UCLA Seeks Executive Director of the Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law

The Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law at UCLA School of Law is seeking an Executive Director to lead this signature Institute. The Executive Director will be expected to build on the Institute’s existing strengths in both programming and job placement, and will also have significant flexibility to launch creative, new initiatives for the benefit of current students, recent graduates, alumni, and the relevant industries more generally.

The Executive Director’s most important work is the creation of professional opportunities for both current students and alumni. To do this, a successful Director will need to invest substantial energy building connections across and between UCLA students, UCLA graduates, and leading practitioners in the relevant fields. The Director will work to create and identify opportunities for internships, externships, entry-level job placements, and also more senior professional openings. The Director will likewise create and facilitate opportunities for professional networking and relationship development, again in support of job placement, professional development, and career advancement.

A second critical area of focus for a successful Director is to expand the strong public profile of the Institute, enhancing its reputation, its name recognition, and its vital engagement, both within the UCLA community and beyond. To further this goal, the Executive Director will, among other things, be responsible for the development and execution of professional programming, including not only UCLA’s highly successful annual Entertainment Symposium but also other conferences and events for practicing lawyers, as well as speakers, events, and seminars for current students. A successful Director will raise funds to support these programs, recruit appropriate speakers, and engage substantively in ways that ensure that the various events and classes are warm, diverse, worthwhile, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant.

Beyond that, the Director will enjoy significant freedom to develop additional initiatives consistent with the Institute’s purpose and values. For example, the Director might choose to develop new clinical opportunities for current students, or additional specialized seminars taught by leading figures. The Director might choose to launch a data-gathering research project designed to provide valuable information to practitioners and/or executives. The Director might instead or in addition choose to develop and teach a substantial offering, such as a course for current students or a significant professional development opportunity for practicing attorneys. Across all of these endeavors, a successful Director will not only provide high-level leadership but also directly engage in the endeavor’s day-to-day administration and execution.

The ideal candidate will have: a Juris Doctor degree or M.B.A. (or equivalent); substantial successful management and leadership experience; a track record of innovation, program leadership and program building; substantial successful practice or experience in the media, entertainment, technology and/or sports law industries; advanced administrative and organizational skills; strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, students and the broader community; strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to draw on the ideas of others and convert them into meaningful strategies and plans and to represent those ideas to a variety of stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, practitioners, the public and the press; and high professional and ethical standards that reflect UCLA’s core values, purpose and mission.

This is a full-time, year-round, non-tenure track, academic position. The salary and level of appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. This appointment is subject to the rules and regulations of the Regents of the University of California, which are mostly embodied in The UCLA CALL and the University of California Academic Personnel Manual. (See https://www.apo.ucla.edu/policies/the-call; and http://www.ucop.edu/acadpersonnel/apm/welcome.html.).

Confidential review of applications, nominations and expressions of interest will begin immediately and continue until an appointment is made. To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by Thursday, November 12, 2020 but will be considered thereafter until the position is filled. Please apply online at https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF05885 by submitting pdf copies of a cover letter, resume, and contact information for at least three professional references. Finalists will later be expected to supply at least two letters of recommendation during the final vetting process.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: UC Nondiscrimination & Affirmative Action Policy (http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct).