate organizational change with confidence and clarity.
- Build alignment among faculty, staff, administration, and external stakeholders.
- Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, and accountability measures.
- Ensure continuity of operations while positioning the school for its next phase of growth.
Stakeholder Engagement
The Interim Dean will work closely with:
- Vice President, Academic
- Academic leadership team
- Associate Deans
- Faculty and staff
- Students and student leadership groups
- Healthcare system partners
- Regulatory and accreditation bodies
- Community and industry stakeholders
- Government and sector partners
The successful leader will be viewed as a trusted advisor who can balance strategic thinking with practical execution while building strong relationships across the institution.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will bring:
- Significant progressive leadership experience within post-secondary education, healthcare education, or a related sector.
- Previous experience as a Dean, Executive Dean, Associate Vice President Academic, Vice President Academic, or equivalent senior academic leader.
- Led the Health program at a major academic institution.
- Demonstrated success leading organizations through periods of change, transformation, or restructuring.
- Experience coaching and developing senior academic leaders.
- Strong understanding of academic programming, quality assurance, accreditation, and student success.
- Experience evaluating program portfolios and developing growth strategies.
- Exceptional stakeholder management and relationship-building skills.
- Strong political acuity and ability to navigate complex governance environments.
- The ability to quickly assess challenges, establish credibility, and deliver practical solutions.
- Knowledge of Ontario's post-secondary and healthcare landscapes is strongly preferred.
The Ideal Interim Executive
This assignment is best suited for a seasoned academic executive who thrives in periods of transition and enjoys creating lasting organizational impact. The successful leader will bring an objective perspective, challenge legacy thinking where appropriate, and help build capability within the existing leadership team.
They will be comfortable operating at both the strategic and operational levels, serving as a coach, advisor, and change leader. Most importantly, they will leave behind a stronger leadership team, a clearer strategic direction, and a more sustainable portfolio positioned for future growth.
This is an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to a highly visible and strategically important health portfolio during a pivotal moment in the organization's evolution. Elements of this role reflect themes common to successful interim transformation mandates focused on change leadership, leadership coaching, capability building, and objective portfolio assessment.
PLEASE SEND YOUR CV (AS A WORD DOC) TO: Interim.Applications@LHHknightsbridge.com (Subject: Job Title)
LHH Knightsbridge Interim Management is a service to help our clients address a wide range of scenarios including leadership support due to sudden departures, driving key change initiatives or leading transformation projects. Our interim executives step in with minimal downtime to meet specific objectives and deliver results. All have held senior positions in the past and have now chosen to offer their unique depth and breadth of experience to organizations on a limited engagement basis.
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Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge Corp. is committed to providing equitable treatment and accommodation to ensure a barrier-free recruitment process. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and our AODA policy, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of the hiring process. If you require accommodation to apply or if selected to participate in an assessment process, please provide your accommodation needs in advance to the Recruitment Lead for this opportunity.
We thank all interested candidates in advance; however, only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted.
September 2026
